Specials Surfing: How to Eat Nothing but Specials in Dublin All Week
Words: Shamim de Brún
Images: Instagram
Words: Shamim de Brún
Images: Instagram
Can you not afford your life anymore? Has the Cost of Living Crisis sucked what little joy was left from your week? Do you miss being able to eat out and have some change? Do you feel ripped off all the time? Have you heard yourself exclaiming, ‘Where are the deals’? Then this is the guide for you.
Stating the obvious, eating is expensive. We all love eating when we’re out, but google wallet doesn’t always agree. If you aren’t gonna commit to the meal prep and lunch box forever in my tote bag life, but you have to spend most of your time townside, then you’re gonna need to find some deals.
So we have spent literal months pinning and saving every deal we have seen and compiled it into this guide on how to specials surf in Dublin. Is it the most responsible way to save money? Probably not. But life is short, and food is delicious. So go forth and eat your heart out, special surfers!
Monday Deals
Hawksmoor lets you BYO for €5 corkage on Mondays. While not exactly the same, Fallon and Byrne have what they call ‘cheeky Monday’. There you get €1 corkage on their whole selection of wines on a Monday. If you steer clear of the actual menu and dive into the shelves, you can find some excellent deals.
You can find a cheeky Dublin on a Tenner vibe on Mondays in The Brass Fox in Tallaght, with any pasta dish coming in under a tenner.
There is, of course, Magrarita Monday at 777. A time to honour Monday trading, where you get two classic margaritas for €16.
Flip Burger in George’s Street Arcade does a vegan burger meal for a tenner Monday – Wednesday.
In Butcher Grill on Monday and Tuesday nights, you can get a 24oz Côte de Bœuf for two with smoky beans and onion rings for €62!
You can also get wings to share and two Tbone steaks in The Old Schoolhouse for €50 on Monday nights.
On Monday, all pizza and pasta are only a tenner in Tribe, which is. Saving a fiver or more each.
Tuesday Deals
Tuesday is high key, one of the best nights to go special surfing. Thanks to the advent of Taco Tuesdays, most Mexican-inspired spots have a special on. At 777, you can get two tacos for €7 all night long. At Taphouse in Ranelagh, you can get two tacos and two margs for €20 on a Tuesday. Salsa has a deal where you get two extra tacos with your standard order of 3 on Tuesdays. El Milagro has a Taco Tuesday deal.
On Cheap Ass Tuesdays in The Old School House. Pretty much everything is reduced, with nachos kicking off at €7.50 and the average meal dropping to €13 each.
The Woolshed also do a ‘Cheap Tuesday‘ deal of two burgers, two chips and a pitcher of beer for thirty quid. A deal which saves you about a tenner.
The Brass Fox has a ‘doirty’ special with a chicken burger and chips coming in at a tenner on Tuesdays.
Wednesday Deals
At Society café in Kildare village, they do a Waffle Wednesday where you can get One Euro Waffles. We know this isn’t technically the greater Dublin area we usually stick to, but it was too good a deal not to squeeze in. Maybe while you’re in that neck of the woods, you might also wanna swing by Neighbourhood in Naas for a two-course for €30 or 3 courses for €35.
Wednesday has traditionally been a big one for chicken wings, and these days it’s no different. You can get 2 For 1 Wings at all Galway Bay Brewing bars in Dublin. Including; The Brew Dock, Bru House Fairview, The Gasworks, The Black Sheep, Bar Rua, and Against the Grain. Brew Dog have similar, if slightly different, deals that result in a lot of wings for cheap.
The best of the Wednesday wings deals, in my opinion, is the two-for-one at Cluck Chicken. They’re a powerhouse, if a little far out of town.
If chicken isn’t your thing, but you want a next-level feed Neat Pizza gives away a free margarita pizza with every order over thirty quid on Wednesdays.
For more upmarket dining, there is the neighbourhood menu at 57 The Headline or Orwell Road, both run early on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
The Exchequer in Ranelagh do 3 tapas for twenty quid on Wednesdays, and to top it off, there’s also 20% off the wine.
Impasto has a two-course deal for €21 that runs from Monday to Thursday.
Every Wednesday, Loretta’s has their 28 days aged striploin for two people. That comes with Loretta’s chips, and salad. You can add a bottle of château Hostens-Picant 2015 Bordeaux for an extra fiver. Making the whole thing come in at €75.
Thursday Deals
Thirstday is here to solve all your “Price of a pint” woes, and if that’s not your bag there are two cocktails for €15 available in The Jar, often accompanied by live Jazz.
The newest steak joint in Dublin 3, Tarbh, has a special Thursday deal that offers an 8 oz fillet steak on a stone for €28.50 that comes with ‘skinny chips” which is a saving of a tenner and an excellent price in these recessionary times for a fillet steak.
Rustic Stone is back with the Early Evening Menu Set Menu, which runs all week, including Thursday and Friday. With €26.50, you can get Glazed Chicken Wings, Pork Belly Ramen noodles, Pork Bao, Japanese Fried Chicken and Charred Broccoli.
If you want something Asian, Hanoi on Capel Street does a special menu for €22 per person, which includes spring rolls, curry, chicken wings, prawn crackers, spicy prawn fried noodles and more.
Friday Deals
Hot Chix now have a band new Friday deal where you can get two burgers, two sides and a wings to share for €25. Which is the bargain of all bargains on a Friday.
The Late Bird is periodically available in Ruby’s. Every so often, they tout a deal where customers get a shared starter, 2 mains and 4 drinks for just €50! Available Friday and Saturday nights in both Ruby’s Swords and Ruby’s 3Arena!
Klaw, Dublin’s darling seafood café have oyster Happy Hour from 17:00 on Fridays,and everyday, where all oysters are €1.50.
Fridays also mean two-for-one PygTails for anyone looking for a few sunny drinks in Pygmalian.
Saturday Deals
There are only two types of deals you will find on Saturday night, the busiest of all nights to go out on. The early dining deal on places like FirstTable and EarlyTable gives up to 50% off if you dine at 17:00.
And then there are the bottomless brunch deals. While these are all touted as deals, some of them are better value than others. Jackies have what I think is one of the cheapest for €30, which includes bottomless mimosas and a main dish.
For the duration of the summer, Slattery’s has a deal that will rule the roost of a Saturday. All vodka soda limes are only €7. Considering they’ve been hovering around a tenner for a while, this is quite the change-saving initiative. Even if you have to trek to D4 for it.
Sunday Deals
Cottage Inn Bluebell in Inchcore do a two-course special on Sundays for only fifteen fifty.
777 – everything is seven euros on a Sunday, and it is always a vibe to catch. Would always recommend getting a reservation for this if there is gonna be more than two of you.
WoodMill has a new Sunday Menu where you can get a full three-course meal in their cafe for €29.
Two for €15 cocktails and Bottomless Pizza at the Jar. What could be more fun on a Sunday, really?
Elsewhere on CHAR: Why Rat Girls Are Eating Rotisserie Chicken
