Feeling a little fragile after a few drinks last night, cooking breakfast seemed way too much effort this morning and we were both agreed that porridge wasn’t going to quite cut it! So we decided to wander into town and have brunch somewhere nice. After checking out the menus of a few places around Exchequer Street and our hunger increasing, we finally settled on the Exchequer before either of us became hangry.
The Exchequer is a gastropub in Dublin city centre, just a few minutes stroll from Grafton Street . Their website boasts “Wholesome, fresh, hearty, award winning food accompanied by a concise but delicious wine menu, an extensive range of worldly beers, and unique and exciting cocktails served in casual, relaxed and comfortable surroundings”. They don’t lie! Today’s experience ticked most of these boxes. I’ve been here for cocktails before and they are amazing too. It’s no wonder that they’ve won Best Cocktail Experience in Ireland in 2012 and 2013.
On arrival, we were greeted by the smell of Sunday roast wafting through the bar. Most people were tucking into a Sunday Roast with all the trimmings that looked as good as most Irish Mammy’s efforts! According to one of the black boards, Carve Your Own Roasts start from €59.95 for 4 people and come with a bottle of red wine. You can’t just wander in off the street and order this feast, however, as it needs to be booked in advance (by Friday of the same week!). No doubt we’ll be back another Sunday to try this!
The weekend brunch menu is served between 12.00 and 16.00 on Saturdays and Sundays and has a good mix of casual eating options ranging from €9 to €15 for mains. Options include Eggs Benedict, Banana Pancakes, an 8oz Beef Burger , Fish & Chips, Hickory Smoked Ribs and more. We both decided on the Lemon and Thyme Half Roast Chicken with a Smoked Bacon, Tomato & Ciabatta Croute Caesar Salad. A side of Tuffle and Parmesan fries to share was too hard to resist so we ordered that too! We got a pint of Peroni and a glass of Portillo, Sauvignon Blanc, while we were waiting.
The food arrived and looked mouthwatering. The roast chicken came served with Caesar salad and a small dish of gravy on the side. While I love gravy (and it was delicious!), I though the salad and gravy combination was a bit weird! The chicken was cooked to perfection and had a tasty crispy skin on the outside. The fries looked like the ultimate comfort food! They brought a flashback of drunken student nights eating Curry Cheese Chips in Supermacs in the early hours of the morning. They were flavoursome but I couldn’t taste any truffle from them. Definitely better than the Supermacs fries! We had a look at the dessert menu after stuffing our faces but decided we’d head to Fallon and Byrne for tea and cake on our way back to town instead.
Simple, well-presented and tasty food, friendly staff and a pleasant atmosphere means that we’ll more than likely be back at some stage!
The Exchequer Dublin 2, 3-5 Exchequer Street, Dublin 2. http://www.theexchequerdublin2.ie/ Tel: +353 (0)1670 6787
The Bill: €46.50 for 2 mains, the side of fries, a pint of Peroni and a glass of wine.
Service: Friendly and attentive.
Ambience: The bar was fairly quiet for a Sunday but had a nice mix of people (couples, families and people on their own) and was relaxed with background music and rugby on a couple of screens around the bar.
Eachtraí Chiara 