Drury Buildings — Restaurant in Dublin

I have been to drury buildings many times and having always enjoyed our experience, I booked it to bring some friends visiting from the UK as it is usually reliable and has a good buzz. Sadly our experience was really poor.

We went on a Sunday so it was quieter which we expected, but the staff seemed to have mentally checked out from 8pm onwards. We had to ask every time to order drinks, order food, and the waiters attitude was as if we were inconveniencing him with our request. He didn’t greet us or ask whether we needed the menu explained. He was also patronising when we ordered wine, warning us group of women that the bottle we had chosen was very “full bodied” and were we sure we wanted that particular bottle. Service with a side of misogyny, how lovely! He never came back to see if we wanted more food or drinks. The minute we sat down we were forgotten about. There were plenty of staff available but they seemed more interested in chatting behind the bar than working.

The food itself was nice enough, as was the wine, but unfortunately the bad attitude of our waiter really left a bad taste. The worst of it was that the staff started cleaning and closing up around us, sweeping the floor and trying to clear our plates even though it was only 9pm. The website says 11:30 close on Sundays so that really drained any last bit of atmosphere we had hoped to enjoy.

Overall a really bad attitude from staff means I wouldn’t be...

We were having a work do here and I phoned ahead to check that they had vegan options. I was told that the vegan options were olives, spiced almonds, a range of vegetarian things I can't eat or basically a deconstruction of some of their dishes, whereby they would remove most ingredients and not replace them with anything. I was pretty shocked so I called back a second time to ask if they could make a vegan-specific dish and that if they couldn't accommodate me, we would have to change restaurant and I would evidently leave a review as I wouldn't want other customers to be beguilled by their website, which states that they do in fact accommodate vegans. The answer was no!

The booking was pulled, we went elsewhere and with 2 days notice, they lost a booking of about 20 people.

I emailed them afterwards to inquire as to why they don't adequately accommodate vegans - a plate of olives, spiced almonds or options with diary (to which I have an allergy) is not in any way appetising.

I got a very clumsy response that among other things, they do vegan options on request (even though they had told me on the phone that they don't), that I was bullying them by saying that I would review them and that they were so sorry that I would never get to taste their amazing options.

This was absolutely appalling service and I'm really glad that we changed booking and went to Fallon and Bryne, who provided excellent service and incredibly...

I loved EVERY bite of my meal at Drury Buildings - AND every bite that I stole from my boyfriend's meal. We were thrilled with the Goats Cheese starter as well as the Smoked Salmon starter (especially good enjoyed with the bread brought out at the beginning of the meal). For our mains we got the Pasta w Pork Cheek as well as their Venison dish, both were spectacular and felt very seasonal. Finally we split the Hot Chocolate Fondant/Vanilla Ice Cream dessert which was perfect for sharing. I am feeling stuffed all over again just writing this review.

Overall - the food was spectacular and service was speedy, all in spite of a bustling holiday-season evening with an Office Christmas Outing or two taking place nearby us. There were 2-3 different people serving us so it got a little confusing as to who we were supposed to ask for what. The noise level was definitely "bustling" and louder than I prefer but it's a central location during December, what are ya gonna do!

My only constructive feedback would be to PLEASE have some alcohol-free cocktails listed on your menu. Their team did mix up a great strawberry AF cocktail for me, but I like to be able to pick my drink from a menu as opposed to asking for a bespoke drink that is either "fruity, sweet or sour?" and just hoping for the best.

Drury Buildings is not a cheap night out but it is worth the value and then some. I can't wait to have visitors come by so we can bring...