Joel's Restaurant — Restaurant in South Dublin

We happened upon this restaurant when the other restaurant we intended going too was closed. Firstly I must stay that as a child I remember going here and it was such a treat, it was way ahead of it's time in the 90's but alas I think the good days are now in the past. It's about 18months since we last dined here and it was okay but but not great. We were seated by a lovely lady, the specials were explained and our drinks order taken. We ordered garlic mushrooms for starters to share ,the Chicken Maryland and Thai green curry for mains. The garlic mushrooms were okay, we were disappointed that the garlic mayo was served is a plastic container it just looked so cheap for a restaurant, there was plenty of mushrooms on a bed of lettuce, why I don't know it looked dreadful and adding nothing to the dish, it was obvious that the mushrooms were frozen and deep fried as they were the size of marbles. My Chicken Maryland was dry and looked pityful on the plate, 1/10 for presentation, there was 4 thick rashers on the plate and they must have been cooked the week before, I had to ask for some ketchup to provide some moisture to swallow it, the pineapple fritters was breaded and cold, the banana fritters was cold and the chicken was actually moist and warm. The chips looked like there were cooked 3 times as there was lots of crispy burned bits full of oil. The Thai green curry, let's just put it this way, I've tasted gravy that had more of a curry flavour, the veg and chicken looked like they were frozen at some stage and the rice was all congealed as was the sauce. When paying I mentioned this to the lady and she got the manager for me, he was very nice and listened to my review of their food. The manager asked that I come back again and give them another chance, I explained that I've ate here 3 times in the past 2+years and it's deteriorating rapidly each time. I explained that I will never come back, the days as a child getting the treat of calling in, getting served great food and unbelievable desserts are long gone, it's a pity in a way. Just to note that the bathrooms were spotless but the carpet on the way to the toilets need to be replaced, black with dirt so much the pattern is gone on the carpet, if I honest the whole place needs a renovation, additional training for the kitchen staff, stop using frozen produce as the waiting staff...

Joel's is situated in a great location and is suitable for family celebrations. However, there are three burning issues that are currently leaving a bad taste in many customer's mouths: Much of the food is served scalding hot e.g the soup always arrives scalding and this takes away much of the taste. There's always a delicate balance between ensuring food is not served cold & making sure it's not scalding or overboilded or heated which negatively affects the taste. Some of the seats badly need new upholstery as sitting on ripped & torn upholstery leaves a bad impression to customers and raises questions such as, "if you're willing to let the upholstery go into disrepair, does the same attitude carry into the kitchen and the preparation & deliver of the food?" A few of the seating booths directly beside the window in the centre are in need of the most attention. A little modernisation will quickly sort this issue. I would definitely revisit the menu in terms of pricing and options as there seems to be a disconnect with the current setup. For example, many customer's lament the fact that the pan seared chicked option was chopped from the current menu. This used to be a popular option from the old menu. I would love to see a little tlc go into the decor to afford Joel's in much needed new lease of life. I believe this will entice old customers to come back regularly while also encouraging loyal customers to frequent the restaurant more.

Apart from the excellent location, there are many other positives in Joel's. The staff are always polite & friendly and the restaurant is spacious and large enough to accommodate large families and groups which many smaller restaurants would struggle with. The fish tank is also a nice touch at the entrance and there's always...

Can’t believe it’s 5 years since we last visited here, and looking back at our review from that, things really haven’t changed. The restaurant needs to be refurbished and completely modernised. It is tired and is really looking its age. A trio of us were there in the early evening and it was fairly quiet, for the first hour anyway. We opted for two courses – a starter and a main. The Caesar salad, whilst very tasty, was probably just that bit too big for a starter, and the garlic mushrooms were rather difficult to plunge a fork into. They appeared to have been over-fried as the coating was very hard. The Nachos were quite colourfully presented and were really nice, topped with melted cheese. We ordered Vegetarian Pizza, Turkey and Ham and a Breaded Garlic Chicken dish for mains. The pizza dish, which came on a thin crust, was declared delicious. The chicken was rather dry with very little taste of garlic and the Turkey and Ham arrived on a lake of gravy, much like the last time. Gravy should really be provided on the side in a small jug or boat so you can help yourself. Accompanying vegetables were mashed potato, baby boiled potatoes, and fresh carrot and parsnip batons with broccoli (same as the last time too). Our own server was very good and so attentive to us, but our order was messed up twice (no fault of hers). That shouldn’t happen any time and particularly not in the early evening when the establishment isn’t busy. I don’t think we’ll be rushing back any time soon. Joels is in serious need of a visual upgrade to spruce the place up – the lovely glitter-ball type lamps dotted around the place just aren’t enough. The menu also needs some...