I arranged to meet my lovely Uncle Len for lunch the other day, and suddenly got a terrible case of lunch block, and spent ages racking my brain trying to think of a new place to bring him. After thinking ‘Gruel’ about twenty times (we’ve met in Gruel before) , I remembered that only around the corner from Gruel, the Mexican restaurant Acapulco serves really good value lunch.
The lunch menu has a range of Mexican standards: quesadilla, tortillas, nachos, tostados, all at around the €5.75 mark. You can also opt for a Tex Mex burger at €10.50. Len had the quesadilla and I had the chilli beef tortilla wrap, both came with a choice of one Mexican side (salsa, guacamole or sour cream) and a small side salad. And both were very good: lovely fresh food with an interesting array of ingredients. The portions are also the perfect size for a substantial lunch: it’s a light meal that will fill you up more than a sandwich, but won’t leave you struggling against a food coma all afternoon.
This good value lunch is not just a response to the current downturn in restaurant sales: Acapulco have been offering it for a few years now, which reflects very well on them.
It’s also not a bad place for dinner, if you don’t mind the slightly garish interior. Mains on the dinner menu average out at about €15. Acapulco is at number 7 George’s St, Dublin 2.