Brunch in Dublin: Whitefriar Grill vs San Lorenzo’s

Last weekend Mark and myself went into the Travel Health Clinic to get our jabs for Thailand. We decided we might as well make a bit of a day of it so I booked Whitefriar grill for brunch. Since it’s been named the best brunch in Dublin by Lovin Dublin I was really excited to give it a try. I booked a couple weeks in advance as I assumed it would be busy and it was. If you want to try it out definitely book in advance to avoid total despair. Too dramatic?

A couple of months ago I went to San Lorenzo’s with a few girl friends so below is a bit of a comparison. Who will be the winner?? Read on and find out!

The Staff

Anyway, jabs done and lollypops awarded, we headed over to the restaurant. The first thing I have to comment on is the WFG staff. I had been here for the early bird before also and both times the staff have just been so nice. I think it makes such a difference to the meal, especially for me, as I enjoy a bit of random banter. The staff in San Lorenzo’s were perfectly nice but I think in this case WFG steal the point!

The Décor

On the interior both places are really nice. San Lorenzo’s is much brighter which is great for brunch but I’d like to see how they set the mood in the evening. WFG is pretty dark which is perfect for evenings and I guess it’s good for cosy winter brunches too. I’m going to call a tie here.

The Food

 

On to the important business – the food. In WFG I ordered chicken parmigiana on ciabatta with sausage, melted mozzarella, rocket and fries. I find I always go for poached eggs or huevos benedict so I’m trying to broaden my horizons. The first thing to mention is the waitress laughing at my look of sheer horror when the food arrived. My sandwich was MONSTROUS! I don’t know how everyone else feels about this but I really think if there are sandwiches or burgers on a menu they really should be small enough to fit in your mouth! A big stretched jaw bite kind of size is perfect but this was so big I couldn’t even eat it with the top piece of bread taken off. And my mouth is not small! On the taste side of things it was fine. The sauce was good but it kind of reminded me of an Italian pasta sauce. The chicken was nothing to get excited about and the chips were pretty plain without a sauce. I ended up giving the end of it to Mark. He had gotten toasted sourdough w/ tomato fondue, smashed avocado, asparagus, chilli jam, poached eggs and said it was nice but nothing to lose your shit over!

 

In San Lorenzo’s again I tried to break from my norm and I got brunch tacos – Jerk chicken with avocado salsa, fried chorizo, red pepper mayo, iceberg lettuce, coriander, chili and lime. Straight away when the tacos arrived they looked so gorgeous and colourful! The meat was juicy and the toppings were perfect. It had a good kick, which is exactly what I wanted. I hate when you order a spicy dish and it’s got sweetness to it but this was just fiery perfection. The avocado worked really well too. Is it just me or are avocados suddenly totally en vogue? You’re no one if you’re not eating avocado at brunch! Everyone was really impressed with their dishes so we left very full and happy!

All in all it’s clear to see that San Lorenzo’s have won this round and, as the food really is key, they have won the battle! Really there is no competition, San Lorenzos’s wins hands down! The food is just absolute perfection and is probably the best brunch I’ve ever had.

I, by no means, want to shit all over WFG. The food was nice and I think I ordered wrong. I would try it again and get the heuvos rancheros but, with so many other places to try such as 777 and Taco Taco, I think it’ll be awhile before I’m back.

What’s your favourite brunch spot? Let me know in the comments below, follow me on Twitter – @Shlawlor and add me on instagram – @lovefoodbaby

48 hours in London – What to do!

Last weekend I went over to London to visit my friend, Aoife. I had such a great weekend that I just had to get back to blogging so I could tell the Internet all about it! It was my third time in London and although I would never live there I really do love the buzz and vibe of the city.

In April, when I last went to London, my friends and I missed our flight because we were in the bloody bar! Like one minute away from the gate! So I went directly to my gate this time round, after a quick stop off in duty free to treat myself to some perfume! Aoife and I really wanted to make the most of the weekend and visit a few different markets and restaurants so I was on the ball and did my makeup and hair on the train into the city so we didn’t waste any time!

On Friday night we went to Dalston Yard Street Feast, which is a night market that runs over the summer in 3 locations. The place was buzzing when we arrived around 10pm and there were a lot of people who had clearly been out since 5pm! I immediately loved the look and feel of the place! We started off with a cucumber G&T in the Gin Store while we tried to figure out what we wanted to eat. I wasn’t too hungry so I decided to get a cheeseburger slider and some chili fries from Slider Bar. The guy taking the orders was fucking everything up and it REALLY annoyed me! The slider wasn’t even that great and the fries were average so it was pretty disappointing. Aoife on the other hand got an amazing brisket burger and Cajun fries from Smokestak. They cook their meat in a 4.5 tonne custom fabricated smoker train! The meat was crazy tender and the Cajun mayo was TDF as Aoife would say. TDF – To Die For. Serious order envy on my part!

The market closes up at midnight so afterwards we nipped into Farr’s School of Dancing for another G&T and some people watching. The bar has a really cool vintage theme and is definitely worth checking out if you’re in the area.

The next day we were up bright and early to seize the day! We rented the London bikes, which are only £2 for the day, and cycled to Victoria Park. Once we got there we had brunch at the famous Victoria Park Pavilion. I opted for bacon and egg on sourdough bread and Aoife got eggs florentine. The food was really good and it was so nice to be sitting outside on the picnic benches beside the lake. The lake was so nice in fact that Aoife decided we should rent a pedal boat and have a little tour around it! I’m not sure if we got a dodgy boat or what but it was REALLY hard to get the thing moving and turning! We ended up getting stuck in some weeds and at one point I honestly thought we were going to have to be rescued! We eventually got back to the pier though and I was happy to be back on dry land. I don’t think I ever laughed so much!

With legs like jelly we got back on our bikes and cycled through the park and towards the Olympic stadium. We got off the bikes at the back of the stadium and had to walk the entire way around it to get to the entrance. Aoife is not the best tour guide. She wanted to go to the man-made Beach East to check it out and once we got there we went straight to Pub Tropicana for a drink and to cool off! It was gloriously sunny and about 24 degrees!

Next up was a quick train ride to Greenwich for a look around the naval college and a cup of coffee. I really liked it here. It’s much more laid-back and European than the other spots we visited. I guess I’m just not much of a city girl! We headed back to Aoife’s apartment then to chill out and rest our feet!

Once we finished our episode of ‘come dine with me’ (seriously, I’m always either eating, thinking about what to eat or watching programs about people eating!) we got ready for our night out! We had decided we were going to go to Brick Lane for an Indian so I had done a bit of research to choose the best place to go. I found this blog really helpful when making the decision!

So, we ended up going to Cinnamon! It was BYOB so we brought two bottles of wine with us. Classy ladies! The trick to getting a good deal for your meal is to know where you are going and then act really interested in the restaurant beside that place! We ended up getting 20% off our bill. I wanted to hold out for a free drink too but sure what are ya gonna do?!

I got the bhuna and Aoife got the butter chicken. We shared some poppadums, garlic naan and bombay aloo too. It was A LOT of food! We both enjoyed our meals but I would have like if the bhuna was a bit spicier. There was literally no kick from it. Aoife also said that, while the butter chicken was nice, it wasn’t like any other she’d had before and it was more yellowy than red. The highlight of the night was when the waiter informed us – AFTER we had eaten our meals – that eating rice at night makes you fat! He then proceeded to tell us he was a personal trainer and whipped out his phone to show us a picture of his bicep. So weird!!

After dinner we walked up to Shoreditch high-street and ended up in Dragon Bar. Having eaten so much Aoife was convinced that we would not be able to get drunk. Let’s just say we proved her theory wrong! It was a great night just dancing around drinking more wine. I have to say, I just love the music in the bars in London. There was a lot of RnB and rap which is right up my street and which you don’t really get in Ireland so I was having the time of my life! It also helped that no-one knew me so I didn’t have to be self conscious about my hella-cool dance moves! Girl got SWAG!

Me being me, I left my phone in the bar but the lovely barman kindly text MY DAD to tell him they had it so I had to drag a very poorly Aoife back to the bar the next day to retrieve it and immediately delete many embarrassing Snapchat story entries which, thankfully, had not sent yet! Once we’d gotten that business out of the way we stopped off at Shoreditch Urban Street Fest for a feed. I got a pepperoni pizza, which was crap, and Aoife got an Argentinean steak sandwich, which was delicious. Second bout of order envy of the weekend!

Having put Aoife through enough, we parted ways at Liverpool street station. I was tired, a bit peaky and pretty emotional at this point with the thought of a flight home but it was so worth it for such an amazing weekend!!

So, what do you like to get up to when you’re in London? Leave a comment if you know of any places, restaurants or activities I should check out next time! Follow me on Twitter – @Shlawlor and add me on instagram – @lovefoodbaby