Truly overrated location, which shows it can live of this reputation: Restaurant Sole Seafood & Grill (21. October 2023)
The Restaurant Sole Seafood & Grill was rated super well on Google (4.7), so, I was rather curious if they had to offer anything special. And it did start special. You’re seated at one of these high tables, where you barely have space, and for a group of four people, this is just super uncomfortable. And despite asking, there ‘was no space available’. I went for the “rope mussels à la crème (white wine, garlic, cream, flat leaf)” (EUR 14.50). Well, technically, I went for those with saffron and chorizo, but they didn’t take up the order properly, and I was too hungry to complain when it was finally served. In any case, the mussels were actually nice and enjoyable, also in the white wine garlic cream sauce.
We decided to go for the “Sole’s Captain Seafood Tower” (EUR 120.00) for two people, and there was quite a bit of seafood there. The lobster was nice, and so were the crab claws. Due to not very good reaction of the staff, I basically had my starter again on top of the seafood tower, which was obviously not appealing any more as there was just too much of the same at some point.
The “grilled Irish lobster, pan-roast Irish brown crab claws, steamed west cork mussels, white wine, garlic cream” was definitely enjoyable, though, although, I didn’t entirely understand the fish roe as it was somehow cooked (?) and stuck as a whole to the legs of the lobster.
While the lower part of the tower also looked nice with the “Howth smoked Irish organic salmon, shrimp and Dublin bay prawns, rock oysters – traditional accompaniments”, it was not entirely mine. I’m not a big fan of oysters, so, we skipped that quite a bit. On the other side, the prawns were absolutely great and mouth-watering.
All in all, the Sole was a bit of a disappointment. It feels like it is a ‘pseudo-fancy’ place, which just doesn’t care. Everything is done very mechanically and without any passion or dedication. At least, this is how it felt as a customer. So, to me, the Sole is not a place you need to visit when you’re in Dublin – rather go to the King Sitric in Howth.
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Contact Details:
Restaurant Sole Seafood & Grill
18-19 William St S
D02 KV76 Dublin (IE)
Tel.: +353 1 544 23 00
Homepage: http://www.sole.ie
About the Author: Sven
I started the blog in October 2009, while living in Milan which I definitely consider to be one of the food capitals of the world. I was in touch with food since my early childhood (as my father is a former chef). Whenever I can, I travel the world to discover new places, to meet people but mostly to try local dishes and to find hidden gems! If you know a place worth going, please drop a line to: info@thediningexperience.org.
Currently, I am a member of the following food-related associations: Chevalier @Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Zurich-Ville; Membre Gourmet Dégustateur @Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Dégustateurs [OMGD]; Gesellschafter @Goldener Fisch and Member @Slowfood Convivium Zurich City. 
