The ambiance would have been terribly romantic had I been there with a sweetie, but my friend and I enjoyed it despite our singleness. The lighting was low, the fireplace at the front was roaring (which was good since we were cold and damp), and the walls were decorated with modern, colorful paintings.
I had Cajun chicken, which had a spicy brown sauce over it, served with boiled potatoes and veggies. (You'd never expect boiled potatoes in Ireland, huh? *sarcasm*) My friend had the Chicken Shack, which had a tomato spicy sauce over it. For dessert, I had Banoffi - a traditional Irish desert with bananas and toffee, made into a pie. Yummie!
The service was excellent, and our waiter Sean was a cutie! Might move back to Ireland for him! ;) Anyway, he was nice enough to tell us the best pub in all of Dublin, that is, if you want Irish music and dancing - Knight's Bridge Inn. And the cutie waiter turned out to be the only person in Ireland that gave us good directions. Ha.
Tip: If you fill out the comment card and hand it in, you'll get 10% off your meal.
Perhaps it was the mood we were in, or the cute waiter, but on a scale of 1-10, I'd give The Shack an 8-and-a-half. ", "The food was tasty. I had a Greek Salad to start. It was good; generous on the feta and not drenched in dressing, but it's not really hard to get a Greek Salad right.
The main course was especially good. I ordered the Seabass with Sambuca and Fennel. The fish was nicely cooked, not over done as fish sometimes can be and the Sambuca and Fennel gave it such a wonderful flavour. Everyone seemed to be happy with the food, but I think some wished they had ordered what I did.
The restaurant itself has a nice warm feel to it. There was a fire in the fireplace, candles and soft lighting, which made us all feel relaxed.
It wasn't so much the food or the cosy atmosphere though that made the night great. It was the service. There were nine of us, all women but one and all in high spirits! Our waiter had a great sense on humour. Although he was obviously very busy, (It was a Friday evening) he seemed to have all the time in the world to spend on us while some of us made up our minds on what we'd have. -And then changed our minds, and made up our minds again! Amazingly he got it all right, and wasn't in the least bit annoyed with us. In fact he seemed to be enjoying himself with us.
I would have given this restaurant 10 out of 10, except for one thing. The toilets were not exactly luxurious. They were clean, just not very posh. So I'd give The Shack 9 out of 10.", "…The consensus was that we were well looked after, the food was excellent and there was enough of it. It was fish or chicken on that occasion, from a special group menu at around £15 each, and our waitress was popular for her friendly humour and care for our comfort.
... The Staff are fast and pleasant, creating a good atmosphere, and the view from the darkness to the world outside is one of the most pleasing in Dublin", "And a kind of business that gives the early diner a sense of being part of the place: a place where the solo diner need not feel too solo...The homemade ice cream was truly, truly wonderful." ,"Upon returning for dinner there was a line of people milling around the entrance on the wait list, so I do advise that you contact them before going to secure a spot.
Both lunch and dinner menus serve good Irish fare, heavy on meats and seafood. Not really an ideal spot for a vegetarian, though they do list a section with a few options. The waiter was extremely nice and I'm sure if asked would be able to do some of the entrees without meat.
Portions were consistently large but overall a little overpriced. I had a chicken dish, it was a bit rich but tasty - a chicken breast stuffed with a bacon/herbed potato mixture, covered in a creamy mushroom sauce. My friend had a big 'ol steak that he seemed quite pleased with.
The Shack is open daily for lunch from 11am until 4pm, dinner runs from 4pm through 11:30pm. They also have another Shack several blocks away on Dame Street.","The Shack's web site is so comprehensive that not alone can you see graphics of its interior, browse the menu and make a reservation, you can even order gift food items to be sent to your home.
With outlets on Dame Street and Temple Bar, The Shack is rooted very firmly on the Dublin tourist trail.
As such it is no surprise to learn that both restaurant and web site cater very much for the overseas visitor. It is, according to its own web description, a restaurant offering Irish and European Cuisine at its very best in an olde world setting with antique pine furnishings and open turf fires.
The restaurant boasts wood-panelled interiors, rustic dressers, traditional tables, wrought iron candlesticks and the inevitable bric-a-brac of times gone by, so it isn't hard to see why it has become a well established stop-off point for the tour-bus brigade.
The menu offers something for most palates, including quite a bit for those looking for traditional Irish recipes. Main courses include a variety of steak, seafood, poultry, pasta and vegetarian dishes. These range from Chicken Connemara -; cooked with smoked bacon, mushrooms, fresh cream and Irish Mist -; to Irish stew. Stalwarts such as peppered steaks and noisettes of lamb are offered alongside traditional dishes such as bacon and cabbage.
What makes The Shack different is that all meals, including accompanying sauces and side dishes, can be checked out over the web. With your appetite so whetted, those too far away to drop into The Shack in person can order some of its goodies on-line.
The Shack's on-line store offers a range of oils and dressings, chutneys, marmalades and speciality breads with prices starting at 2.50. Gift packs, hampers and gift baskets can be made to order and tailored to suit individual requirements. Teas and coffees are also available.
All prices listed on the site are given in Irish pounds and include 21 per cent VAT. Postage costs vary according to the weight of the goods and are quoted before billing.
It isn't all food either. Fancy the wrought iron candles holders you saw in the restaurant? Well why not order your very own version for just #35. Maybe you prefer glassware? The Shack's selection of crystal and glass includes commemorative millennium champagne flutes, Irish coffee glasses and engraved crystal beer tankards all at £19.95. To order, just fill in your credit card details and shipping address and click. A staff member then gets in touch to confirm the order. Alternatively, the web site order page can be printed out and faxed.
The Shack's general manager, Fiona Angel, said the web site has been an important tool in the development of the restaurant's tourist trade.
To encourage local custom, an extensive customer loyalty programme has been devised. Visitors who join the programme are provided with a Shack welcome pack. This includes a key-ring with a number code which, when keyed in to a computer each time they visit the restaurant, provides details of their favourite meals, how they like their food cooked and any other culinary peccadilloes that will improve the experience.
They also receive news of discounts, promotional offers and a special Shack newsletter. With its use of the Internet and high-tech database, TeleShacking may yet become the catering equivalent to telecottaging. The web address is http://www.shackrestaurant.ie","He has not invested a huge amount of time or money in www.shackrestaurant.ie, having first set the site up around four years ago with an initial investment of around £5000(€6348).
Since then with just one major overhaul to incorporate the second restaurant both his hits and e-reservations have simply grown and grown, as Ellis just sits back and watched.
Last month the site recorded over 12,000 successful hits and is now accustomed to receiving up to 50 email reservation on an average weekend.
The first Shack Restaurant in Temple Bar was born out of a slightly chequered past. In 1995 when a failed partnership in Gallagher's Boxty House, another Temple Bar Institution saw one partner set up a new company.
The restaurant called the Chicken Shack was the result. When this venture began to fail, David Ellis, at the time a management consultant for the restaurant industry, stepped in.
He saw a branding problem with the restaurant's name, but wanted to retain the small amount of client goodwill that had been built up in its short life.
The Shack, a homely place with traditional decorations and wrought-iron fittings, was born, and the restaurant's luck turned, although not immediately, as Ellis is quick to point out.
The first two years were pretty gruesome. He says. It was a matter of playing with the product because Temple Bar at the time was not busy. While it was very difficult times, one always knew Temple bar was going to come good through the whole area. More at http://www.shackrestaurant.ie/clip1.jpg"," and mostly Irish food. Bacon and cabbage or Shack-style prawns are always on the menu, as well as the odd enchilada, steak, or seabass, sambuca and fennel. The interior is suitably decorated, with antique pine and wood furnishings and a welcoming turf fire. Candelit dinners are a speciality of the house." ,"Aside from having the full menu online, visitors can make reservations online, enter competitions, register for discounts and will soon be able to buy exclusive Shack products. Full contact information for both restaurants is provided, and you can even view images of their interiors. This site is well laid out, colourful and easy to navigate. An excellent promotional and brochure site. ","","","","","","","","","","","",""); var showingarray = new Array("0","0","0","0","0","0","0","0","0","0","0","0"); function expandtable() { if (bw.dom){ var theRow = arguments[0]; var myTDname="reviewcell" + theRow ; var myTD=document.getElementById(myTDname); var theplusminusimg ="plus" + theRow ; var myTImg=document.getElementById(theplusminusimg); var mysplitlines= new Array(); if (showingarray[theRow] !="0") { var hlong = showingarray[theRow]; myTImg.src ="newsiteimgs/plusminus1.gif" for (var ii=0; ii<=hlong -1;ii++){ var lc=myTD.lastChild ; myTD.removeChild(lc); } showingarray[theRow] ="0"; }//if else if (showingarray[theRow] =="0") { myTImg.src ="newsiteimgs/plusminus2.gif" var thetemptext=TheTextArray[theRow]; mysplitlines =thetemptext.split("
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