Dublin restaurants are under fire as they fight to keep their businesses afloat in these strange times.
In the first of our series highlighting some of the capital's many amazing restaurants, we’re checking out Roly’s Bistro’s take out menu.
As one of Dublin’s finest eateries, Roly’s has had to weather the storm more than once, battling a couple of recessions to stay afloat.
But there is simply nothing like this current crisis for many restaurateurs.
However the cream always rises to the top and Roly’s is simply delish and their take out menu is on par with the restaurant.
Originally opened in November 1992, Roly’s has had over 80 members of staff.
Nestled in leafy Ballsbridge it quickly became a celebrity dining hotspot with reservations needed well in advance.
The authenticity of the cooking and the promise of #maderighthere has contributed to the continuing popularity of this restaurant.
Roly’s Bistro exudes class and their take out menu is no different, the full rotisserie chicken on the spit was surprisingly affordable at only €6.95 - an absolute steal.
As a family of five this was perfect as left over chicken is dead handy for sambos.
One of my all time favourites are Dublin Bay prawns and as a signature dish I can tell you it more than met my expectations.
We shared one as a starter and moreish they are with garlic, chilli and ginger butter and coriander scented rice.
If you are working and home schooling the likes of Rolys is a godsend. They do an entire gourmet cold food section with microwave instructions.
For a treat I’d highly recommend the fish pie, packed with salmon, layered with Rolys famous creamy mash.
The beef stroganoff with rice in the cold section did not disappoint either, so tender and creamy.
Rigatoni pasta with Toulouse sausage was a favourite with the kids, peperonata sauce, basil, rocket salad and sauce vierge.
The pasta dishes reheated really well too, so handy to have on standby in these crazy times!
Tom O'Connell of Roly’s events team told how the team are adapting during the crisis.
Tom told Dublin Live: “We closed our upstairs Bistro and in order to protects many jobs as we could, we began operating our Cafe as a take-out facility/delivery only.
“We expanded on the Cafe's usual range of chilled meals, soups, salads, pastries and cakes to take-away.
“We also pressed 'go' on our online ordering site - a project we had been working on for some time.
The authenticity of Roly’s means fresh Irish produce is used in every dish.
Tom added: “The beef is Irish Hereford, real Dublin Bay Prawns, day-boat fish, ingredients must be the best, we operated maintaining classic European Cooking skills.”
Delivery or collection is available within a 6K radius: “Over 27 year's Roly's base has been Dublin wide, in this period our delivery service is within 6 kms of the restaurant.
Head chef Paul Cartwright said: “In 2007 and 2008 Roly’s was one Restaurant on two floors.
"We were about to open a café / bakery on Shelbourne Road but noticing a slight decline in business particularly at lunch, so we decided to turn downstairs into a café.
“People thought we were mad but it turned out to be a huge success,we are now busy planning what we will do next in these unprecedented times.”
For the full menu see Rolysbistro.ie
