**** Dublin Square has closed
I wish I could remember the name of the person who told me that Dublin Square, one of several Irish Pubs in the Downtown/Gaslamp area serves Irish Breakfast. So first off, my sincere apologies for not remembering, I went through my old emails trying to find the rec, but couldn't find it. And it was an interesting series of emails, the first making a recommendation, and a week later a follow-up, letting me know that the food and service on the second visit was not up to par, and expressing some reservations about the recommendation. I had to give the emailer credit; She really took Her recommendations seriously!
So a few months ago, I decided to have breakfast at Dublin Square.
As I've noted in previous posts, I enjoy walking around the Gaslamp on weekend mornings. The contrast between the hectic workday crowds and tourist/nightclub scene is quite drastic. Beyond the lysol, and other "post-nightclub" smells, things are fairly mellow.
I arrived at Dublin Square at about 715am…. I was the first customer(surprise !) on this Sunday morning. The sleepy hostess walked me to a table, where a much too cheerful(for 7am on a Sunday) and smiling Server handed me a menu, and a drink list the size of a good sized book. As much as I tried, even using the "it's noon somewhere in the world" rationalization, I couldn't bring myself to order a drink.
After placing my order, I had a good chance to look over the interior.
Much like The Field one block away, from the panelings and decor, Dublin Square aims for a "genuine Irish Pub" look. At least in the minds of many, what a genuine Irish Pub should look like.
After perusing the menu, it didn't take me very long to figure out what I was going to order……..It was going to be the Irish Breakfast($12.95), of course, enough food to last me a whole weekend.
From the eggs to the white and black sausage, this was, beyond any doubt a major cholesterol and fat fest.
So lets see, where to start….well the basic "full breakfast" is basically bacon and eggs. In this case, the eggs, ordered easy over were fine, though I enjoy mine with a bit more "color" around the edges.
The "bacon" was according to the menu Irish Bacon from Ireland:
And this was indeed lean pork loin, much like what we know as "Canadian Bacon" or back bacon. The flavor of this was very mild, and not overly salty, it was quite tough and chewy.
The baked beans were full on canned….it had Heinz written all over it.
The "Banger" or sausage, was very meaty, and moist, but tasted very much "Jimmy Dean-ish", and was nothing special. I'm a big fan of good Black Pudding, which this was really not. No richness, no nice flavor of herbs and seasonings. It was much better than I thought it would be though.
I'd never had White Pudding before, this one tasted mildly of oatmeal, and was quite "grainy".
The fried bread was crumbly and greasy….funny thing, all of the sausages were not greasy at all, which I thought was rather nice, but that fried bread was a bit too oily for me. I'd preferred soda bread.
The roasted potatoes were okay, nothing special, but I haven't met too many potatoes that I didn't like. In case you were feeling a bit of guilt over the food, some fried tomatoes may help sooth your mind….or maybe the one piece of lettuce garnish?
Since I was the only customer until just before I left, my coffee cup was always filled, and I was checked on several times. In the end, I really couldn't complain at the amount of food for the price(especially for the location). It wasn't quite what I expected….but what did I really expect? I did return home and entered into a ve
ry deep hibernation. So the next time you're up to, or need your entire weekend's fat and cholesterol in one meal, you may want to check out the Irish Breakfast at Dublin Square…..I think it is enough for two.
Dublin Square Irish Pub & Restaurant
554 4th Ave
San Diego, CA 92101
Serving Breakfast M-F: 7am – 2pm
Sat-Sun 7am – 3pm