Darwins

5 stars may seem a tad generous but when you compare price versus the quality of food, i do think it is justified
My group availed of the pre theatre menu which is available all night on Mondays and Tuesdays, 3 courses for € 29 with the option to add a supplement for fillet steak…
I ordered calamari for starters, fillet steak with peppercorn sauce for main and brownie for desert. You can’t really go wrong with a chocolate brownie so i guess it wasn’t mind blowing but it tasted good… As for the starter and main… Ueber impressed!!! the calamari was delicately cooked and in my opinion, was complimented well by the salad and sauce.
The fillet steak was cooked to perfection with a delicious peppercorn sauce and portion of vegetables on the side.
Was really pleased i stumbled across this place on Unilocal and hope that future visits live up to the high standard of this evening.

Excellent food and experience in Darwins. Tried it for the first time after many recommendations and I was not disappointed!
It’s a lovely family run establishment and you feel like your walking into your own parents home with the hospitality that you receive.
Value for money was excellent especially with the cuts of meat as their standard cuts are the same size as the cuts of meat you need to pay extra for in other establishments.
Front of house is the co-​owner who is super friendly and is happy to tell you anything about the restaurant you desire and even tries to entice you into a free shot or digestive as she called it on the way out :-)
I can’t wait to go back!

This is an amazing restaurant. Special occasions or treating someone from out of town this place is a must. I once brought a group of international colleagues here and they all loved it. I was so grateful to the lovely staff as I was terribly nervous. They were amazing and made me so proud of our lovely city.

Wow! This place is great. To us, it seemed quite pricy at first but for the quality of food and service, it was worth it! I was a bit self conscious while eating there, knowing full well that my husband and I hadn’t paid much attention to the price of the food before agreeing to be seated, and although I ordered relatively small, they treated us just as exquisitely as the next table. The asparagus, pea, and toasted almond soup could not be rivaled and my husband’s medium rare ribeye was huge and cooked to perfection. The risotto and ice cream were delicious as well. I would recommend this restaurant to everyone.

Ok from the moment we walked in we had a nice warm feeling… buzzing atmosphere. welcoming host. intimate lighting .
We were brought to our seats. waiter was very attentive .
For starters I ordered the pork belly which I didn’t like but that was more down to personal pallete. It came boiled with a lot of fat whereas im used to the pork belly they the thai restaurants provide (fried and crispy)
Himself got the tomato and mint soup which was fab. Very thick creamy texture.. Id say very fattening though. and a fresh portion of bread came with it .
Mains. My steak was good but lacked flavour — but in the restaurants defence — they specified on the menu that this particular cut was mild in flavour … spinach came in an awful lot of butter which I didn’t like … but again. In the restaurants defence they did say there would be butter over it.. Potatoes were fab… steak wasn’t reay cooked the way I liked but it was a thick cut so was probably hard to judge.
It took so so long to try get our bill and stuff sorted. The service became quite slow toward the end of our visit. but they had also become very busy .
Bonus points for their menu. They describe the steaks really well to help assist you with your order so you know what to ask for

I’m close to 4.5 on this one. Delicious steak — very good service and atmosphere. I had a fillet steak — next time I will go for strip loin — took a bit from my friend — it was amazing. More on the expensive side, but definitely worth a go every now and then.
The only thing — they overcharged us 10 € on the bill — I’m sure it was just an error.

The last night of our holiday in Ireland, we were lucky enough that someone cancelled their reservation so they could fit our large group (8). Unfortunately, the service was SO SLOW we were there for 2.5 hours and not by our choice. The waiter came up and asked for our order without giving any of the specials or telling us the soup. Which was even more weird because the menu referenced a «fish of the day» and a «pasta of the day».
I got the fish of the day (John dory) and it smelled so fishy it bothered everyone at the table. It tasted just as bad as it smelled. Everyone else was happy with their dishes but still thought it was overpriced.
We ordered dessert and Irish coffee and it took 30 minutes then another 10 and a reminder to get the coffee.
I would not recommend this restaurant. It’s expensive and the service is bad. For this expensive of a meal I expect an above average meal and excellent service. Disappointed all around.

We chose this restaurant as the pre-​theatre menu looked very tempting, with plenty of different options. 3 course for 25 euro, very good value!
This place is particularly known for their steaks, but sadly I wasn’t in a steak kind of mood, so I can not comment.
What did I eat I hear your cry… well for starters I had a roast pork belly slice, which came with relish, salad and some salsa. Quite tasty. For main I had the bouillabaisse. It was packed with tiny prawns, fish, baby potatoes and the chorizo pieces gave it a nice kick. Portions were not overly big, so actually I was still quite hungry after finishing this. Normally I wouldn’t be able for 3 courses! I ended the feast with a vanilla deconstructed cheesecake. Which was light and a bit tangy.
A nice meal. Did it wow me? nope. Would I go back? doubt it.

Best meal I had in Dublin!
My family and I were visiting from the states when we stumbled upon this restaurant. The staff was lovely, sat us right away regardless of not having a reservation, and the manager (Helen) talked with us extensively. The décor, staff, and environment were all equally welcoming. Not to mention, the steak I had was melt-​in-​your-​mouth tender and delicious. I highly recommend this place to anyone visiting Dublin, especially for those who (like my cousin) are looking for more vegetarian friendly options.

If you want to put a filter in your your overpriced steaks go to bear, if you want to eat your steak off a an expensive gimmick go to The Rustic Stone but if you want class, quality steaks and attention to detail go To Darwin’s…

Charming staff. They couldn’t be nicer and really made us feel welcome even though we didn’t have a reservation on a Saturday night. They told us we could sit in but only had 45 minutes. We were happy with that, but they never once came to ask us to leave even when we overstayed. We were offered a glass of wine extra as we left.
The steak was really amazing and I have eaten a lot of steak.
It’s an expensive place but they can charge that much because they do everything 100%.

Disclaimer: I don’t eat red meat and Darwins specializes in a variety of beef dishes. Others in my party had beef entrees and really liked them. If that’s your thing, this could be a good bet. Non-​beef selection is very limited but I enjoyed the fish of the day.
Appetizers were good (lightly breaded/​fried calamari and pan fried tiger prawns)
Nice assortment of tasty side dishes (spinach, garlic button mushrooms)
Desserts looked intriguing but we didn’t try them.

Overall fantastic food and vibe. Crowded entrance. Although we had reservation, www difficult to get to hostess to say we were here. But, once we did our table for 6 was waiting. Service was first class. Steak, Vegetarian, and fishes dishes all were delicious

Let down by my experience at this place!
On arrival we were promptly seated, they were also over and keen to take our order however from that point, things were slow to come about… The wait between starter and main was about 40−45mins, this probably down to the fact they didn’t clear our starter’s so the kitchen probably didn’t rush out the mains. Also on the service, there was no attention on table water, wine top up’s or anything like that. Shame!
Ok, so on the food tried… My verdict
Pan Fried Prawns ⁷⁄₁₀
Overdone and also a little surprised it was served with head and tail, their menu description should reference this.
Portobello mushroom ⁴⁄₁₀
Not very flavoursome and very dry
Mediterranean Bouillabouise (Seafood Stew) ⁶⁄₁₀
This was nice, it was hearty and warmed my bones but with all the description of orange and cardamon, selection of fish and prawns the dish was flat on flavour, the only thing keeping it alive, was the chorizo.
I think for the price point this place is at, they could do a lot to up their service but also their food quality. Since I’ve been some people I’ve talked to about here also mentioned their disappointment… It has the potential… great location and nice dining space (albeit a oddly decorated — chandler hanging though apes on the wall) but this could be great, but with the likes of Brasserie 66 just down the road, I’m not sure I’ll be back here.

Came here not knowing what to expect. A restaurant with steak house and vegetarian in the same breath.
The décor is unique. And not sure I understood the flow of it all and what it was to represent. However I suppose that leads to the quaintness of it all.
I’m not a vegetarian but don’t think this restaurant should be labeled as such. The menu was not particularly vegetarian like, more so that it had a couple of vegetarian options like most do.
Started was prawns which were very tasty. Served with heads on :(but easy to pull off and the rest was shelled. I really don’t like ‘working’ to be able to eat my meal. Please serve ready to consume!
Skate wing was my choice of main. I think this was the fish of the day. It was ok. A satisfying fish dish but nothing amazing. Time to squeeze in dessert and this was most disappointing. Labelled as ‘brownie’ the only way it matched this description was colour. What was served was chocolate cake. This is no brownie. It’s cake. Calling it another name does not hide this fact.
All in all. A pleasant enough place to eat. I’d go back but it’s nothing out of the ordinary.

We went there with a group of around 20 — 25 people. They have an extra room at the very end which was lovely as you don’t disturb other guests with a naturally lively group.
But other than that I was disappointed that evening (first time and so far only time there).
It was mainly due to the staff that night. From the set up I thought they are used to groups and ok with them, but there were a few occasions at our table where I felt they didn’t really want us there or we weren’t «good enough». It was with a camera club, so everyone rather in the age of 30 — 60.
The food was good but not outstanding — having said that being a bit tense due to the staff might have biased my opinion.
I hope I’ll get to go there again — with less people — and hopefully I then can update my review.

Been to Darwin’s 3 or 4 times in the past 6 months following recommendations from friends and have thoroughly enjoyed it each time. I’ve sampled the New York strip loin, ribeye and fillet steaks and they’ve been absolutely delicious without exception.
An unnamed Unilocal pal has been quite pissy about Darwin’s general standards falling recently but I haven’t been disappointed with the food or service at all. Quite the opposite in fact. I’m actually very fond of the waiter who looks like a young version of the actor Seán McGinley, the man who’s played bit part roles in every Irish film ever made. I usually have a grand chat about gaelic football or soccer with him (the waiter, not Seán McGinley).
So Darwin’s is a place to go if you want tasty and perfectly cooked meat but that’s not to say the sides and desserts aren’t excellent too. No complaints with the décor or atmosphere either and Darwin’s also has a very reasonable early bird offer if you’re knocking around town, well, earlier in the evening. Otherwise, it can be a little pricey when you add in starters and wine but it’s acceptable given the quality of the food and the dining experience.
My only quibble with the place was that our umbrellas were robbed from the bucket in the porch during the torrential rain last Saturday night. We improvised by robbing another couple of umbrellas as we left, presumably owned by those still dining. I retrospectively apologise for any inconvenience caused and I’ve been overcome by guilt ever since but I respectfully suggest that Darwin’s hires somebody to guard the umbrella bucket or moves it to another location inside the restaurant.
I’ve said too much. Overall, I’d strongly recommend Darwin’s.

Four girls in need of a catch up over some vino took themselves to Darwins for a mid week treat and to avail of the early bird menu. 22e for 2 courses (including 2 types of steak) — hard to argue with that!
As we were dining early evening (6pm) it was not overly busy but did pick up as the night progressed. Service was the right side of being very attentive — a fine line between that and overbearing! We decided to each avail of the 2 course offer and to split starters and desserts. So in total, we had 2 asparagus and broad bean risottos to start, main were comprised of 3 ribeye medium rare steaks and 1 new York strip loin, we also ordered 2 sides of almond and chilli stem broccoli and desserts of white and milk chocolate brownie and 1 rhubarb crumble. We complemented these dishes with 2 botttles of a Californian red, the provocatively named «mélange a trios!»
The result: The risotto was fresh, light to taste and very comforting– heartily recommended. Really tender (and large!) steaks, cooked perfectly to order. Deliciously moreish al dente broccoli and mashed potato were an exquisite accompaniment. Desserts were delicious, in particular the brownie and the «mélange a trois» went down a treat!
A great spot, I will be back!

Just ate at Darwin’s for the first time. Staff very friendly & accommodating, risotto starter very nice, rib eye nicely cooked although my wife’s fish slightly over cooked. Overall very nice experience.

In chronological order
Forgot to sit us and another waiter sat a different couple at our table first — waited 30 mins on reservation
Forgot our first drink we ordered
Sat us at the worst table in the restaurant (beside a drafty corridor)
We asked to be moved to the empty table behind us, they forgot and only moved us when we asked again.
Forgot to take our order (had to ask twice)
Forgot our sides (arrived when steak was finished)
Told us we wouldn’t be charged for the sides — they forgot to do this
Asked them for a mid-​meal drink… you can see where this is going.
Asked them for the bill, three times…
The steak was really tasty and that is why they’re getting one star.
The staff were also friendly but, ultimately, incredibly forgetful
It’s not acceptable to forget about your customers again and again, at first I thought it was because they were too busy but it wasn’t happening to other tables and we were paying a premium… maybe they just didn’t like the look of us :-)

Beautiful restaurant with an excellent choice of steaks. The wine card is good as well. I have been twice so far and every time it was a pleasure. If it comes to payment, the service turns worse. It takes almost for ever to get the bill. Don’t know why, first time the restaurant was stuffed, the second time Reservations recommended.