celebrate a slice of newfound freedom with an adults only lunch – these are five places that do it well …
Alas, summer is officially over and the back to school season is in full swing. School lunches, PE gear, schoolbooks and uniforms, it’s enough to make your head spin. The upside is (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 five places that do it well.
The Ivy
The ultimate destination spot for ‘ladies who lunch’ The Ivy set menu offers excellent value with two courses for €23.95 or three courses for €26.95. The menu features bistro classics such as picked crab with apple, and minute steak with chips topped with a fried egg, and is available from Monday to Thursday from 11.30am – 6.15pm. Incidentally, The Ivy Collection Champagne is exquisite and at €14.96 a glass, it would be rude not to. www.theivydublin.com
Saba, Baggot Street, South William Street and Kildare Village
All three of the Saba locations offer a lunch menu daily for those looking for something fiery to spice up their day. The spicy basil beef lettuce cups with minced beef stir fried with garlic, chilli, spring onions, green beans, oyster and soy sauce is one of those dishes that is both (sort of) virtuous and delicious at the same time and there is an excellent plant based menu too. Drinks wise, the Long Do with Bacardi Carta Oro, coconut puree, Malibu, ginger syrup, lime juice, basil leaves and soda water feels like the appropriate way to welcome the new school season. www.sabadublin.com
Éan, Galway
From the people that brought us Loam in Galway, Éan is an enchanting place with a serene atmosphere and excellent food, the perfect antidote for harried parents. If spring cabbage fritters with house pickles, anchovy and scallion mayo doesn’t cure the back to school blues, nothing will. Mind you, the praline croissant is also said to have amazingly restorative powers too. www.eangalway.com
Restaurant Rinuccini, Kilkenny
For those craving something slightly more formal, Restaurant Rinuccini in Kilkenny is the perfect choice. Rinuccini is one of those places that can make a gloomy Monday feel like a special occasion. Starched linen tablecloths and clinking crystal is one fanciful way to celebrate ‘me’ time, and the €27.50 lunch menu is another. Feasting on dishes such as calamari e zucchini fritti with anchovy aioli followed by scaloppine di vitello al vino bianco should be mandatory for every parent who has survived the summer, relatively intact. www.rinuccini.com
Beach House, Tramore
Summer may be drawing to a close but lunch at Beach House in Tramore is one way of extending that summery feeling. All the big seafood hitters are here such as lobster mayonnaise, Dublin Bay prawns, clams with garlic and parsley and crab fettucine. Wine wise, a glass of seafood loving Muscadet or Picpoul will erase any memory of the fraught school drop offs. To finish, the strawberry sorbet with shortcake is a must. www.beachhousetramore.ie