Dinner for a tenner

FOOD FILE: Dinner and a glass of wine for a tenner... sounds good in these lean January days

FOOD FILE:Dinner and a glass of wine for a tenner . . . sounds good in these lean January days. No wonder business has been so brisk at Kennedy's Food Store and Bistro in Fairview, Dublin 3, that owner Sarah Kennedy has had to extend into the first floor.

“Since we opened 18 months ago, the biggest challenge we’ve faced is limited seating space. There are 35 additional seats and a bar area upstairs, and having the new space is a big relief at busy breakfast and lunchtimes,” she says of her trend-bucking expansion.

In addition to the dinner special, the rest of the menu is in the good value bracket too, with starters for around €6 and main courses priced between €11.50 and €16.50. Portobello mushrooms with Talleggio cheese; meatballs in tomato sauce with papardelle; sweet potato, squash and three-cheese roulade; venison sausage with red wine, shallots and black olive mash, and for dessert, a northside outpost of Murphy’s ice-cream, or the Mossfield organic cheese selection. Hungry yet? Evening meals are served Tuesday to Saturday, 6pm to 11.30pm, and reservations can be made at 01-8331400.