Food for thought as hamburger joint tops 'Dubliner' reader poll

IS IT a sign of the times? A hamburger joint has replaced a Michelin-star restaurant as Dublin's most popular eaterie, according to The Dubliner magazine readers' poll.

The Jo'burger restaurant on Rathmines Road won the most votes in the poll of 1,902 people. Last year, the award went to Chapter One on Parnell Square.

The results were announced last night at the launch of the 2009 The Dubliner 100 Best Restaurants guide.

The Dubliner editor Trevor White said the result could be seen as a reflection of the changing times, with diners becoming more discerning about value for money.

"But Jo'burger is a worthy winner. It offers value for money, quality food and a fun atmosphere - just what customers are looking for at this rather grim time," he said.

This is the seventh edition of The Dubliner 100 Best Restaurants. 

There are 36 new entries in this year's guide, including Richard Corrigan's latest venture, Bentley's, The Larder, Shebeen Chic and The Wild Goose Grill. Among those excluded from the top 100 were Dobbins, Georges Wine Bar, Nude, Aqua and Dali's.

For the first time, the magazine asked the chefs of the top 100 restaurants to name their favourite chef in Dublin. The winner of the "Chef's Chef" prize, by one vote, was Dylan McGrath of Mint, in Ranelagh.

Four chefs were tied in second place: Derry Clarke of L'Ecrivain, Ross Lewis of Chapter One, Pearl's Sebastian Masi and Kevin Thornton. More than 40 chefs voted for these five chefs.

Three restaurants from last year's edition are no longer open - the Chapterhouse Café, Browne's Brasserie and O'Connells.

White predicted that about 10 restaurants in the new edition would close within the next 12 months.

"I hope that they don't, but the indications are that we are about to enter a very rough winter," he said.

White said he believed the mid-market restaurants "offering neither quality nor value" would suffer most in the downturn.

Top ten 

Top 10 Dublin restaurants as voted by readers of The Dubliner

1: Jo'Burger, Rathmines

2: Chapter One, Parnell Square

3: L'Gueuleton, Fade Street

4: Town Bar and Grill, Kildare Street

5: Café Bar Deli, Grafton Street

6: The Unicorn, Merrion Court

7: Bentleys, St Stephen's Green

8: La Maison des Gourmets, Castle Market

9: The Winding Stair, Ormond Quay

10: Saba, Clarendon Street