CappuccinoAddict

Well of course if the place has a star the inspectors came to that conclusion I am just saying the food did not stand out much to me compared to other street food/hawker stalls, but granted I only had one dish there (albeit the signature dish), and my opinion is just one and I am not a Michelin inspector! It was definitely a great value for money though and i'm sure is quite a consistent experience. But that's true at plenty of places that don't have stars.

United747

I haven't been, but it sounds more like a candidate for bib gourmand

Bohemian1

Thanks for this. We'll be in Dublin in June for a few days (staying at the Merrion) prior to a train trip and needed a place for lunch. We will certainly check this out!

uggboy

Thanks Bohemian1, enjoy Dublin, Ireland, The Merrion and The Greenhouse.

Cheers & Safe Travels. ^

offerendum

service = tip. That´s not the case in Germany. Service included (obligatory by German law) means you mustn´t pay an extra charge but a tip/ gratuity is expected. I´m now in France and give always between 10 and 20 € extra depending on bill.

estnet

Well, guess it is different - in the US

"The service charge is the gratuity, so you don't have to tip on top of it. If someone provides exceptional service, however, you can always recognize that with an additional tip. But you don't have to" (quoted from google)

Not quite clear how this is so different in Germany - but I guess you learn something new every day.

offerendum

You don't have service charges in Germany as they have to show the final price. There is also no obligation to give sonething for service. But around 90 % of people give something on top, it's kind of "good behavior". It can be only a few Euros up to a substantial sum.

Vicitoria

During our last stay in Dublin we visited Patrick Guilbaud, a two-star Michelin restaurant serving French and Irish cuisine. Our dinner returned a wonderful experience. Being a sweet tooth, I liked the desserts most, my sister enjoyed the wines and cheeses, and we both soaked the atmosphere. I also admired the decor.

Unfortunetely, can not say anything about Greenhouse for comparison, so now have a motive for one more experience

bhrubin

Just ate at minibar by Jose Andres in Washington, DC--2*. Saturday night over Easter weekend.

All four of us agreed the menu and almost all the courses were fantastic...but left us still hungry, something that is quite rare for me at Michelin 2-3* restaurants, to be honest. At $275 per person, that was disappointing.

There was one squab dish that was served rare that all of us despised; none of us could eat more than a few bites. No one asked about this, which was surprising.

The wine pairings were the stingiest pours I've ever experienced at any top restaurant. One of us did the cheapest $110 pairing, two of us did the medium $175 pairing, and I did the ultra $500 pairing. All of the pours were incredibly stingy. I found myself avoiding drinking at all through some courses so I'd have wine to last.

Overall: I'd give it 3 out of 5. We all are glad we dined there, but none of us felt it was worth the price. The experience was lacking because of not being enough food, stingiest wine pours ever, and notable lack of concern over a horrible squab dish.

LizGross144

Did any of your dining companions finish their wine pour well before they had finished their dish? I've found that at some of my favorite restaurants, if I'm clearly drinking more than what they're pouring, they'll keep pouring (especially with the high end pairing). I wouldn't expect this to occur throughout the meal, but would for at least 2-3 dishes in say an 8 course menu.

bhrubin

They never kept pouring...despite our requests. They were frugal and stingy as I've never before seen.

CappuccinoAddict

Disappointing about the stinginess. How were your wines? For that much money for pairings I'd expect show stoppers!

I've just made reservations at The Ledbury (2*, but many consider best in London) and The Waterside Inn (3*) on the banks of the River Thames in Bray in June. Will report afterwards.

Bohemian1

Despite some odd service pacing (way too fast and then perfectly paced) I enjoyed the Ledbury. Haven't been to Waterrside but have been to his cousin's place in London. I'd be interested to hear what you think.

bhrubin

The wines were amazing, aged 10-14 years, rare, and impressive labels--which also paired extraordinarily well. They were definitely much better pairings in every case except for perhaps one course...which tied with the cheapest pairing surprisingly. We just wish they had been less stingy...and it would've been the best wine pairing perhaps of all time for me.

The Ledbury is my fave in London. Excellent in every way, though the menu wasn't as enthralling to me on our most recent visit in Oct 2016. They made substitutions for me, which was impressive and executed beautifully...and also substituted amazingly well with the wine pairings.

Never been to Waterside. Will be curious to hear your thoughts. Enjoy!

VivoPerLei

Definitely agree that a stingy wine pairing is annoying. Place I went last night would top up if I finished a glass early.

I've had a couple of places simply leave the bottle on the table, but I'm never sure if that means I can self-pour or they're simply giving me time to examine it