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20th December 2016
12:10am GMT
In an ideal world, we'd all bring a delicious, nutritious, healthy packed lunch to work – which we'd eat in the airy office canteen before taking a 45-minute stroll in the fresh air.
In reality? We're usually the smash 'n' grab folk, queuing for 10 minutes to get a mediocre salad to scoff at our desks.
But what about the days when you decide you're going to go wild, and take that full hour to go and eat somewhere delicious? You definitely don't wanna spend the best part of that time lining up outside and waiting for a table to become available.
Which is why we've compiled this deadly list – of delish lunch joints in Dublin that aren't (usually) overrun, and will serve you great food, for a lunch hour well spent.
This clean eats joint used to have its home in the Powerscourt Centre, where space was at a premium. But its new restaurant on Mercer St, adjoining the Travelodge, is super big and bright, and there are loads of seats. Have whatever comes with sweet potato fries; they're amazing.
Sure this is a semi-swanky hotel restaurant, but it's a really good one; its weekday breakfast is particularly delicious and has a whole load of healthy options. It's got a decent-sized restaurant, and having to endure a queue is highly unlikely.
This is a tough spot to get into for an evening meal, but lunchtimes are a lot more chilled; it opens from 12 to 3 and offers the same menu. Think steaks, burgers, fries and delicious sides – we highly recommend the sweet potato fries and the garlic and herb sauce. Yummmmm.
Burrito joints are infamously people-heavy at lunchtimes – sure, it's a fast service, but that's only after you've braved the queue of students and accountants to get there – so we recommend trying Pablo's next-door Torta House, serving traditional Mexican-style gourmet sambos.
This little Italian restaurant in the heart of the tourist district (slash nightmare realm) serves up great Italian food,with a two-course lunch coming in at €15.90. They'll also make their pasta dishes coeliac-friendly on request.
Like Counter Culture, this is a café/restaurant with loads of seats – so, even if you do find yourself waiting, you won't be waiting long. Sambos are really good and the peanut butter blondie is unmissable.
This is still located in the artist formerly known as BT2 (soon to become Victoria's Secret, ye gads) – another clean eats restaurant with a serious line in matcha things. Matcha tea, matcha protein balls. Matcha, matcha, matcha. But don't let that put you off; the chicken pad Thai (with bean sprouts instead of noodles, obvs) is amazing.
