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20th December 2016
12:10am GMT
When you think of places to go for lunch in Dublin, for all the amazing options out there, it's safe to say that Coppers wouldn't exactly top the list.
But on the recommendation of Ed in the office – who is the cheapest bastard I've ever met in my life – I headed in one cold December day to try out their €8 lunch.
To give you an idea how cheap Ed is (he "chases value" in his own words) he'll ask strangers if he can borrow newspapers in cafés, he'll dance jigs down the street after finding a euro, and he 100% still has his Communion money in long term savings account.
It's safe to say I didn't have great expectations walking into the Jackson Court Hotel (which houses Coppers). It is the first time I've darkened the doors without having to hold back hiccups and negotiate my entrance with a beefy-yet-friendly gent dressed in a fluorescent yellow safety vest.
That said, I – like so many who frequent this place in its nocturnal guise – always had a soft spot for a good carvery. It feels like eating Christmas Dinner which can never be a bad thing no matter what time of the year, or no matter how fed up you claim to be of such meals.
And so, while sambos and soup only set you back a fiver in here, I was splashing out and going for the full feed!
The trick with a carvery is rocking up at 12.01 – 60 seconds after most of the food has come out of the oven, is piping hot and super fresh. As you'd expect, nothing is going to taste as nice after three hours sitting under hot lights.
I went for the lamb, although I have to say everything looked delicious. In a place so synonymous with our friends from 'de country', I was impressed to see I was being served what you'd call a good rural-sized portion. No nouvelle cuisine here, as the chef hacked me off about half a leg of lamb.
I gave him that most Irish of instructions: "Bit of everything please, all the veg and gravy on top."
He duly complied, piling my plate up with the whole range. Only the carrots (pre-chopped) and the Yorkshires (frozen) were a bit of a letdown, but then, you kind of have to set your expectations when you are paying eight lids for a meal this size.
Ed would have been disgusted as instead of the tap water I splashed out on a Coke which brought the bill to a dizzying €9.50, but I didn't care – the food was fantastic, the room was quiet, and I absolutely loved it.
The thing with Coppers is that people think it is some sort of squalid shit hole but it isn't.
You don't make more than €5m a year (the cloak room alone brings in 500k) without being bloody good at what you do. They run a tight ship, cultivating an image that lets people know exactly why they should be coming here – getting the ride and because it stays open late.
So really it should be no surprise that their food is spot on and that it runs with military precision.
I never thought I'd hear myself say this but Ed was right – the food in Coppers is fantastic, the value is second-to-none and I'll be back!
