We've have fallen out of love with brunch. Well, not all brunch - just the ever-pervasive/over-saturated menus of eggs benny and avo toast and we just need a break, and it seems we’re not the only ones.
We’ve seen a resurgence in Sunday lunch in the last few years, with some restaurants opting to open solely for lunch on the Lord's day. There are actually a myriad of benefits to overloading on potatoes come Sunday lunch time - the convenient time slot, allowing less time for Sunday Scaries and more time to savour the end of the weekend, the one-size-fits-all nature of Sunday lunch allowing you to bring the whole family along, and of course, let’s not forget about the potatoes. Those beautifully golden, hangover-curing, starchy carbohydrates. So, keeping avocado and the b-word out of mind, here are some of the best places in Dublin for Sunday lunch.
Bastible
Bastible, just off Clanbrassil Street, serve a modern, family style menu for Sunday lunch, which changes every week depending on the season. The set menu includes four courses plus snacks, and it's a great spot to bring a gang and share a few bottles of interesting wine. Whilst it will most definitely be more relaxing without the kids, if you need to bring them there's a changing area and high chairs.
Locks
We’ve said before that we’d go to Locks for the butter alone, so it wouldn’t take much to persuade us to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon here. Lunch consists of two courses for €30 or three for €35, with a good amount of choice. Their weekly (generally meat-based) special often includes their salt aged Delmonico ribeye (for two) with braised short rib, potatoes, onion rings and béarnaise.
The Saddle Room at The Shelbourne
The upmarket steak and seafood restaurant at the Shelbourne runs a Sunday lunch menu that changes frequently. It's €28 for two courses or €32 for three, which is pretty good value, and the menu is full of reliables like chicken liver parfait and pan-fried salmon. One for if you need to impress the parents or just want a reason to get dressed up. For extra luxe points, start with a glass of Champagne in the Horseshoe Bar.
Old Street
The neighbourhood restaurant in Malahide is a lovely spot if you fancy a day by the sea. An á la carte Sunday lunch is available from 1-7pm and major family bonus - kids eat free on Sundays (one for each adult). The rib roast is something special, but there's plenty of non traditional options too, like a Korean spiced chicken burger with kimchi slaw.
Shouk
If you’re looking for something different to the usual Sunday roast, Shouk in Drumcondra serves Middle Eastern food that we daydream about. Go hungry and get the mezze for the optimum post-Sunday lunch food coma. They also do BYOB for €4 per wine or €1 per beer, but have recently brought in their own wine list too if you're not that organised. Either way it's a winner. Read our review of Shouk here.
3 Leaves
3 Leaves is one of the best Indian restaurants in the city and another place to check out if you’re avoiding the traditional Sunday roast. Whilst the weekday menu is more structured, the weekend menu has more of an emphasis on Indian street food, but nothing disappoints here. Sunday lunch is from 12:30 - 16:30 and is walk in only.
Bresson
The fine dining French restaurant in Monkstown offers an á la carte Sunday lunch, featuring a traditional roast, as well classic and contemporary French dishes, like Boeuf Bourguignon, and deep fried Brie de Meaux with red wine poached pears. Fancy.
The Legal Eagle
For a dose of nostalgia, The Legal Eagle has recently started to serve a “Seriously Seventies” lunch on Sundays, featuring prawn cocktail, vol-au-vents, lamb wellington and baked Alaska. You can also order a more up to date weekend roast, if 70’s throwbacks aren't your bag.
The Old Spot
The Old Spot offers an á la carte lunch menu with dishes like prawn pil pil and wild mushroom tart to start, and smoked pork shoulder and dry-aged rib-eye to follow. As for classic roast options, you can get their beer roasted chicken or dry aged sirloin of beef, which both come with duck fat roast potatoes, roast carrots and cauliflower cheese. The onion rings are pretty special too.
The Butcher Grill
The Butcher Grill in Ranelagh launches their “Weekend Roast” this weekend, which replaces their brunch menu. Roasts can be ordered for 1-6 people, with a choice of roast rib of beef with horseradish sauce, roast rack of pork with apple sauce, or roast chicken with chicken jus. Sides include Yorkshires, stuffing, gravy and roast potatoes, and there's bread and butter pudding for afters.
The Exchequer, Ranelagh
The wine bar in Ranelagh (which also has a location in the city centre) does a roast Sunday lunch for four people from 11am - 4pm, and needs to be booked in advance. It includes a bottle of house wine and all of the trimmings for €69.95 - €79.95, with a choice of roast rib of beef, roast rack of pork, roast chicken or a seasonal special.
The Chophouse
A brilliant choice if you're on the Southside of town, The Chophouse are known first and foremost for their steaks. Our vote would be the 35-day dry-aged rib-eye every time, but the Sunday lunch menu at €25 for two courses or €29 for three has loads of non-cow options too, like pan-fried hake with mussels and chorizo cream, or the Chophouse fish and chips. The menu changes regularly.
Did we miss any of your favourite Sunday lunch spots? Let us know by emailing info@allthefood.ie.