With the ROK MIA, I guess I am the last of the booze dancers to find my way over to Dublin Square. After a delicious lunch with my better half on President’s Day, I have to say the delay was my loss. With the children off to school, my wife and I found ourselves home alone and arranged for a lunch date. She suggested Dublin Square. I thought an Irish pub for lunch? Well who am I to complain, especially after reading the reviews posted by my fellow dancers.
We opted for the high table so that we could better peruse the bar and were met with exceptionally fast service (As a side note, I typically receive truly atrocious service everywhere I go to the point that I don’t even notice the poor service and my wife questions why we even both to go out). The service couldn’t have been better as no sooner had we been seated, our server, Sarah brought out and unsweetened ice tea and my Blacksmith (thank you, Wookie). As per usual my wife tasted my beverage, only this time I had to pry it out of her hands as the mixture of Guinness cut with Smithwick’s was more than tasty.
For my entrée, I opted for the lunch portion of the shepherd’s pie (a mixture of hand cut beef & lamb, fresh carrots and sweet peas with Irish cheddar mashed potato crust) with a side of brown bread. My wife after a great deal of debate went for a Ploughman’s sandwich (grilled marinated eggplant, zucchini, roasted peppers, baby field greens and red onions, with horseradish mayonnaise on a ciabatta roll) with a side of sweet potato fries. Now, while my shepherd’s pie was very good, my wife had the far better meal as the marinated vegetables were perfectly accented by the horseradish mayonnaise and the honey and pecan butter that was served with the sweet potato fries was exceptional. My wife enjoyed the butter so much that she helped herself rather liberally to my brown bread so that she could make the most of it.
Overall, the food, drink and atmosphere are a much need addition to our neighborhood and I hope to find myself at Dublin Square on a regular basis.
Categories: Brew Review, Food Review
AMKrouse
The Alemonger
G-LO
limpd
The Wookie
The ROK
Sarah -BeautifulTangibleThings
The Astounding Prism
It's just the booze dancing... 
I thought this place had standards. It turns out they’ll let anyone in.
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They let you in…twice!
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The ROK lives!
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Give em hell ROK! 🙂
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Seems The ROK and Mrs. ROK will be the last to try Dublin Square….with the Mrs getting back into full on triathlon training don’t think we’ll be making it there for a meal anytime soon…
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Spinach Salad and a Guinness …. Irish Triathlete Training Diet!
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No no… Big Irish Breakfast! Pure protein for repairing muscles.
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Dublin Square Update…
Met up with our buddy The Alemonger yesterday afternoon for a quick lunch and a beer. I arrived at around 2:25 and had a seat at the bar. It wasn’t dead, but it wasn’t super busy either. They had two bartenders working, and it took at least 15 minutes before I got either bartenders attention.
Rule #1 of Bartending: leave no patron without a drink in their hand!
When the bartender finally came by, (I shall call him Jackass), I felt as though I was inconveniencing him by asking for a menu (FYI, it took him another 10 to 15 minutes for him to come back and take my order). Thanks to The Wookie, I am now a big fan of the Blacksmith, so that’s what I ordered. This was hands down the sloppiest pour ever! My glass was overflowing and leaving a puddle of beer on the bar. Jackass was oblivious. The female bartender was equally oblivious.
Thankfully, the food was pretty tasty. I had a half order of fish and chips, and The Alemonger ordered some curry fries (damn good stuff!). At about 3:30, a friend of The Alemonger’s joined us at the bar and he was also greeted by the same lackluster service.
I’m not sure what’s going on at Dublin Square. While a considerable amount of effort (and money!) has gone into the decor, food, and beverage selections, I think they need to put a greater emphasis on customer service.
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An Italian and a Jew walk into an Irish Pub ….. There is a joke in there somewhere.
In the interest of equal time I’ll comment that I had a totally different experience recently. I stopped by the new ol’ pub with the wife and the Ewoks for lunch on Saturday (4/23) and the service, brew, and food was awesome but I stuck with a server I know. Every time I go to Dub Sq I ask for either Katie Spirit or Alex. When either one is there the service rocks. Finding and knowing good people that serve your food or pour your brew is one of my rules of enjoying bars/restaurants.
Here are some of my rules:
1 – If you find a good server tip well, remember their name, and ask about their schedule.
2 – The next time you go ask for that great server. If making a reservation ask while making the reservation. It helps the server get recognition from their boss your service will be even better.
3 – If you are dude, at the bar, look for a female bartenders. Most male bartenders got into the business to get laid, most female bartenders got into the business to make money. They’ll treat you well, you’ll tip them well …. everyone is happy!
4 – Even if the service is bad don’t be a dick. It won’t make your service any better and remember your server is touching your food.
5 – Everyone should work in food service once in their life. If you never have you cannot know how crappy the business can be.
6 – Never expect a restaurant to perform well outside of it’s core business. Chinese restaurants rarely make good burgers, Italian restaurants can’t make sushi, and no restaurant more than an hour from Philly can make a good cheesesteak!
7 – Never expect a bar to perform well outside of it’s core business. Don’t order a margarita at an Irish Pub and don’t expect good craft beer at a bowling alley.
There are exceptions to these rules but these simple guidelines have served me well for many years (except at Friendly’s … that place sucks!)
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You are correct. Friendly’s sucks.
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If Friendly’s had craft beer would that make it better or even tolerable?
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No.
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