F.X. Buckley Steakhouse Pembroke Street — Restaurant in Dublin

Upscale fine dining. Call ahead to ensure a reservations aren't necessary. Walked here on a Wednesday evening and got took by surprise. They did manage to seat me quickly and hanging your coat for you is a nice touch. I ordered their signature Old Fashioned which arrived in reasonable time considering the crowd. However I expected a premium drink since paying a premium price [12 euro]. The drink was very watered down and lacked any substantial flavor. I ordered the 16oz sirloin cooked medium with a side salad and creamy mashed potatoes. The presentation was lacking but the plate was very hot to the touch which was pleasing. Ultimately I was interested in the taste. The steak was slightly over cooked where the ends were dry with no pink center where the middle was vaguely pink. Perhaps my bad in the states medium is a hot pink center. I opted for their garlic butter to also accompany the steak. Seared slightly too much but overall amazing flavor. I dont typically enjoy butter accompanying my steak but this time was a real treat. The mashed potatoes were creamy, smooth, and a delite. The salad was just as enjoyable a lot of variety of leafy goodness, fresh taste, without drowning in dressing. I finished the meal with their chocolate cake. It was slightly dry however the chocolate frosting and cherries complimented it well. I did unfortunately bite into a cherry pit. Overall it was a solid 4 star meal. I will say for the price point I've had better with even higher end service and quality in Chicago for the same cost. In no way bad of course I would still recommend FXB for at least one of your dinners while...

1 star – unacceptable service from a rude and discriminatory waitress

We visited this restaurant as a large group of Chinese guests. While we have no complaints about the food, the service we received from one waitress—an older white woman with blonde hair and a noticeable accent—was shockingly unprofessional and deeply offensive.

When we politely asked for the dessert menu (while our finished plates were still on the table), the waitress became visibly irritated. Instead of responding respectfully, she sarcastically asked, “How do you want me to put the menu—on the plates?” She then proceeded to place the menu on top of one of our guests’ heads, mockingly saying, “Do you want me to put the menu here?” This behavior was not only inappropriate but humiliating.

She continued to single out guests, making comments like, “What’s your country’s culture? I want to learn,” and, “Do you order when the plates are still on the table?”—remarks that were clearly passive-aggressive and racially charged.

As customers, we came for a pleasant dinner, not to be ridiculed or subjected to such disrespect. A simple, courteous response such as “We’ll bring the dessert menu shortly” would have sufficed. This experience left us feeling embarrassed and deeply uncomfortable.

We hope the restaurant takes this seriously. No guest should be...

Foreign waiting staff are hospitable, sweet and sound. And thank God for our immigration policies, because the Irish waitress who took our order was as formulaic and dull as a Leaving Cert maths problem. No proper word of welcome, it’s just ‘different night, same s*e’, apparently. She’s obviously never heard of ‘show your work and get points for effort’. Barely worth the 20% tip. And it was actually very meekly acknowledged upon payment- stunning! Please, Irish/senior staff, shape up, and cut out gathering at the downstairs register for work chats- it’s distracting to adjacent tables who couldn’t care less what went down at your last shift/this shift/next shift.

Food was beautiful, fairly priced, decor is nice and comfy, everything on the table impeccably clean. FX Fizz cocktail is as delicious as it sounds. Music low enough for conversation and pleasant. I actually remember when this place attracted a much more genteel crowd and you could go into a bathroom and sit on an actually dry toilet seat and hear not one ‘ah hayer’ from a neighbouring table, but that’s a management and marketing matter. Call a place paradise and watch it disappear.

Look, keep the beef Irish and the staff from the Tropics, that’s all I can say. And don’t bring a vegetarian, they’d probably be eaten in the smoking area....