We're all missing our wonderful Irish restaurants but this Valentine's Day there are lots of great options to recreate the experience at home with minimal effort.
Whether you want a grazing box, a seafood supper, or a five-course feast, there's something for everyone. You can treat yourself to something delicious and feel good that you're supporting Irish restaurants, win-win.
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Sweet Beats Café in Sligo is going all out for Valentine's Day with an entire section on the website selling goodies for your sweetheart (if any secret admirers out there would like to send me the pink beanie that would be wonderful, thanks).
As well as said beanie, they have t-shirts, cards and prints. The main event is the plant-based meal kit - a three course, plant based meal for two with starter, mains, sides and desserts. The starter of a winter tart with whipped cashew cream, butternut squash, caramelised pecans, sundried tomato and smoked gouda with organic greens and a Highbank Orchard vinaigrette sounds like a winner to me.
The three course meal for two is €49.95. Collection only.
Café Rua was opened in 1995 by Ann McMahon and is now run by her children Aran and Colleen. They went on to set up a second location, Rua in 2008. Many food-lovers have been known to take a detour to Castlebar to grab lunch at one of these two spots.
Their Valentine special includes a main, and dessert or cheese with chutneys and crackers. The mains on offer are roast chicken, leek and tarragon pie with filo pistachio top, or slow cooked mayo beef cheek with a red wine jus - proper comfort food! A starter of whipped St. Tola Goat's Cheese or a side of broccoli, leek and cheese gratin can be added for extra.
A main and dessert for two is €25, starter is €10 and side is €8. Orders can be collected from their Antrim Street store.
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If you feel like a lighter option, or can't be with your valentine and want to send a food gift, then a grazing box might be just the thing. KD Food Co. is a recent addition to Kilkenny's food scene, launching in October 2020. Founders Andrea Keogh and Pete Dowling use the best of local produce to make their gourmet grazing boxes.
You can expect a selection of cheese, cured meats, fresh fruits, raw honey, chutney and crackers. For Valentine's Day, they've teamed up with local businesses and you can now add fine wine from Le Caveau, handmade cards designed by SR Design, handmade chocolates from the Truffle Fairy, and if you really feel like spoiling your loved one add a bouquet of roses from Thanks A Bunch.
A grazing box for 2-4 people starts at €35. Kilkenny Delivery available in Kilkenny city and surrounding areas and also Kildare and Dublin on selected dates.
The closest experience I had to a night out in lockdown 2.0 was the taquito kit from 777. Complete with extras touches like 777 coasters and napkins it really does feel like a restaurant experience at home. I love the extra dips and condiments that come with their Mexican menus. They definitely help to make the experience feel more like one you'd have if you were out-out, and not at your kitchen table which also now doubles up as your office.
Their Valentine's special comes with nibbles, starter, main and dessert so you can put on some tunes and stretch out your dining experience over a few hours. The main is a braised pork belly with red mole sauce, cheesy potato and cork cake, crema asada, house pickled vegetables and Mexican street corn.
Dinner for two is €80. Available for collection and limited Dublin delivery.
Sustainable Seafood Ireland, Dublin
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Lobster is the key to my heart, and if your love feels the same, then look no further than Sustainable Seafood Ireland's Valentine's Seafood Supper. SSI was set up in 2013 by Niall Sabongi, a chef and restaurant owner, who wanted access to better quality fish and shellfish that often gets exported.
SSI promise the "ultimate seafood supper of the year" including oysters, caviar, halibut and lobster en croute with a champagne butter and some Irish handmade chocolates for after. They suggest serving it with some boiled potatoes and buttered broccoli so if your culinary skills can stretch that far then date night is sorted.
It's €180 and serves two to four people. Collection and Dublin delivery available.
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This wine bar and restaurant had only been open a few months when they were forced to close in 2020. They quickly adapted and the alltaBOX is widely considered one of the best restaurant meal kits you can buy. The good news is that they offer delivery outside of Dublin, the bad news is they sell-out early so get ordering quick.
Some of the delights in the Valentine's alltaBOX include oland, smoked bacon and shallot sourdough, shiitake miso butter, charcuterie, shortrib cassarece to share, and a chocolate fondant and hazelnut namelaka. If chocolate fondant doesn't make it feel like date-night then nothing will. They also offer a vegetarian menu.
The Valentine's alltaBOX goes on sale at midday on February 8th, costs €130 and comes with a Burgundy wine pairing and a bottle of Champagne.
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If you want to go all out and have the five course experience then check out The Butcher Grill's Valentines set menu. This promises to take "very little effort and minimal cleaning up" which is exactly what we want from an 'at-home' option.
To begin, an amuse-bouche of salt baked cerleriac and smoked duck, followed by a starter of smoked salmon and crab roulade with picked cucumber, caper berries and dill mayo. As the name suggests this is the one for the meat-lover in your life with the main option a choice between Beef Wellington or Chateaubriand. Beef Wellington is exactly the kind of dish I'd order out but not take the time to make at home so I know what I'd be ordering!
It's €95 for two and there's a champagne option too if you're that way inclined. Available for collection and limited Dublin delivery.
Gotham South / Independent Pizza
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No Valentine's Day for me is complete without my one true love – Gotham Cheesecake. Are Gotham South doing a Valentine's Menu? No. Is this entry a love letter to my favourite dessert? Yes.
There are so many amazing Irish restaurants now doing collection and takeaway that the options for a Valentine's feast at home are endless. Maybe the perfect Valentine's Day meal for you is simply getting to taste your favourite dish that you've been missing from your favourite restaurant. For me it's this lemony, vanilla, New York style cheesecake.
Independent Pizza have been open since 1984 so these guys know what they're doing. Their sister restaurant Gotham South in Stillorgan offers a similar menu. The pizzas are excellent, the chicken is Irish and free-range, the prawns are delish, and did I mention the cheesecake?
Available for collection or limited Dublin delivery.
*If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can visit Ask About Alcohol
