Living Dublin Restaurants

Asian and Oriental Food in Dublin

Chinese Restaurants and Takeaways

Chinese restaurants in Dublin have always focused on the Cantonese and Szechuan traditions, as evidenced by the fare at Good World, Fans, Kingsland and others around Dame Street and Grafton Street, as well as the city's many Chinese takeaways. This probably has to do with our links with Britain, and through them with Hong Kong, from where many of the first immigrants arrived having been educated by Irish Catholic missionaries. These days Dublin has a large Asian population and many restaurants has extended beyond the European-ised menu of kung po, chow mein, chop suey, king do, szechuan and curries to provide authentic Chinese dishes such as dim sum. It's worth watching where the Chinese (and, more often, Malays) themselves are eating, and the answer to that is the afore-mentioned Good World on Georges Street and the Imperial on Wicklow Street, especially for lunch on Sundays, when whole families dine out together. If you can read Cantonese, ask for the "real" menu.

As well as the restaurants, there is now a growing number of stores catering for the Asian population. Originally designed to provide a wholesale service to the restaurants and takeaways, these have evolved into fully-fledged supermarkets, frequented as much by Irish people with new-found tastes as by the Asian community. Still the best of these is the origin of the species: Asia Market on Drury Street (just down from Brooks Hotel) has everything from woks and chopsticks to chicken's feet and grass jelly, and is still the cheapest place in Dublin to buy beansprouts - they practically throw them at you, the way supermarkets (used to) give away free parsley.

You won't find any takeaways in the city centre. There are good ones nearby in Thomas Street, Rathmines and Baggot Street and an excellent one, Canton City, in Stoneybatter; so if you're near any of these places they will deliver. Another well worth checking out is Chengdu Sichuan on Clanbrassil Street (one of the few takeaways online). However, Charley's has three "walk in and eat" locations in the city centre, at Dame Street, Temple Bar and Westmoreland Street. They're slightly more expensive than a suburban takeaway but the food is good and recommended for those on a budget.

Also for those on a budget, Chanze's restaurant in Andrew Street does an all-you-can-eat buffet. To be honest, the quality doesn't represent the best that Dublin has to offer and the range of choices is limited, but at 15 euro + service charge (for a buffet!) it's popular with late-night groups.

A last note on takeaways in Dublin. Unlike in the UK, where chip shops are usually run by Chinese and combine Chinese and traditional fish and chip menus, chip shops in Ireland have long been monopolised by the Italians. Chinese takeaways serve chips, but other than that an exclusively Chinese menu.

Indian Restaurants

Again probably as a result of our Empire ties, there have been Indian restaurants in Dublin since before the native Dubliners thought that lasagne and prawn cocktail were exotic dishes, Though not as plentiful as the Chinese/Cantonese, there are many excellent examples around the city, chief amongst them being Rajoot, 32 years in operation in Clarendon Street at the back of the Westbury, and Jaipur and Shalimar in Sth Great Georges Street.

Curiously, many of the best Indian restaurants, and especially the balti houses, seem to crop up in the suburbs, and are often relatively short-lived. So if you're fond of Indian food ask your hotel porter for advice on what's new and be prepared to take a taxi or a Dart to get there.

Japanese - Noodles and Sushi

With Dublin's increasing cosmopolitanism in the wake of the Celtic tiger came an infusion of new cultures and, not least, new (to Dublin) cuisines. Leading the charge was Yamamori, a Japanese noodle bar on Georges Street which offers excellent value at lunchtime. They were quickly followed by Aya, a "sit and pick from the plates as they pass by" type sushi bar at the back of Brown Thomas' department store. This is one of the few places I've seen my hyperactive 11-year-old spend an hour without getting bored of eating. Great fun, though by the time I'd paid for his 22 plated of sushi it cost me!

The Wagamama chain which originated in London are now on Sth King Street (beside Major Tom's), and are good value for money, but there are Japanese-style eateries cropping up all over the place these days, though many of them belong in the category of

Thai/Asian Fusion

From Tiger Becs Restaurant in La Stampa Hotel to the bar menu at K3, Asian Fusion is all the rage and the trendy thing to be seen eating in Dublin. Lemongrass and coconut abound and if you like this sort of thing try the aforementioned or MAO on Chatham Row. Their pork spare ribs are not only delicious but would satisfy the heartiest of appetites.

Other restaurants worth trying in this category: the Thai Orchid on Westmoreland Street; Siam Thai on Andrew Street and Pad Thai on South Richmond Street (a little out of town, but close by if you're staying in the Camden Court Hotel or the Hilton).

Indonesian

Slipping into the gap in all of this comes Chameleon, Dublin's one-and-only true Dutch-Indonesian rijstafel restaurant. The array of plaques and awards covering the outside walls bear testimony to the success of this restaurant since it first opened its doors in 1994. To my mind, if you want to eat out in Dublin but are not chasing a local ethnic-cuisine experience, this is one of the best.

Mongolian

Equally unique, and far more unusual, is the highly entertaining approach of The Mongolian Barbeque in Anglesea Street, just beside Blooms Hotel. A do-it-yourself stir fried buffet, it's great for groups, kids and the adventurous eater.

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