La Dolce Vita

I went here solely for a wine and a dessert and my nostrils were assaulted by so many delicious smells that I have vowed to return to try every individual main that La Dolce Vita have on their menu. I’ve been assured they play lovely old-​timey films and the place can get very lively (and warm) at times when they run events.
The tiramisu and crème brûlée were both to die for and the vino glasses were generously poured, tasty and reasonable. In the word’s of Former Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger: ‘That was yummy!’

WOW — Amazing Italian restaurant in Dublin sounds unlikely, but this place is delicious. We shared the razor clams, melted cheese with prosciutto and then I had the truffle and mushroom pasta and my friend had the linguini with clam sauce. Everything was delicious. Best meal I had in Ireland.

Came here with a group of 10 and they were able to seat us on the patio with a little rearranging of tables. I was impressed by their willingness to help us. One weird observation upon entering the restaurant. At the bar was a young woman crouching on the bar stool. Just kind of spaced out. It looked like she wasn’t wearing pants. I’m surprised no one told her to snap out of it, as she was the first thing you see upon entry.
Weird girl aside, the ambiance was lovely and we enjoyed a nice meal. I was hoping they had more fresh seafood and pasta-​less dishes. But the oysters were very good and made up for it. My truffle pasta dish was not huge on flavor and the meat was finely ground, which made it difficult to get a good sized bite of protein. Not the most memorable meal, but it was better than getting stuck with pub food.

Used to love this place, especially their prawns and decided to go there for my graduation dinner.
Attempting to book via phone was impossible (3 attempts before giving up and going in face to face). Booking made for 6, we arrive on agreed date to a table fit for 4 upstairs beside their VERY smelly loos. (And a horrible movie playing with scenes of a sexually agressive and rape-​like nature, not what you want at a family meal with a baby present, proves distracting and upsetting, especially the part with a father beating his son terribly…) Explain this isn’t large enough, waitress just shrugs and walks off. Bf and I move another table across to make a table for 6, like booking stated. Waitress gives out and it is explained, clearly and slowly in Italian that the booking was for 6. She storms off. Starters ordered. Take a bite into prawns, Lovely! Go to eat 3^rd prawn, totally gone off! Nearly vomit, cannot eat anymore of my started and family anxious about their own food, bf tastes another of my prawns and spits it up, it too is gone off. Waitress arrives after everyone finished to see if all okay (great timing), explain about prawns. She rolls her eyes, rinse and repeat her storming off. Sister, who is extremely lactose intolerant with a baby even more intolerant has explained to the restaurant before booking, and twice when we arrived, about her and her baby’s dietary issues. (by the way, no baby seat, and we had to take turns holding baby). She can only have sheeps’ cheese. Mains arrive, cheese on her meal. She starts eating, 4 or 5 bites in realises it isn’t sheep’s cheese but cows. She can’t have cow’s, they know this, and made it anyway. She has to send it back. She now cannot breastfeed her baby for the next 24 hours as baby will get serious cramps and digestion problems from the cow’s cheese. Nightmare! Awkwardly the rest of us go to eat our mains before they go cold. Take one bite of my Gnocchi, the pear one. It tastes exactly like vomit. I’m not joking, exactly like the acidy burny gross pukey taste of vomit. Utterly inedible. Try bf’s pasta, it is good, spicy sausage not too spicy. Wrong wine brought to table, sent back, another wrong bottle, mum eventually goes downstairs to point out the actual wine we ordered (which also is a bit cheaper than the first 2 waitress insisted were the one we had order…)
Wine finally sorted, waitress comes up with sister’s replacement main. and CHEESE! Again! She only realises when she puts it down in front of my sister. Fair enough we even see how p****ed off waitress is, hugely apologetic at this point. She notices my untouched main (she hadn’t asked us if meal was good/​okay when on her wine escapades) and asks what is wrong. Explain it really doesn’t taste good. She says I should have eaten when it was hot, obviously. I explain it is now cold because was impossible to eat because it tasted terrible, desperately trying not to say «It tastes like vomit.» Snatches off table. Italian bf hears her say ‘f**king Irish b***hes’!!!
I was actually mortified I had told my family how good this place was, and close to crying, my sister unable to eat either of her mains, me having not eaten half my started due to it being rotten shellfish and my main the absolute worst dish I have EVER had in a restaurant (including dodgy all you can eat buffets). Receipt comes, they tried to charge for the prawns and my sister’s 2^nd main, fortunately didn’t have the stupidity to try and charge her for both of her poisoned mains. My main also included in costs, and the wrong wine (surprise surprise). Awkward discussion with management, that drags on for ages, I am apologising to my family, baby crying, no changing room, stink of human waste upstairs, drunken American jocks saying gross stuff about waitresses and their bums, absolute nightmare. Finally leave, her mains not included but we agreed to pay for pear gnocchi as it was just getting ridiculous at this point. End up walking to Leo Burdocks and getting chips to fill stomach. Dramatic as it sounds I actually cried, it was that tense and horrible an evening. Will not be back.
Oh and by the way, they allow teenagers to smoke weed, blatantly in their smoking area. Saw teens blow smoke at a mother and her son and laugh when it hit the little boy’s face. Management are a mess and the entire place has just become awful. Will NEVER come back. Avoid at all costs!!! This place is the WORST.

This place is so good! I mean, you can never really go wrong with Italian food, it’s always a good choice, but oh my!
My friend and I had so much food here. For starters, we go the bruschetta and a caprese salad. It was so good. I then had the gnocchi, and my friend had the pasta with truffle and mushroom. Both dishes were amazing. And then of course, delicious tiramisu.
The place is super cosy, there’s a place for you to sit and have coffee by the stairs. They have a cute outside area.
I can’t believe it took me so long to try them, but definitely coming back!

La Dolce Vita is such a cool spot at the weekend. I called in with a group of friends for a few glasses of wine and something small to eat — the service, wine and food were fantastic but the best thing had to be the band playing on the stairs and the film playing on the screen upstairs!

It is a lovely spot if you can sit outside and weather is good. It doesn’t try too hard to be something it is not. In fact it is a bit laid back in terms of service etc. sitting inside can be a bit stuffy especially upstairs but it is still nice. I like the food, good value and simple but tasty.
Don’t go expecting to be waited on hand and foot or that they will have everything on the menu. It is the kind if place to not expect much but be pleasantly surprised. Staff are friendly and happy if a little absent as others have said.
It is good value and there is a nice selection. Fun place.

The food is good but I found sometime impolite waitresses, we ordered coffees and some food and after 1 hours we asked when we could have our order and they told us they forgot (the place was almost empty), after 30 minutes more we still didn’t see our food :(

Had another amazing evening at la Dolce Vita last night. The food is great, the service is great (I had a hiccup in the past but it was a one time thing), the music is great, the experience awesome.
I’m amazed this place doesn’t have a line all the way down Cows Lane. I guess most people don’t want to be sitting on a lovely terrace outside in the warm summer evening, enjoying food and good drinks and would rather go pile up in pubs.
There seem to be a lot of regulars and the atmosphere is that of a tiny village café, relaxed and friendly.
The menu is very exciting and the portions generous.
It’s also a great place to come for a drink if, like me, you’d rather have a glass of good wine than a beer.

La Dolce Vita — it certainly is the sweet life in this little hole in the wall off Cow’s Lane in Dublin’s city center.
Find a seat upstairs at one of the tables for two or four. Or, if posible, see if you can score the bench in the corner — sweet!
Order a glass of wine (reasonable prices) and the gorgonzola and honey toast. Heaven, my peeps. Heaven.
The vibe is very cool, the peeps are casually lounging (*), and the eats are delicious.
(*) couples were so comfortable and casual that there were a couple make-​out sessions surrounding us which was ‘interesting’ to say the least… but, hey, ‘when in Rome’ … or better, yet, ‘when on Cow’s Lane’ ;)
To the sweet life!

I love this place so much! It’s hands down one of my favorite café\Italian restaurants to dine at while visiting the City Centre in Dublin. I usually spend 2 – 3 weeks in Dublin when I visit, and will come to this place at least 4 – 5 times during each stay. The ambiance, food, desserts, wine selection, café, staff and live entertainment are unbelievable! Additionally, the owner of the restaurant and the staff are amazingly cool and down to earth people. They frequently host live music performers and play classic movies upstairs. The Italian dishes are absolutely delicious and stay true to Italy. I brought my Italian friend here to eat and she fell in love with the place. They even had wine selections from her region. She was so ecstatic. I would highly recommend the seafood pastas and the cheese and meat trays. The place is so inviting and comforting that you can spend several hours here during a dining experience. I can’t say enough about this place only that you must visit it if you can

Ah I love this place! Cool relaxing décor, excellent food, lovely service, and a very inspiring wine list. The last time I was there, we shared one of the antipasti plates. Everything was exactly how it should be, and the bread is moreish (coming from a French person, this positive comment weighs twice as much). Some people had the mussels which were a festival of flavours from what I could sample. I went for a very traditional fare of spaghetti carbonara and didn’t regret it. I wish I could have gone for dessert but I was already sitting back grinning a very satisfied grin.

This is a small restaurant with a great heart! It’s like being transported back to Italy! More people sit outside than inside, and you will hear more Italian spoken than English. The food is defiantly hearty Italian, wonderful tasty dishes, I have never been disappointed with a single choice! The only gripe I have about the menu is there is no ice cream! No pizzas either, but you can see they are stuck for kitchen space so a pizza oven would take up too much room. Anyway, Riccardo the owner/​chef turns out many other splendid dishes. It’s a real friendly spot, great staff and there is live music at the weekends.

The décor and sense of pokeyness had always put me off this place, but I was never so glad to find my intended destination closed of a Sunday as when I wound up here for a plan b bowl of pasta instead. It was as good as anything I’ve tasted in Italy and better than most. Excellent pasta as dente, perfect balance of flavours in the sauce, all-​round happy glow. For the elbows on the table feel of the place the prices aren’t cheap, but for the taste it’s more than worth it.
That the cooking area is just bigger than a postage stamp with two stove rings at its disposal makes it all the more of a wonder that they can produce such good fare.
If you appreciate good Italian food, this is a good stop for an informal lunch or dinner.

Always a great vibe at this place. Fun to go with friends or solo. I’m so glad my friend introduced me to La Dolce Vita as soon as I moved to the area as it has quickly become one of my faves.

I’ve often strolled along temple bar and cow’s lane, occasionally having a serious nose into what other people are doing/​wearing. My attention is inevitably focused on this little Italian Bistro, with it’s mix of Italian cuisine and décor and occasional Brazilian party/​BBQ/​dancing/​and all things free and arty. Yet, until last night I had never ventured inside.
Let me just say that I was drawn to the restaurant by the smells of sauce and meat and cheese that I could sense metres away. When we walked in, we sat ourselves down, picked up the menu and hoped someone would come and take our order before I went to cook my meal myself. Luckily, the owner came to take our order, a Parmagiana for me and cheese and meat plate for my friend.
What can I say? Don’t judge a book by it’s cover perhaps? Yes, maybe you’re right. There are so many fantastic Italian restaurants in Dublin, with excellent service and tasty food. Why do I have to settle for a 3 star?

This was my very first stop for a meal in Dublin. It was a bit busy when I came in – on a Sunday, too. However, when they got to me I was given a warm welcome and a table for one.
I had the pink bruschetta, which was delicious and a more hearty portion than I expected. I’d probably share it with someone if I ever ordered it again.
I also had the gnocci with seafood – clams and shrimp, in this case. Good texture on the gnocci, 4 nicely sized shrimp, and some open shell clams scattered about. After having this and the bruschetta, I was completely stuffed.
The venue itself is cozy, with a bar and a couple tables on the first floor, and an upper level that I actually didn’t get to see. There is also space for seating outside.
To say staff was friendly is a bit of an understatement. It’s a small place, but small places don’t always have good service. Here, I felt like they really cared about whether I enjoyed my experience. Checking on me to see if I enjoyed each course, if I was thirsty, wanted anything additional, etc. There were two people working when I arrived, and three by the time I left. They all checked on me and were very personable. I usually don’t make repeat visits when I’m out of town, but I might have to make an exception here.

Lovely, cozy place I never noticed until a friend of mine suggested we go there for an evening of Italian food & music. Loved our corner seat upstairs, lovely cushions, very cute. However, as the place got busier, the warmer it got, to the point where both my friend and I used menus as fans :-)
It was better when we went downstairs to listen to the live band after the meal. The door was open, music was entertaining, atmosphere was great as almost everyone in the band and the audience smiled at one another, clapped to the rhythm of the song… Very friendly!
My pasta carbonara was OK, expected it to be more creamy, but I enjoyed it regardless. My friend was delighted with pasta arrabiata she ordered.
Tiramisu was cold and refreshing, just what I needed :-) We had a glass of beautiful Shiraz, good chat, and great fun! I will definitely go back to this place to try other specialties and enjoy the atmosphere.

Big fan of all things Italian, and this is about as authentic as it comes in Dublin.
Small, but perfectly formed café/​bar/​trattoria/​jazz venue/cinema…yep, it ticks a lot of boxes!
Good quality ingredients and friendly staff are the key here — most things are cooked fresh in the miniscule kitchen behind the bar (no really, it’s tiny) and there are always new specials on the board for reasonable enough prices. Does a mean espresso too.
Friday nights are the best, talented jazz musicians play from 8pm onwards, or put your feet up with a glass of wine and a serious selection of dried meats while watching arthouse and italian films on their projector screen. La vita is certainly dolce in here.

«Gracias! Mwah mwah»
The newspaper Corriere della Sera strewn on the adjacent table.
The Italian flag pined to the wall. Awful Italian pop music playing — yes this place is authentic.
I’m always surprised at the amount of continental Europeans in Dublin, during the course of my food a Spaniard came in and they yapped away.
I was craving some Mexican breakfast but my favourite spot was closed due to Mexican festivities so by chance I stumbled into this little hole in the wall drawn in by the designer mart that happens every Saturday. The listing was not even up in Unilocal!
Talk about intimate and the place to bring a lover, yup got me feeling all romantic. They do breakfast till 4pm so I bastardized what ever the Italian is for poached eggs and ham, she kindly guided me through the foreign vowel sounds like one toilet trains a dog.
Don’t be in a rush folks. I thought — eggs & ham, very easy. Oh no, they rock out with this slab of ham leg and start cutting pieces off it, I loved the ceremony of it all. Menu is a bit too expensive for lunch/​breakfast but I understand why as all the ingredients are authentic as is the execution but part of me also thinks it’s competitive out there so you have to try to have more reasonable prices.
The ham was amazing, salty but so flavoursome. The bread was fresh, usually I prefer a crumpet type deal for my poached eggs but this rustic version worked really well. So tasty.
Oh free wi-​fi too, woot! It is:
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