This week’s Dining with Dad is partially a revenge move on my part. Back in August when I was in Philadelphia, I received the following picture:

Megan, Molly, and the person taking the picture, Pat went to the Dublin Village Tavern without me!! They were sending me pictures just to make me jealous. So while Megan and Pat were both out of town, I decided to take my revenge and head there with Chloe and Alex for this week’s Dining with Dad.

The kids loved it even as we walked up to it. They love the traditional streets like downtown Dublin and downtown Worthington with all the various shops and restaurants and brick streets. This was their first trip to Dublin and they mentioned they wanted to go back when it’s warmer so we can walk around. We were able to find an interesting statue right next door that Chloe loved.

We were able to get over to Dublin before the rush so we were able to get a table right away. By the time we left there was only seats at the bar so this place seems rather popular. As we waited for our drinks we took a look over their menu. I had looked at it before we went to make sure there was something everyone would like so I knew they had quite a few options to choose from. I was excited to see what each kid would choose.

Alex is usually the last to decide, but this time he was the first! Given that, we’ll start with him. I didn’t ask but I do wonder if he was influenced by the smell in the restaurant. When we walked in the front door, we all commented on how good it smelled inside. We all were familiar with the smell. It was clearly fish and chips. So this is what Alex went for. It came with slaw which he didn’t eat much of so I got to have some of that which was fantastic.

Chloe was next up deciding her meal. She gravitated towards one of her favorite meals as well. It was NOT chicken tenders, which as I think about that, she hasn’t gotten anywhere for quite a while. If you’re all caught up on the blog, you’ll know that one of her other favorite meals and one she’s gotten several times is Meatloaf! She went for the Tavern Meatloaf. I was a little worried as she’s gotten this once somewhere and it wasn’t how she liked. There can always be variations in the meatloaf itself or the gravy that comes with it. However this one was a success and she loved it. She even brought home the leftovers. She replaced the vegetable of the day that comes with it, with potato chips.

I was the last to decide which rarely happens, especially since I get a sneak peek at the menu. There were so many things to choose from, but I’m rarely ever at an Irish restaurant. I didn’t want to waste this opportunity by getting something that I could get just anywhere. Therefore, I went for something that has a traditional Irish flare and something that I have never had in my lifetime. I went for the Braised Beef Shephard’s Pie. It was fantastic! I haven’t had a “pot pie” probably since I was a kid and that’s what this reminded me of, except using mashed potatoes instead of a crust for the top. I’d like to try this one again.

The first picture of Megan and Molly wasn’t the ONLY picture they sent me last August. They also sent me a picture of one of the desserts at Dublin Village Tavern which they KNOW is my favorite dessert. How could I go and not get this wonderful slice of heaven. I however took it one bit further and when asked by our server if we wanted ice cream with it, we agreed that would be wonderful so we got ice cream with ours. It’s been months in the making but I finally got my Bread Pudding from Dublin Village Tavern!!