Bull and Castle Gastro Pub, Christchurch, Dublin 2.

Situated opposite Christ Church cathedral, the Bull and Castle is now one of the best gastro pubs in Dublin. Part of the FXB group, it’s simple menu at excellent prices is a real winner.

The pub is old world in décor, lots of wood and stone flag floors. There are plenty of tables and on the day we went for lunch a lot of these were taken by family groups of tourists taking a break from sightseeing and in amongst them were the local office crowds.

I went along with Peter Mansfield, who lives nearby and had recommended it. We took a table and a waitress immediately came with menus and took our drinks order. As we were both driving this consisted of sparkling water, but it was about this time that I noticed the drinks menu we had received which matched food and beer. The Bull and Castle has what is probably the most comprehensive beer menu in Ireland. Apart from all the European varieties, they stock all of the independent Irish breweries including Galway Hooker Irish Pale Ale, and the Castle Red Ale and Rebel Lager from the Franciscan Brewery in Co Cork. It is good to see a bar, especially one that has gastro in it’s name go the extra mile and stock so many good beers, which in spite of our reputation, Ireland is actually lacking in, nearly all bars now only selling the ubiquitous brands which are remarkable only for their similarities. All of these would have to wait for another time unfortunately, and it was on to the food.

The lunch menu is fairly simple, broken down into Soups and Salads, Panini’s and Rolls, Main meals and Desserts. The main courses include roast beef dinner, fish and chips, Irish Stew, Beef and Guinness pie and a Homemade lasagne, with Haloumi skewers as a vegetarian option, although there are several salads as well. I decided on the fish, while Peter ordered the Beef and Guinness pie. I should point out that all of these are priced at €10, and it is so long since I saw anything at that price in Dublin that I was wondering what to expect.

When the food arrived though we were both very pleasantly surprised. The haddock was in a fresh batter, perfectly cooked and with homemade chips. Peter’s pie was very good indeed, served in a bowl with a perfect pastry top, it was very well made and tasted great. We happily ate our lunch and when dessert time came I had to try the chocolate brownie to see if the standard kept up. Needn’t have bothered, it was also good, could have saved my €4.50 towards the ridiculous bill of €28.50 we received at the end.

As we walked back to the car, I remembered lunch with Paolo in the Clarendon Pub about two years previously. We chose similar things on that day and both thought it was excellent. The difference was, even two years back, the bill was over €63.00. Lunch in the Bull and Castle was probably the best value meal I have had all year. Definitely one to try, and I will be back soon to try all those beers!