When a friend visits your country of residence, it’s a mighty good excuse to go somewhere fancy and Wilde at The Westbury Hotel, is just such a spot! In my opinion, it’s Dublin’s answer to this place mashed together with a little sprinkling of this place. But first, the pampering!

We hopped into Mink, Hand & Foot Spa  in Ballsbridge (you know how much I love this place!) and had the “Mink Manicure”. A wonderful way to start the day, fresh nails AND an arm/hand massage – yes please!

Afterwards, we hailed a cab and scooted over to The Westbury Hotel, climbed their gorgeous staircase and swung around into Wilde just in time to see our (self proclaimed) future selves checking in – two white haired ladies in their late 80’s glammed to the max!

We were seated in the conservatory. Floor to ceiling windows make for a perfect sun trap and with flowers surrounding us too, it really is a glorious place to pass some time.

We ordered some champagne to toast to our good day and I couldn’t quite believe it but weren’t they the same flutes as the ones brought to the table here!

Apparently there’s a bit of a collaboration/celebration going on for the brand and I am very much enjoying it! Far prettier than just the name stamped on the side for sure!

The staff are brilliant, super attentive and everything is executed “just so”, I would imagine the training is very particular!

As we perused the menus I kept getting distracted by the decor, it’s just so beautiful – a proper Instagrammers idea of heaven!

Even the centrepieces which adorned each table were thoughtfully selected and stood out as something rather special.

Fresh bread was brought to the table with an array of choice, we both opted for the Guinness bread because – well hello, I mean – when in Rome right!? But also, guinness bread is not something you come across in your day-to-day like white and brown, so you may as well enjoy the fancy option when it’s presented to you to try!

For mains, Sarah went with the sirloin steak and a side of sweet potatoe fries which, I have on good authority was delicious!

and I decided to try their “Dashing Lunch”, which is SUCH a clever idea for an establishment like this. I would imagine people would ordinarily shy away from lunch here as they’d think “oh no, that place is fancy, they’ll probably be too slow for us to grab lunch”, well I’m here to tell you – not so!!

The Dashing Lunch comes in four parts. A little cup of soup – when I was there, their soup was carrot and apple,

a main course which was a piece of fillet steak with a side salad (and four chunky chips!)

as well as a dessert – which on this occasion was a rather enjoyable raspberry mousse, soft and smooth but with a citrus edge that was right up my street!

I also ordered blanched spinach, which was potentially a step too far for my tum – I didn’t quite realise how much food would be coming my way in the “Dashing Lunch”. I found it rather large, although, I’m not sure it would’ve been enough for my 6ft 3″ Himself – so if you’re more along his lines than mine – perhaps you should order a side!

It was all beautiful and incredibly tasty. We had such fun catching up, never feeling like staff were trying to rush us out of the place or like our allocated time was up – the whole experience was a joy from start to finish and I would highly recommend it to anyone.

We settled the bill and on the way out I did my best to mortify us both by taking photos of random areas of the restaurant so I could share it with you guys – all whilst the waiters were lining up to say thank you and goodbye to us (I did not realise this until AFTER I’d spent 20 seconds taking photos much to their collective bemusement!!). But I mean, just look at their gorgeous bar and lounge area, plus I think in these shots you can appreciate the decor more – so yeah – you’re welcome!! 😉

Once Sarah finally got me out of there, we took a stroll down Grafton Street, popping in and out of the newer arrivals to the street which Sarah wouldn’t have seen yet (like Victoria’s Secret) and visiting old haunts which have been revamped (like Brown Thomas). We even went to visit my anniversary pressie from Himself at Gucci (don’t worry, he does in fact know this, remember?). With the sun warming our backs, we headed for home, hoping that our next meet up wouldn’t be quite so far in the distant future.

Shop The Look

Book here in advance and request a table in the conservatory especially when you’ll be there for lunch as you can truly appreciate the space! If however you’re opting for an evening meal, I’d actually recommend the other side of the restaurant as it’s got a more appropriate vibe with plush furniture and gold trimmings, either way, I’m sure you’ll love it!