Out To Lunch: Dott’s Hits The Spot For Style And Substance

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CH Summer 1

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Dott’s Bar

The Rose Hotel

Dott's Bar in the (soon to be) Rose Hotel. Photo by Dermot Crean

Dott’s Bar.

SO much for waiting for things to quieten down!

When The Rose Hotel revamped its bar back in late March, I looked forward to writing about the food, changes to the decor and menu in the amazing new look hotel.

But I decided it would be unfair to write about the food in any establishment opening in its first couple of weeks, as there are always little things to iron out in service or the menu, especially as they would be rushed off their feet with the volume of people calling in to ‘have a look’.

Six weeks ought to do it, I thought.

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Having called into the hotel on a number of jobs over the past month, I noticed something unusual about Dott’s Bar; whether it was 1pm, 6pm or 9pm, the bar was buzzing all the time. This is not typical of your average hotel bar.

The same was true when I called in on Friday for a bite to eat and struggled to find a table. The place was full of hotel guests, couples and office workers all creating a busy atmosphere.

Now looks aren’t everything, but they sometimes they matter a lot. Dott’s looks cool; not in a hipster way, but in the classic sense.

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The leather seating, the carpets, the elegant bar, the workmanship in the coving and the recent additions of old festival photos all contribute to creating a cosy and welcoming feel to the bar.

A lovely feature is a photo of the late Dorothy ‘Dott’ Henggeler, with the letter she wrote applying to enter the Washington Rose contest just under it.

Having found a table, I asked for a menu and had a good look. Chef Odran Lucey has come up with some delicious sounding mains dishes too detailed to go into here – which I’ll definitely be back to try – but I chose a sandwich from a list which included the hotel’s club, sirloin steak, chicken tikka, crab mayonnaise or a regular sandwich with choice of filling.

The description of the Rose Hotel Club sold me; “roast chicken, fried egg, grilled bacon, tomato, salad on brown or white bread, served with fries”.

Within five minutes it was in front of me and as sandwiches go, it was big portion and looked mouthwatering. It tasted better.

The egg was the star for me, as it was neither runny nor overcooked and went beautifully with the chicken and bacon. The salad was good and the fries were okay (this is a personal preference – I like chunky homemade chips where you can really taste the spud, rather than thinly cut crispy fries).

The sandwich cost €12.50 and at first glance that’s a bit steep. My second glance was at the classy surroundings, the efficient service (the waitress who served me was very friendly without being over-familiar) and the quality of the food which, overall to my mind, makes it about right. An Americano (€3) followed to finish and it was excellent.

If you’re into delicious food in stylish surroundings then Dott’s will hit the spot every time.

4.5/5

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