Peploe's St Stephens Green — Restaurant in Dublin

[Commenting on a horrible customer experience, not on the quality of the food I didn't get to eat] I dropped in here around 430pm on a weekday hoping for an early dinner while wrapping up some shopping in town. One side of the restaurant was busy, the other empty. I stood at the reception area for close to 10mins waiting for someone to serve me. Several waiters plus the maitre d passed me and left me standing there, avoiding eye contact. I eventually got frustrated enough to approach the bar man. He finally caught the attention of the maitre d who was in a small room behind me. I turned around to see her making a chopping gesture across her throat, a way of silently telling the barman that he should communicate I go take a hike. The official response from the barman then became "the kitchen is closed.... sorry". I still don't know if the kitchen was actually closed or if the maitre d just wasn't interested in the low margin hassle of a small party during the shoulder period between 2 busy sittings. Disgraceful customer service from a recommended establishment and a real sign to me that the ugly excess of the Celtic Tiger - specifically the cherry-picking of customers by busy eateries - is back in full flight this Christmas. I have no doubt this restaurant will do well over the Christmas period, and I have no doubt that the fare is very good (based on others' reviews). Unfortunately I can't comment on the food because I wasn't given the opportunity to actually eat. I won't be back anytime soon. And I definitely won't be anywhere near the place when the tide inevitably turns on the economy and places like this are struggling to attract customers to keep them in business.

Interesting to note the pattern of gracious responses by the restaurant to 5 star positive reviews here..... and radio silence from staff for the the less glowing reviews. This is a classic symptom of a place disinterested in tackling areas for improvement while happily taking customer cash hand over fist. From other reviews there are many areas for improvement around service and quality of experience and ignoring these is a short sighted...

My husband and I visited Peploes at the end of November. We are American and were staying in Dublin for a few nights. I saw Peploes was Michelin rated and tried to make a reservation, but the earliest available was 9pm. It was around 6:30pm, and our hotel was close by so we decided to stop by in person without a booking.

We thought there would be no way we would be able to dine there, but the hostess was so accommodating! There was a small 2 person table by the door that she asked if we wanted. She then looked around and said she had something better for us. She cleared off two place settings on a 4 person corner table so we ended up having more space.

Immediately, our server appeared to get our drink order and announce the specials. We ordered bread as an appetizer, and my husband ordered onion soup. For the main dishes I had the chicken Milanese and my husband had the veal. Everything was beyond amazing, and the service was impeccable! Seriously, the professionalism was top notch, and I appreciate how attentive they were the entire time.

We were shocked because this was one of the nicest meals we had on the trip, and we learned a gentleman picked up our entire tab. We asked if he was local which our server nodded to. We wanted to pick up his next round or write a thank you note, but she said he doesn’t like attention for it. I sincerely hope this review gets back to him to say thank you so much!! That was such a nice thing to do, and we plan to pay it forward to an unsuspecting couple in the future.

10/10 stars for food, service, & atmosphere!! We felt so special for two people who popped in on a whim. We have shared this experience so many times with friends and family and have told everyone it’s a must if they are...

Returning to Peploes after a decade was a disappointment!

We were looking forward to going after a long absence to celebrate my daughter's' graduation and had a party of 7 booked for dinner. We had been there before and had fond memories of a great meal.

My father-in-law had limited mobility, and I have to say the staff and especially the manager were very helpful and gracious in getting him to the table. The service was also very attentive but my son was placed in a seat in the thoroughfare and had his chair and person were constantly bumped. The restaurant was also very loud and crowded.

The biggest disappointment was however the food. I ordered a Manhattan on arrival and the made it with dry vermouth, and was just wrong. I also ordered bluefin tuna carpaccio, and what showed up was two thick cut slices of gray tuna. I asked the manager, and he argued it was the curing but this did not sense to me. I make tuna carpaccio at home and did not understand the consistency of this dish. It was also served with a balsamic dressing that totally overwhelmed the tuna which may have been a blessing given it's quality.

The worst was yet to come. I was intrigued by a dish on the menu of scallops and halibut. Interested on how these could be made work together, and also knowing that Irish scallops can be wonderful, I ordered the dish. What came out was awful. A thin piece of halibut with a single overcooked scallop. Two prawns had somehow also appeared on the dish, either to make up for the scrawny halibut or the missing scallops, but they did neither! (see photo).

Wine was good but the overall bill was expensive. Don't know if I will go back within the...