Dublin on A Dime

Pigeons at St. Stephen’s Green
Photo © Julie Finley

Tip #4: Look for the stores Lidl, Aldi’s, or Tesco’s and stock up on non-perishable and portable foods.

You can pack lunches and have a picnic in the beautiful city parks like St. Stephen’s Green (another beautiful Irish landmark not to be missed)! We got a lot of stuff at Lidl, including some dirt cheap, mixed whole grain Irish Soda Bread (which was delicious) and we put some knock-off Nutella (called Choco) and Peanut Butter on that. Coupled with tins of tangerines and the free tea/coffee in the hotel. . . it made a glorious and hearty breakfast!

It certainly beats the Irish Traditional Breakfast (which consists of the fattiest fried and boiled piles of carcass, like boiled bacon and blood pudding). I know they eat that over there, but there was no way I was going to, plus it was expensive. (Also, if its something you don’t eat regularly, you’ll probably be frantically searching for a bathroom!) So, picking up cheap and easily digestible foods at the discount markets can keep you going without blowing your money on grub. When you want to splurge on food, do it when you’re the hungriest, like after you’ve walked around all over town, when a good sit-down meal is the most pleasant (and then you can walk the calories off on the way back to the hotel).

Beshoffs
Photo © Julie Finley

One restaurant I would like to recommend is a place on O’Connell Street, north of the Liffey River, called Beschoff’s. Its basically the best place I’ve ever eaten Fish n’ Chips in my whole life! If you like Fish n’ Chips, go here! If you don’t eat fish because of the smell. . . well, this place has no fish odor in it! Seriously! That’s when you know it’s good! Granted, it’s not a healthy meal, but if you eat one unhealthy thing while you’re there, this should be it. It’s also one of the more affordable dinners you can get!

Nude Restaurant
Photo © Julie Finley

Another restaurant I’d like to recommend is this healthy eatery south of Trinity College and Temple Bar called Nude. It’s owned by Bono’s brother, and you can get some of healthiest food possible in this joint, and it’s not that outrageous in cost compared to other spots in Dublin. Another recommendation for eating I’d like to mention is the Epicurean Food Hall off of Bachelor’s Walk, north of the Liffey. This place is great if you have no idea what you want to eat; it has all kinds of cuisine, and it’s a great value. More locals than tourists go here, too.

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