Today’s guest poster is Aoife O’Carroll from Nova Car Hire, a convenient website for arranging car rental in 26,000 locations worldwide, including Dublin Airport car hire.

A slender budget does not mean slim pickings when it comes to Dublin’s foodie scene. You can graze your way around the Irish capital’s charming streets and still have enough euros left over to sample the creamy black stuff for which this city is legendary. Just avoid the tourist traps, and eat with the locals.

1. Hop House/Kimchi

Cuisine:  Korean

Average Spend: Lunch Mains €9 approx; Dinner Mains €13 approx

A shining star among the dozens of Asian restaurants that have opened on Parnell Street, Hop House combines a pub and restaurant to create a buzzing new venue that offers exceptional value. The dining room is airy and humming with the atmosphere radiating from the bar next door.  Sample such traditional Korean specialties as kimchi, along with a variety of sushi rolls, including the scrumptious Black Tiger Roll with avocado, crab, eel, and teriyaki sauce. Hot dishes include spicy pork and squid.

160 Parnell Street, Dublin 1

2. The Pepper Pot

Cuisine: Irish

Average spend:  About €10       

 An eclectic patchwork of tablecloths and cutlery makes a cosy setting for this homely café on the balcony level of the Powerscourt Town House Centre, right in the heart of Dublin city. Revive yourself after a busy morning shopping or sightseeing with a simple selection of fresh-baked goods served with warmth in the Pepper Pot. The soups and sandwiches are excellent, but the salads have a cult following, with the pan-fried goat cheese with Gubeen chorizo and vine tomatoes hearty enough to keep you going for the day.  Try the Victoria sponge and lemon and poppy seed cake for a comforting treat.

Powerscourt Townhouse, Dublin 2

3. Hot Wok Noodle Bar

Photo: www.wikipronto.com

Cuisine:  Asian

Average Spend:  Around €7 for serving of noodles with starter and drink

When it comes to noodles, cheap and cheerful can often mean cheap and nasty, but not at Hot Wok Noodle Bar.  Noodles come with a choice of beef, chickens, prawns, vegetable, or a variety of curry flavours, and are consistently tasty and fresh.  With a selection of finger food available as starters, this is a great destination for a flavoursome budget lunch, and the staff are wonderful.

North Earl Street, Dublin 1

4. DiFontaine’s Pizzeria

Cuisine:  Italian

Average Spend: Large pizza slices from €3

For pizza slices as big as your head at €3 a go, you cannot beat DiFontaine’s Pizzeria, right in the heart of town on Parliament Street.  Don’t expect a five-star setting – this is a counter-and- stools kind of place – but the pizzas are excellent.  Your cheap-as-chips slice will have a good base, deliciously melting cheese and a robust tomato sauce. For €4.50 you can get the calzone option, stuffed with spicy meatballs and pepperoni.

22 Parliament Street, Dublin 2

5. Delhi O’Deli, India Beyond Curries

Cuisine: Indian, vegetarian

Average Spend: €5 special

If you have a hankering for a decent vegetable curry while you’re in Dublin, you won’t find a cheaper place for authentic, simple Indian street food than Delhi O’Deli, behind the historic market on Moore Street.  The first Indian vegetarian restaurant in Ireland, it offers incredibly reasonable food, with a €5 all-you-can-eat buffet available. If you are particularly hungry, they serve absolutely enormous dosas for just €9.95.

12 Moore Street, Dublin 1

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Thanks tom-herbert for the image off Flickr. Please note, Flickr images were held under the Creative Commons licence at the time of publication.