Our first 9 Giveaways of 2024 have arrived, and it's a restaurant bonanza! Five star dining, a Middle Eastern supper club for four, all the roast duck you can eat, and loads more. Our ATF Insider service is how we remain ad free, pay our writers, pay for our meals, and operate independently to give you the only advice you need about eating out in Dublin, so if you appreciate our content, we'd appreciate your support to keep it going...
Everyone signed up to ATF Insiders by midnight on the 17th January will be entered into the draw, and winners will be picked and notified on the 18th January. Here's what we've got lined up for you this month...
1) Lunch for two at The Shelbourne with drinks from their alcohol-free menu and a hamper from Lucky Saint Beer
Our recent Instagram poll showed that a sizeable 36% of you are doing dry January, and apparently 2024 is going to be the year of the moderate drinker, so it's good timing for The Shelbourne to launch their new no and low-alcohol menu. As well as a partnership with alcohol-free beer Lucky Saint, they've got new cocktails, spirits and wines on the list, and it's now available year round. We've got lunch for two to give away in No. 27 Bar this month, with a selection of drinks from the new menu, as well as an alcohol-free, beer-filled hamper from Lucky Saint. (T&Cs: Nontransferable and subject to availability)
2) A €100 voucher for Bullet Duck & Dumplings
Dublin has never had enough places to gorge on Peking roast duck if you ask us, and with the recent closures of CN Duck in Ranelagh and Duck on Fade Street, it now has two less. So thank your lucky stars that Bullet Duck & Dumplings is still doing the business on Mary Street Little, with roast Silverhill duck cooked in a specially imported bullet oven, char siu pork and handmade dumplings on the menu. They're open seven days a week from 12:00 - 21:00, and we've got a €100 voucher to give away so one of you can do the dog on it.
3) A three-course vegan menu for two from The Purty Kitchen
As well as dry January, Veganuary is also taking up a lot of headlines this month, so The Purty Kitchen in Dun Laoghaire have dived in with a fully vegan menu (€35 for three courses) on top of their regular à la carte, available until the 28th January. The menu will focus on local and seasonal ingredients, with dishes including Pear and Beet Salad, Chargrilled Cauliflower Steaks, and Frangipane with Raspberry Sorbet, and we've got a three-course menu for two with wine pairings to give away to one of our Insiders this month (value €120). Reservations are recommended via purtykitchen.com.
4) A €100 voucher for dinner at Root, Skerries
We were so impressed by a recent lunch at newly opened Root in Skerries (beef cheek toasties with truffle mayo for the win), that we immediately started plotting a return for one of their dinners (and they're open on Valentine's Day). Local owner Alex Lee and chef Andrew Kelly (ex-Potager and Bastible) take food and flavour very seriously, and the menu screams that this is not your run of the mill suburban café. We've got a €100 voucher for dinner at Root to give away this month, and we might see you there because we just can't stop thinking about crumpets with cheese custard and nduja.
5) Dinner for four with wine at L Blanc Mezze
It was ATF Insiders who first alerted us to L-Blanc Mezze's weekend supper club at Cloud Café in the North Strand, telling us we needed to check it out asap. Started by longtime friends Arda and Anil, the menu draws inspiration from the Mediterranean and the Middle East, with mezze include baba gonoush, atom and tarator, and mains including Hunkar Begendi (slow-cooked beef) and Imam Bayildi (roast aubergine). A set menu including two mezzes, a main and a glass of wine is just €35, or €40 with dessert, or you can pick six mezzes to share with a bottle of wine for €75. We've got the full experience for four at L Blanc Mezze to give away this month, with a bottle of wine of your choice.
6) Two tickets to an 'Asian Kitchen Cocktails' showcase at Asia Market and a €50 voucher
Asia Market, the go-to grocery store for all of your favourite far eastern ingredients, has announced their schedule of events and experiences to celebrate the Lunar New Year, and there's a packed programme from Saturday February 10th to Sunday February 25th. We've got two tickets to Master Mixologist and award-winning Spirits Writer, Oisin Davis' special 'Asian Kitchen Cocktails' showcase at their Ballymount store on Saturday February 17th, showing you how to make world-class drinks at home using ingredients and spirits available from Asia Market, which you'll sample while enjoying some tasty snacks. The winner will also have a €50 voucher to spend in any of its stores (Drury Street, Dublin 2, Ballymount, Dublin 12, or their newly opened Mini Asia Market in Maynooth), or online where you can get nationwide delivery.
7) €100 to spend at El Fuego Tacos and Pastiamo Trucktorria at Eatyard
Have you tried the tacos from El Fuego at Eatyard? We did and we haven't stopped thinking about them. The crispy shells, the pitch perfect pork carnitas, the birria consommé on the side - these are undoubtedly some of the best in the city. And right next door you'll find the death row carbonara from Pastiamo Trucktorria - you can also level up by going for the one with black truffle. (They're taking a break from Eatyard until February for unit upgrades, but you can also find them at The Place Street Food on Grand Canal Street.) We really want all of you to try both of these, so one of you will be winning a €50 voucher for each, which should get you most of the menu.
8) A €100 voucher for Fayrouz
Middle Eastern Fayrouz in Dublin 8 has got to be offering some of the best value food in the city, with the mezzas a brilliant way to eat your way through kibbeh, arayess, hummus and fatoosh for very little money. The free corkage on drinks just adds to the incredible value, and the €100 voucher we've got to give away this month will go a very long way. You can also order for takeaway (and you'll feel much better than after a chipper), and it's the ideal pre-gig eating spot before heading into Vicar Street. Check out Fayrouz here.
9) A monthly fermentation subscription from 4 Hands Food Studio
Rose Greene and Margaux Dejardin started 4 Hands Food Studio in 2018 after a previous life working in Michelin-starred kitchens and on organic farms, followed by restaurant pop-ups and food collaborations in Ireland. These guys are fermentation fanatics, and an example of a genuinely sustainable business. Their new monthly subscription sees a changing selection of their naturally fermented products like sauerkraut, kimchi and kombucha delivered to your door for €60, with optional add-ons like hummus, sourdough and granola. We've got a monthly subscription with add ons to give away this month worth over €100, to give your gut the New Year boost it's been waiting for. Email 4handsf@gmail.com to sign up.
Everyone signed up to ATF Insiders for January (new and old) will be automatically entered into the prize draw - you don't need to do anything. If you're not signed up yet join here before midnight on the 17th January to be in with a chance of winning. You'll be supporting independent content in Dublin and beyond, and be able to get answers to all of your burning questions about eating out, here and abroad, directly from us.
