5 Best Looking Things To Eat In Dublin This Week: 11/01/23

Words: Shamim de Brún
Images: Instagram

We all love looking at food. It’s actually half the taste. Thoughtful presentation leads to a more enjoyable meal. The colours, shapes, and arrangement of the food can influence our enjoyment of it. And it is also believed that the anticipation of eating something that looks appealing can heighten our senses and make the experience more enjoyable.

This is as tasty-looking a week as any, from vegan flavour bombs to double-decker sambos and around to a fantastic slice of za. There is something for everyone in this week’s selections.

Listen, we all love pizza. There is no soul on this planet who can sniff at a slice. But Veganuary is upon us, so it can feel like pizza is off-limits. Bambino has come in swinging with their special Marinara Slice. Made from Crushed Tomato, Garlic Pangrattato, Dry & Fresh Oregano, and Sea Salt, it is a flavour-tastic slice supported by an excellent crust. They even have a vegan dip if you’re an aioli with your slice kinda human. You wouldn’t even notice the lack of cheese. Also, the slice is only four euros, so it also ticks the frugal January box. Definitely one of the best-looking things in Dublin city this week.

Not everyone is on the vegan train. And fair play, you don’t have to be. Juniors are on of CHAR’s ultimate spots for a good-looking sandwich. They have featured in our best-looking things almost monthly because they are always hit with a sexy sambo. I mean, look at this meatball sub, for example. The homemade marinara sauce, smoked cheddar, lemon, basil, capers and parmesan mayo beckon to you like a siren of deliciousness.

Could a meatball sub look any more enticing?

Sometimes you want a sandwich that is as big as your face, and Leroy’s is here to provide. Layers of Milano salami, nduja citrus aioli, Swiss cheese, pickled banana peppers and iceberg lettuce on Tartine Organic Bakery Dublin ciabatta combine to make this monstrously good-looking sandwich. It’s serving New York Deli style with local Dublin flare. I would dislocate my jaw for a good bite of it to feel the textures and flavours dance the rhumba. Get in and get on it before they move on to a new special.

Who doesn’t love a chicken burger with slaw? It is an essential part of the Dublin diet. But combine that with 3FE Hot sauce mayo with pickled cucumber, and serve it on brioche, and you have something so provocative it’s almost too perverse for January. 3FE is well known for its quality and commitment to provenance, so you’re really doing the lord’s work when you go all in on this one. If your mouth isn’t watering just looking at that pic, then you are the problem.

Available at Five Points or Grand Canal street.

You would never guess that was tofu, would you? Chimac is well known for its chicken exploits, but literally, all their burgers are available with a tofu patty. And they do not skimp on the tofu, either. It is a good solid sexy chink of crunchy deep-fried soybean protein, and it couldn’t look more transgressive. Cover that patty in kimchi, throw in a few pickles and cheese it if you’re feeling it, and it is, quite frankly, the best-looking feed this week. Pair it with kombucha and some chips; this is what cold January nights need to make you feel alive again.

Elsewhere on CHAR: Dublin’s Ultimate Vegetarian Spots