In between drop-off and pick-up, carve out some time for an adults-only lunch at one of these hot-spots …
Alas, summer is officially over and the back-to-school season is in full swing. School lunches, P.E gear, schoolbooks and uniforms, it’s enough to make your head spin. The upside is that you are (hopefully) regaining a few precious hours all to yourself. If this is the case, now is the ideal time to celebrate that newfound freedom with an adults only lunch, and these are three places that do it well …
With oyster season upon us, College Green is the ideal place to perch for an afternoon in September. The BYO Monday Wine Club is open all day to any bottle you fancy (even that magnum of something special), and corkage is just a fiver. Paired with the set menu, it’s one of the best Hawksmoor deals going. So, dust off that bottle you’ve been saving, or pop by the local wine shop on your way, and sip in peace after a busy summer. While wine is optional, the oysters with scotch bonnet mignonette should be non-negotiable.
All three Saba locations offer a daily lunch menu for those looking for something fiery to spice up their newly freed up afternoon. The spicy basil beef lettuce cups is one of those dishes that is both (sort of) virtuous and delicious at the same time, plus there are excellent plant-based menu options too. Saba on Baggot Street has extended their Sip Into Summer offer of a free cocktail with a main until the end of September, while Saba on South William Street’s early bird and happy hour menu (with cocktails for €10) is available daily from 12pm to 5:45pm. They’re also great for kids, by the way, particularly after some retail therapy in Kildare Village!
A personal favourite for years, a late summer lunch on the terrace at La Maison is picture perfect, with excellent food and people watching to match. While dining here was always reliably good, like fine wine La Maison seems to be improving with age, so getting a table can be somewhat challenging. The midweek lunch menu has bistro classics such as moules frites, coq au vin and the all-important, crème brulee. The epitome of a classic French bistro in the heart of Dublin.
SEE MORE: 5 Picturesque Restaurants For Late Summer Evenings