The Old Spot

Dublin was the second stop on my vacation following Paris. This was my first meal in Dublin and aside from it blowing any food I ate in Paris away, I’m afraid not a single one following in Dublin will even compare. The food was excellent. The pork belly was the best I’ve had and the venison was also on point. Good selection of beers as well as a unique selection of cocktails. The atmosphere was cozy and modern. Service was friendly and not invasive.

Great food and atmosphere. Phenomenal collection of cocktails. The appetisers are delicious.
Staff are attentive, and if you find yourself in the area its unmissable.

The goats cheese and pear salad. One word… WOW! I’ve been here twice now with my boyfriend and once with his parents in tow. Delighted reactions around the table every time all with different meals. This will for sure be a local spot! Good beer selection on tap and bottled too

It’s more 3.5 — we went there for lunch one time. I had a delicious pear and blue cheese salad — if only the portion was a bit bigger! The reason why not 4 stars — my friends got fish & chips — the fish didn’t look good and fries were probably served to someone before us. I mean — once in Ireland you expect good fish and chips!!!
Too bad — because my salad was to die for !
Good inside — place with a good feeling.

Everything about The Old Spot just works — from the casual relaxed atmosphere in the bar area to the gorgeous food and fabulous cocktails. We have been back time and time again, either for a pint, for one of their amazing espresso martinis or for dinner with four friends. The biggest draw of The Old Spot is their amazing staff, they are all just excellent at what they do and make the night flawless. Ashley in particular was the highlight of a night out with friends. All the guys there are friendly, up for a laugh and above all excellent at their jobs. Overall excellent!

Just a quick comment to say that the meal we had in The Old Spot this evening was delicious, served by excellent, friendly staff and washed down with a lovely Rioja. They deserve an award for the Prawn Bruschetta alone but everything was lovely.
Juniors, Paulie’s and now here. Well done!

Myself and three friends had an amazing meal in this cozy and comfortable gastropub. I was the outlier as I had ordered the lamb while the others in my party all ordered the pork belly. Both dishes were excellent. The crab starter and fried gubeen were delicious, and the barman was generous with the pours of wine. The service was low key and friendly. I loved everything about my evening here. I even ordered desert and coffee which I rarely do, just to have an excuse to stay longer. Can’t wait to go back.

This should be four stars. Heck, the service deserves five stars and the Kinnegar bottled beer (both the saison and black IPA) deserves six. Great location for noshing down before or after a rugby match. But the ribs … they ain’t a patch on Freddy’s: Frank Underwood would not be impressed. OK, it’s not the crime against ribbed meat that Pizza e Porchetta will serve (i.e., it’s not been boiled), but the sauce is missing a whack of smoked paprika — something other than roast tomato. The same goes for the bouillabaisse. Too much tomato; not enough fish heads and crustacean shells. Don’t get me wrong: I love a good tomato, but these dishes left me cold. I’ll have to come back for the pork belly.

So, we went to the Old Spot, which is, at time of writing a new spot. I sat at the bar and ordered a Yellow Spot, which they didn’t have, however they did have Green Spot, which totally hit the spot.
This is a completely different proposition from the previous incarnation as the Lansdowne Bar, the Old Spot is a Gastro pub with the emphasis on the Gastro rather than Pub.
We went for the set evening menu (29.95 per person) and selected from the small but well designed selection of starters, mains and desserts.
We kicked off by sharing a ham hock fritter which was light and tasty and well presented.
Mains was of course the ever present slow roasted pork belly which was excellent but perhaps could have been left in the oven for an extra 15 mins for that real crispy finish we all love. The only low point, the only thing that they actually got wrong, was the cheese plate we had for dessert.
It was far too small and the crackers/​biscuits that were served with the meagre slice of cheese were terrible (far too much going on and who in their right mind includes mixed peel in a cracker!?)
It was all washed down with a 25Euro bottle of tempranillo which was very very good.
The Old Spot is a welcome addition to the Beggars bush scene and absolutely worth a visit, I’d feel I had missed a trick if I didn’t finish by saying for a pint and a good meal, it is a great spot.