February's monthly 9 giveaway is here! And it's another killer line up, with overnight stays, whopper bar tabs and the chance to try some of the city's best food right now - for free. Our nine monthly giveaways is one of the ways we thank our subscribers for letting us do what we do, with no #ad, #collab or #invite in sight.
Everyone signed up to ATF Insiders by midnight on Friday 17th February will be entered into the draw, and winners will be picked and notified on Saturday 18th February. Here's this month's line up...
1) An Overnight Stay In Belfast To Celebrate Belfast Restaurant Week
If you haven't been to Belfast recently, what have you been doing with your weekends? On a recent trip we had major decision-making anxiety about whether to do brunch in Neighbourhood or Established Coffee, lunch in Roam or Home, and if decision making isn't your forté either, heading up during Belfast Restaurant Week is the best way to try as many places as possible.
From Monday 20th - Sunday 26th February, almost 50 of Belfast's restaurants have signed up to offer a £10 lunch and a £20 dinner, with others offering specials like a £10 breakfast at Stock and a £22.50 three-course menu at The Waterman (both high on our list of places to eat). You'll find offers across the city, and the famous St George's Market will host cooking demos at the weekend. We've bagged an overnight stay at The Clayton Hotel for one of you with B&B plus dinner, so you can start getting your teeth into Belfast's food scene, either next week or whenever suits. Check out participating restaurants and menus for Belfast Restaurant Week here.
2) Dinner For Two At Bar Italia With Wine Pairings
We fell hard for Bar Italia recently, visiting twice before giving you the lowdown on their Roman pizzas, giant plates of risotto and what might be the best Carbonara in the country (wear loose pants). We can't wait to send one of you in for a three course meal for two with wine pairings. Our advice? Go for the specials (and the Carbonara, obvs).
3) A €250 Bar Tab For Kodiak, Rathmines
If you read our two minute review of Kodiak in Rathmines, you'll know we think it's one of the most exciting bar openings in the city in a while. These guys are just getting it all right, and plenty of others should be taking notes. We've got a whopper €250 bar tab for one of you this month, and if there was ever an excuse to work your through their exhilarating beer list, original cocktails and premium pizzas, it's this gift from the bar Gods. See what Kodiak are up to on Instagram here.
4) 'D Big Lime' Caribbean Feast From AA Caribbean
AA Caribbean have brought their 'Rum Parlour' to Bow Lane Social until the 11th of March, serving Trinidad meat patties, chargrilled gambas with homemade pepper sauce, and Scorpion butter wings, alongside Caribbean cocktails like rum punch. They've given us a sharing feast ('D Big Lime') big enough to feed 3-4 very hungry people, with gambas, patties, chicken, fresh sides and loads more, and one of you will be very popular with your friends if you win this one.
5) A Three-Course Meal With A Bottle Of Wine At Lottie's, Rathmines
Lottie's in Rathmines is due to open at the end of the month (where Lenehan's used to be), with Ted Ostache (ex-head chef at Mister S) heading up the kitchen. Quite the hire. They're aiming to be a neighbourhood joint with great wine and cocktails, and it's the second opening for Valence Hospitality, owned by Domini Kemp and Brian Montague, who also opened Nancy Hands a few months ago. We're sending one of you straight in for a thee-course meal with wine, and we expect a full report.
6) Four 'Whole Shebang' Tickets Worth €200 For 'Me Auld Flower' Festival
There's an exciting new Irish food and drink festival coming to Dublin this spring and we've got four tickets to give away to one lucky ATF Insider. Kicking off next month's St Patrick’s weekend festivities in Dublin on Thursday 16th March, Me Aul Flower food and drink festival will take place over four days in the historic, Victorian fruit, vegetable and flower market on the city’s northside.
The new festival is aiming to bring the best of Ireland together with a modern take, focusing on Irish food and drink culture, with restaurants, chefs, producers, distillers, brewers and makers under one roof. Our winner and three of their friends will miss nothing with four Whole Shebang tickets, which permits access to all of the six sessions over the four day festival lineup, which also includes live demonstrations, talks, DJs and live music. Visit: meauldflower.com for more information and tickets.
7) A Copy Of Soup And Every Cookbook From Blasta Books
Independent publisher Blasta Books have just published the newest addition to their recipe book series - 'Soup', by Blanca Valencia, Dee Laffan and Mei Chin (there's a great feature by Katy McGuinness in the Irish Independent about it here). There are three more books to come this year - 'Tapas' by Anna Cabrera and Vanessa Murphy (Las Tapas De Lola), 'Wasted' by chef Conor Spacey, and 'Masarap' by Richie Castillo and Alex O’Neill (Bahay), and we've got one of every book in the series to give away to one of you this month, as well as a "Well read & well fed" tote bag. Follow Blasta Books on Instagram here.
8) Food & Drinks For Four From Benjamin's Hot Chicken & The Vintage Inn
Benjamin's have brought their Nashville Hot Chicken (and softshell crab buns, and prawn po' boys) to The Vintage Inn in Ringsend, giving you yet another reason to visit. A few more are the fact that they're dog-friendly, have a great outdoor space, show all the big sports games, and have a live DJ playing disco every Saturday night. We've got dinner and drinks for four to give away to one of you this month, up to the value of €160, and we think you're going to have a very good time.
9) A €100 Voucher For Graft Coffee
South Dublin has a brand new speciality coffee shop. Graft has just opened in Deansgrange, from three 24-year-old friends (two of whom worked for a coffee roaster for two years), brewing Carrow Coffee from Sligo, with pastries from Medialuna and treats from Thyme Out in Dalkey. Savoury options including sausage rolls and sandwiches are coming in the next few weeks. They've been trying to open their own café since before Covid, and they've finally done it, so to celebrate they've given us a €100 voucher for Graft so you can take a gang of your nearest and dearest and give them the full once over.
Everyone signed up to ATF Insiders for February will be automatically entered into the prize draw - you don't need to do anything. If you're not signed up yet join here and support independent content in Dublin and beyond, and get answers to all of your burning questions about eating out, here and abroad, directly from us.
