Every thought of fish & chips inevitably takes me back to the mouth-watering rendition we had at Leadenhall Market’s The Lamb Tavern in London last year (2025). While the dish is fundamentally English, it is quite a favourite across the Irish Sea too, frequently served at pubs and restaurants across Ireland. To my delight, The Bar at Marlin Hotel Dublin, where we were staying at, dished out a very good Battered Haddock with mushy peas, lemon and caper aioli, and fries. Both dips were great, and the fish was done to perfection.

Bailey Bar & Café, an iconic institution established in 1838 (on Duke Street, off Grafton street – the popular pedestrian shopping street), served a good fish & chips, too – with cod, pea purée, tartar sauce, and chips. Of course, there was Ireland’s favourite (and famous) Guinness to go with it.

Irish stew (typically beef) and leek & onion soup are popular dishes that you would find at most pubs. Our local guide Ben led us to an unassuming spot that served tasty versions which definitely pepped us up and restored our energy levels after our walking tour of the city. I do apologise that the pictures aren’t as great as the dishes themselves were!

For those with a penchant for artisanal ice cream, Murphy’s is definitely worth a visit. If you glance through their website, you’ll see that they’re all about fresh, real ingredients and authentic, honest preparation from scratch – even sea salt! I had a scoop each of their honeycomb caramel and chocolate whiskey flavours, and glumly rued the fact that we couldn’t bring some home with us (particularly the latter – wink wink). They were really good!

Of course, when in Ireland, one must visit (and sensibly splurge at) a Butler’s Chocolate outlet. This we did, and there might have been a good few chocolates from their scrumptious repertoire that made their way into our suitcases. Needless to say, we didn’t waste our time while waiting for our chocolates to be invoiced – we sipped on some hot chocolate, which they happily serve with a chocolate praline of our choice. Happy days indeed.