where to eat in dublin? - inexpensive bars

Hi, you'll hardly find a place that serves "irish" food as there isn't that much other than Irish Stew and Bacon, cabbage and mash :) I haven't eaten any good irish food anywhere in Dublin yet. If you want to try whatever the Irish eat on Sundays, go to a pub on a Sunday and try a Carvery lunch. That generally consists of some type of meat, 2 veg and potatoes (mash or roasted or both)

Cheapish places that serve good food would be

Cafe Bar Deli - Grafton St and George's St, Pizza and Pasta
Pizza Stop - Chatham Lane (off Grafton St, near Bruxelles pub) Pizza and Pasta, great meatballs!!!
Boulevard Cafe - Exchequer Street (off Grafton St, go up Wicklow St by Brown Thomas and you'll see it on your right) all sorts of food, great lunch menu, 2 courses for 15 Euro
L'Gueuleton - Fade Street (off George's St accross from Market Bar) French food, very reasonable
Market Bar - Fade St, nice tapas
Rick's - Dame St, best cheeseburger I have eaten in town!!!
Gruel - Dame St, they have all sorts of food...kind of french and irish, I suppose. Lovely, lovely place
Wagamama - on the side of Stephen's Green Shopping Centre, Noodle bar....very reasonable and very tasty! The Yakisoba and grilled Gyoza are to die for

I think that's it...they are the places I would normally go for grub. If you try any of these, let me know what you think :)
I can't really recommend any good pub's that serve good food because I normally avoid that type of food. Haven't really come accross good pub grub yet.

Another question is, how much is a small sum for you?
For eating out in Ireland you could remortgage your house, especially in Dublin.

You'll find hot counters in supermarkets where you get food for under 6 euro, like fried chicken, spare ribs, roast potatoes, rashers, sausages and such like; and there are sandwich bars and there are chippers. But eating half decent stuff in restaurants in Dublin will cost you.

As #1 mentioned, Irish food as such is not existent, apart from the above mentioned meals. There is not much of a national cuisine, like Italian or French. Anything cooked with excellent Irish ingredients though is quite expensive.

Outside of Dublin you'll find occasionally pub-restaurants with "traditional" fare. But even then you'll have to spend around 10/12 euro for fish & chips with half a tomato and a spoonful of coleslaw.

Good luck!

If you check through the Dublin FAQ's above you'll see quite a few food recommendations. I'd agree with Yvonnes list, all those places are pretty good.

For lunchtime, quite a few pubs do a decent Irish stew for a reasonable price. The Old Stand on Wicklow Street, the Stags Head, and Ron Blacks on Dawsons Street would be reasonable quality and price.

For a very cheap Irish breakfast, go try Brendans Cafe on Mary's Lane - its opposite the fruit and veg market. They do huge fry-ups with a big mug of tea for a few euro. Its very popular with market workers all morning, so it has a good Dublin atmosphere. But its not advised for anyone with a cholesterol problem.

For lunch and evening, the Kingfisher restaurant on Parnell Street is a decent place for old fashioned Irish food. There are still one or two cheap old style cafes along Parnell Street that are worth visiting. One of the cheapest quality places to eat on an evening in Dublin is on Parnell Street east, its the Hop House bar and restaurant, where you can find among the Korean and Japanese delicacies, Irish Breakfast sushimi! Bacon, egg and black pudding in rice rolls, if I'm not mistaken. Food and drink are very reasonable, its a good place to go for an evening. You can get good food and a 3 pint jug of beer there for around 20 euro, thats impossible to beat elsewhere in Dublin.

On a slightly higher budget, Ely on Ely Place does some excellent food, including very good Irish stew for a reasonable price (the people who own it source lamb from their own farm in Clare). But the bill there does go up a bit as it has a wonderful wine list - you have more willpower than me if you can escape without working your way through it.

Expect to pay at least 10 to 12 euro for Irish stew in a pub in Dublin.

Btw, all the places I have mentioned would have mains ranging from 10-15 Euro. Which is fairly cheap for Dublin.
Just remembered another place,

Caife Una, Kildare St. They have funny opening times (if it still exists) and they are bilingual (irish/english). Check it out here Caife Una. I had a lovely stew in there once for about 10 Euro.

there is a wonderful restaurant called the Winding Stair at the Ha'penny bridge. It is also a bookshop
It has fanstastic Irish food! tradition fare given a modern twist...lots of fish, cured irish meats and cheeses and save room for some delicious deserts... yummeeee
It is not too expensive but with wine for a 3 course meal for 2 will cost about 100 euro but worth every penny. Ask for a table at the window and you can look out at the Liffey..
i have been there loads of times and have yet to have a bad experience (touch wood)
Have a good trip!