dillinger's

i am reviewing as per my visit in 2014.....
dillinger's is an american style diner inspired restaurant with the long green bar across the room, the high stools nd tables.....
there is a great cocktailmenuwith plenty of options but i went for 777 margaritas.......
on the brunchmenuyou really have the classics such as american pancakes, french toast, a fry or eggy options like eggs benedict or norwegian eggs. then you have some signature dishes such as their brunch nachos, dillinger’s burger,  a merguez shakshouka nd chicken and waffles. prices range from €11 to €19 nd portions are huge....
the margaritas are excellent......
i ordered 1) the smoked salmon hash browns (€13),,,there was a massive amount of smoked salmon topped with two perfectly round eggs covered with a habanero hollandaise sauce,,,,,2) slow cooked pork belly hash (€12.50),,,it was a mix a succulent pork meat mixed with roasted peppers, served with poached eggs and hollandaise sauce nd a small side salad,,,,, 3) i was so starving when i got there, i also ordered food i didn’t really need, a portion of  chilli beef and cheese fries (€5) which were excellent,,,i have to admit,,,,, but couldn't finish......
dillinger’s is well worth a try for brunch if you’re looking for a funky spot with good tunes nd a lively atmosphere. their dinnermenuis a little bit more eclectic with a mix of different cuisines featuring like tuna tostados, a mezze plate, a killer curry special, steaks, and piri piri prawns etc etc.....

have been here for both dinner and brunch, both excellent. they're often quite busy, and i have seen queues to get in for brunch! nice drinksmenuand cocktails, very friendly staff.

i love this place food is always satisfying and staff are really friendly. i love themenuand would go back anytime. the nachos must be up there with the best in dublin.

i've been here on two separate occasions, once to eat their super nachos at the bar and then last weekend for saturday brunch. 

i'll cut to the chase: dillingers' super nachos are the best nachos i have ever eaten, and i have eaten a lot. what ever they do to get the smoky meat and bean flavour is pure magic and i wanted to lick the plate clean. there is plenty of everything and the plate is big enough to share. the nachos are perfectly balanced with generous amounts of, guacamole, salsa, sour cream and melted cheese, but not too much to drown out the smoky meat and beans.

the brunchmenuwas great as it had such a variety and i wanted to order lots of things (i find some brunch places have really limited menus). there was plenty of veggie options too. i went for the short stack, american style pancakes with bacon and maple syrup. the pancakes were perfect and they were a really good size. there was plenty of bacon too but i thought this was a little too crispy for my liking. the maple syrup had quite a mild flavour to it. i would have liked something a little stronger to balance the salty bacon but over all these are some of the best pancakes i have ever had in dublin.

i also ordered the shakshouka of baked eggs with merguez sausage, feta, swiss chard, spinach and tomato sauce and it was absolutely outstanding. such flavour, a really great spicy kick to it and a great sized portion. probably my favourite brunch dish in dublin. i'm already planning my next trip to order it again.

my companion ordered eggs benedict and he said they were good, but they just didn't look nearly as exciting or drool worthy as the pancakes or shakshouka. 

the coffee too was really good. so the three dishes, one coffee and one coke came to just under €40 and i think it was well worth it. i was stuffed but more importantly the food was so so tasty.

the place too is gorgeous inside and has a great vibe and super nice staff. i love sitting at the bar here as it is just so casual and fun. this is one of my favourite places in dublin as the food is so good.

dillinger's in ranelagh is an excellent choice for brunch. i've eaten there a few times and i couldn't fault it in any way. funky vibe, excellent service and the food is amazing! i ordered shakshouka eggs, my friends offered american style pancakes with bacon and the veggie grill! it was so f ing good. another favourite of mine from dillinger's brunchmenuis the smoked salmon hash browns! oh holy moly!!!

great brunch spot. themenuis wide and varied with dishes like smoked salmon hash browns that i haven't seen elsewhere. i got the shakshouka which was delish!

this is a great little spot for a weekend cure... bustling but not too loud, darkened but not to a ridiculous degree with a lovely vibe that's upbeat but chill at the same time.

both options we ordered were great, themenuhas lots of american inspired dishes including the pancakes & bacon i ordered which was perfect.

have been meaning to try here for ages and finally got to pop in here for brunch. great , busy little spot. great buzz about the place. i got the huevos rancheros and my boyfriend got the steak and eggs. mine was really really nice but there was alot of it! staff were really friendly! my one negative comment about the whole experience is a small one but i also heard the couple at the table next to us comment on it also, is that on themenuit says a 330ml soft drink but when the drinks arrived my boyfriends drink was 330ml but the diet coke i ordered was only a 200ml bottle and cost the same!

came here for a birthday dinner for himself. it was a surprise as he is obsessed with burgers and it was highly recommended. i had booked a table and i would recommend doing so as the place was packed. it has a very downtown new york feel with the big bar and the booths. also whoever picked the music was a legend!

so we were both starving when we arrived so quickly ordered starters- i got chicken fried oyster sliders they were okay could have gone with more of the slaw as they were quite dry but the house crisps on the side were a nice touch and i would have eaten a whole bag of them. the main man got the wings to say my eyes were green with envy was an understatement i managed to grab one before they were all gone, and it was beautifully seasoned in chilli, lime and a sweet dressing.

we also got a few drinks, they have mainly craft beers and they had one cider on themenuthat was 7.50 which i felt was very overpriced so i opted for the wine instead.

as we were still raring for more food, on came the mains. the birthday boy got the burger which was succulent and juicy on a nice bun and the chips were average.
i got the nachos which would have been enough for the two of us they are huge! the chilli was filled with flavour and the added smokiness was a lovely addition. also the guacamole was fantastic and you got a heap load compared to most places giving you a small spoonful. i'd say we only got about halfway through the nachos.

we were far too full to get any desserts maybe another time.

had plans to go out for dinner in ranelagh during the week. stumbled upon dillinger's and had a look at themenubefore entering. it all sounded really good and since i've heard so many great things about it we decided to give it a go, even though it's a bit pricey for the type of venue.

we asked for a table and were directed to get one in the back. my boyfriend went to the restrooms and i sat down at our table. there was no menus at the tables and by the time my boyfriend joined me no one had come over to see us. we probably waited for another 10 minutes, trying to catch one of the staffs attention without any luck. it's wasn't even that busy and they just seemed to walk from one table to another chatting away with the customers. we felt invisible and decided to leave. not worth spending our money in a place where our customs wasn't appreciated... on our way out, non of the staff acknowledged the fact that we were leaving.

the simple fact that if we only would have been given menus to just look at it wouldn't have been a problem to wait for service. but to sit at a table for almost 15 minutes without any attention from staff is not ok.
we will definitely not be back!!

dillingers is a really popular little restaurant in ranelagh. themenuis full of my favourite foods, falafel burger, nachos & guac, fish tacos, avocado salad so was excited to try it. had crusty baked bread with aged dubliner cheddar fondue & smoked bacon to start which on it's own was delish... had the falafel burger with avocado, cucumber & yogurt topping, also very tasty. an added bonus was 2 craft beers for only €8 which was a nice surprise. really good food, really friendly staff vas great experience. have also heard rave reviews re their brunch so will definitely be back!

given a choice of meals to go out for i’d usually opt for dinner. it gives me an excuse to get dressed up and head off into town for the evening and enjoy a few drinks. but brunch seems to be getting more and more popular these days so last week we decided we’d ditch the dinner date and go for brunch instead.

there’s so much choice for brunch in dublin right now and we were spoiled for choice looking through the menus online. i always seem to be out and about in town so fancied somewhere different and as i love ranelagh i had a look at the restaurants around there. i think ranelagh is the most perfect place for grabbing a bite to eat… such a great mix of food genres from pakistani & eastern in kinara kitchen to burgers and wings in tribeca. one place i’d heard of but never been is dillinger’s, sister restaurant to the butcher grill (also in ranelagh) and 777 on georges street. so after looking at the menu, it was decided brunch would be in dillinger’s! they serve it saturday and sunday from 12 – 4pm.

about lunch time on sunday we arrived to an already busy ranelagh. this place never stops! we managed to nab a handy parking spot and as it was a sunday it was free…. a bonus, as usually you can easily add an extra €12 quid onto your day if you want to park in ranelagh. the restaurant is on ranelagh main street and after walking in to a packed house we could see their location and good reputation really get the crowd in. we were asked if we wanted to wait for a table or sit at the bar – i love bar sitting so we plonked ourselves down and got looking through the menu.

first off was drinks. e was driving (again, one day i will drive us around i promise!!) so i was free to have a proper drink :-) the cocktail of the day was a campari mint spritz, campari, mint, cranberry juice & prosecco (€8.50)… an obvious choice!
e was trying to be a bit healthy and went for a juice from their healthy sidemenucalled salad days (€4.50). it was made up of spinach, carrot, celery, radish, red pepper and lemon. drinks arrived and mine was lovely and refreshing. i hate to say it but i don’t know how e drank that juice…. i’m not used to those kind of drinks and i’ll choose the prosecco every time!

so onto the food! there’s a really great selection on thismenu– dillinger’s fry (containing every breakfast item possible!), crab cakes with eggs, omelette, french toast, steak & eggs, their famous super nachos, eggs benedict, a bacon sambo a burger or a stack of pancakes were most of themenuchoices. i’ve heard a lot about the super nachos and so was very tempted to get them but in the end i decided to have something i couldn’t make at home and went for the crab cakes with eggs (€14). e being all manly and stuff went for the steak & eggs (€18).

we placed our order and i had a good look around the place while we waited. it is definitely more diner than restaurant but not your eddie rockets style. the interior is slick and shiney and the staff were equally as great… efficient and friendly without being ott. all in all a pretty casual place that still feels like a treat to go to.

when the food arrived we were both impressed. i got 3 crab cakes with salad, 2 poached eggs and a little side of aioli. it was served on a beautiful plate with pink flowers…. very unlike anything i’ve been served food on in a dublin restaurant!

e’s steak arrived with 2 big poached eggs and some home fries and salad also. he’d asked for a pepper sauce instead of the bernaise and they were happy to give him that instead.

we got stuck in and not much was said for the next few minutes while we both devoured the food. the crab cakes were amazing, lovely and crispy on the outside with super soft crab meat inside. the poached eggs were perfectly cooked, nice and gooey when cut into, just how i like ‘em! :-)
of course i had some of e’s steak and apart from the fact that it was super well done as he likes it (i like a rare steak) it was yummy, really good quality meat. we both thought it was great food and good value especially the steak option as it was a pretty generous portion.

we skipped dessert and e had a cappuccino which he said was really good… much as i want to like coffee i just don’t so i usually just get another glass of wine :-)

we didn’t hang around as we had a gaa match to watch in smyth’s up the road so the total bill came to €48.00 with a nice little smiley face. i really enjoyed brunch in dillinger’s and i will most definitely be returning for the super nachos :-)