The pricey Temple Bar neighborhood, a cobbled enclave of boutiques and pubs next to the River Liffey, is often described as Dublin’s Left Bank. It’s also Dublin’s most overpriced place to eat. One blessed exception is Cafe Gertrude (3-4 Bedford Row; 011-353-1-677-9043; entrees from $15.50), with its buttercup-yellow walls and pine floorboards. The tables, all 14 of them, turn over briskly, and the menu is simple stuff: potato cakes with bacon, smoked cheddar cheese and salsa; chicken-breast focaccia sandwiches with roasted sweet peppers and mozzarella, and hot apple-and-cinnamon crumble.
Since opening last summer, the Market Bar (Fade Street; 011-353-1-613-9094) has been hopping every night. The premises are stunning: a former sausage factory with 100-foot warehouse ceilings, located a block from the Asian Market. The menu is tapas, so figure on ordering three small dishes (about $7 each) for two people. Options include zarzuela (Pernod-infused fish stew with mussels, calamari and salmon), escabeche of mackerel (the fish is pickled and served in a tomato sauce) and chorizo stew.
Steps from Trinity College is an unpretentious find on a street otherwise known for its bookstores. Caife Tri-D’s (3 Dawson Street; 011-353-1-474-1054; soups and sandwiches, less than $6) sandwiches and wraps come in winning mixtures, such as sharp Dubliner cheese and tomato relish. Try Brie and cranberry sauce on toasted brown bread, and you’ll be dying to re-create it in your own kitchen.
At Aya @ Brown Thomas (49-52 Clarendon Street; 011-353-1-677-1544), an annex to Ireland’s poshest department store, take a seat at the country’s first conveyor-belt sushi bar. Chefs prepare dishes in the open while you choose from a never-ending procession of raw fish. Prices dive during “Happy Time” –generally any time other than 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. –when you can have five plates and as much green tea as you like for $18.
