Two for one burgers:A well-made hamburger that tastes of good meat and which has been adorned with just enough in the way of trimmings (a) to allow you taste the burger and (b) to allow you eat the thing without dislocating your jaw, is a rare joy.
Jonathan Dockrell’s Gourmet Burger in Ranelagh does a seriously impressive version, with nicely aged organic beef sourced from Good Herdsmen in Co Tipperary. It tastes intensely and deliciously of what it’s meant to taste of. And Gourmet Burger serves a banana split that is the essence of nostalgic indulgence.
The best news of all, however, is that if you buy a hamburger from Mr Dockrell, he will give you a second one free. E-mail info@gourmetburgercompany.ie and they will e-mail a voucher right back to you.
Eden value
The plat du jour idea is really taking off in Dublin restaurants. Ely is offering a selected main course, a glass of wine or beer and a coffee for €18.95 between 5pm and 9pm, Monday to Saturday (Tuesday to Saturday at ely hq on Hanover Quay). Hanover Quay now has a new chef and a gastro pub menu which includes hq-smalls, a sort of eclectic take on tapas, priced at between €2 and €3.50. They have retained the splendid half-pound organic burger and the bangers and mash, and added new dishes such as potted crab, moules frites and, in commendable attempt to rescue it from the dreadful abuse it has suffered over the years, quiche Lorraine. Ely’s winter wine promotion offers 30 per cent off all wine and champagne above €60 across the three branches (Ely Place, Custom House Quay and Hanover Quay).
Wine not
There are all sorts of ways to lure customers into restaurants, even in these difficult times. But it’s hard to imagine a more attractive proposition than Fallon Byrne’s Super Tuesdays. It is offering a range of 15 wines at retail price with no corkage charge. In other words, you pay in the restaurant exactly what you would pay in the shop downstairs.