If someone said the word Gotham, I thought of a fictional city in DC comics, the home of Batman, or a New York City Comedy Club. I just discovered another meaning, the Gotham Café in Dublin.

It is no secret that the dollar is still weak against the pound. Consequently, this presents a challenge to locate an affordable restaurant with healthy, delectable food. I had the pleasure of looking for dinner in the artsy, pedestrian section of Dublin. On 8 South Anne Street. we noticed a menu featuring 2 courses for an early bird dinner, between 5-7 pm, for 15€ which converted to $21. To many Americans this may seem like an expensive price, but not if one remembers that Dublin is an expensive city, similar to London, New York City, or Paris. It is not easy to find a gourmet meal for that price and by the end of our dinner, we were extremely elated!.

Initially, Mark Gillam seated us at 6pm in a wood stone room decorated with over 100 Rolling Stone magazine covers. We could select 2 courses from a 3 course list. We found it to our advantage for Nancy, my traveling companion, to select a main course and a dessert and I selected an appetizer and a main course. This way we could share the appetizer and the dessert. Within 10 minutes, Dorota Szweda-Kaczanowska brought us our 1st course, an Italian antipasta assortment which covered the entire plate. The arrangement of food was colorful and very appealing consisting of Italian meat, [cappicola, I think], herbal olives, rocket salad, fresh hummus, a char grilled ciabatta bread and a goat’s cheese dip that turned me into a goat cheese fan for life! Not only was this first dish delicious, but definitely enough to be shared. For our main course we had a Thai vegetable curry with rice and chilli jam and tagliatelle with chicken breast and mushrooms. Again our portions were generous so that by the time our shared dessert of cheesecake, made with lemon, vanilla, cream cheese, and a red berry coulis was served, we couldn’t even finish our it. This awesome restaurant was filled to the max, 10 minutes after we ordered, therefore, we were very pleased that we arrived as early as 6 pm. I believe that if the Gotham Café was as large as St. Stephen’s Green, it still would have been filled to capacity. Although I have always liked restaurants in Dublin, the Gotham Café became my #1 restaurant experience. I wanted to know more about this enchanting, aromatic, delicious experience.

Enter: Fiona Keating. Although Fiona was very busy, she took the time to give us an overview of The Gotham Café which was established by David Barry & Jackie Keating in 1993. This was my 8th time in Dublin since 1994 and I was amazed that I never walked past this venue. Fiona told us that regular trips to New York inspired the composition of the menu which features 15 types of gourmet pizza each named after a section in NYC such as SoHo, Harlem, Brooklyn Bridge, Central Park etal. There is something for everyone on the menu and a children’s menu, as well. When I asked Fiona about their advertising policy, she said they relied upon word of mouth from regular customers. The Irish gift of gab was obvious since this appeared to be one of the most patronized restaurants in the Grafton Street area. Moreover, it was delightful to have a conversation with Fiona Keating because she was knowledgeable and enthusiastic about Gotham Café.

Gotham Café is my numero uno choice in Dublin now for it’s delectable food, congenial, efficient, smiling staff, and location.