Pacinos

I had high hopes for this little place, it’s so central and looks so cute from the outside! The décor is lovely and a lunchtime is was a nice mix of bustly enough to have an atmosphere but not busy enough that you need to have made a booking. They run a special lunch menu that a main cours and a soft drink for € 10– not bad value– I had the spaghetti and meatballs which was pretty good, the best bit was definitely the tomato sauce which has actual tomatoes in it (not always the case!), meatballs a bit average. The real disappointment here for me was the service; it was slow and disinterested which spoilt an otherwise nice ‘it’s Friday lets not have a sandwich at the desk’ lunch.

I completely disagree with the negative reviews regarding Pacinos. Three times I went there and each and every time the food was great. I especially recommend the «Penne con salsiccia e pepperoni». These are truly tasty and made me think of Italy. The interieur is stylish and rather hipster. The waiter was very nice and attentive.
Five out of five stars!

The only reason this place gets 2 stars is because I really enjoyed the nightclub part.
The food was awful I ordered the lasagne and my bf had a pizza. It was pos the worst lasagne I have ever eaten!
So when the waitress came over and asked did we enjoy our meal «usually I just say yes even if I didn’t really but I was actually so annoyed that we had been served such crap» I said it was awful and her response was I like it and like a fool I still paid.
I wont ever return to the restaurant.
The nightclub was different then the normal Dublin nightclub, there was a DJ in the smoking area and it was underground, hidden away from the busy city centre.

I didn’t have much expectations as I’ve been let down by many Italian restaurants in Dublin. Mind you I only stepped in to fill my craving of pasta and a glass of post shopping wine. I’m really glad I chose to come here as the service was excellent as was the food. I ordered a glass of red to go with my simple fare of spaghetti marinara. Omg! The pasta was cooked and seasoned to perfection and the sauce was delicious! I actually finished the whole plate! The chianti was an excellent recommendation and was also duly polished off. I could’ve gotten sub standard fare for cheaper but I was really blown away by the plate of excellent food here. Must go again to try more things!

I have been there few times. Decent place and good service but the food is not too great and not too bad. the first time I came the pizza was great second time more of okey-​ish! I also tried other dishes but nothing special really. One thing i would rocommend is the avogatto ice cream.

So I have a bit of a weird tale about this place… let me take you back some months ago
I was walking down Wicklow Street pre Mary’s bar. Now many have disputed this… but I saw a door open and inside a stairs leading down to a large screen full of lights like you would see in a nightclub. I thought this was gonna be a new spot. It looked awesome. Someone (no idea who) I was with mentioned it was going to be a new gay bar.
A few weeks later, I walked past the same spot and it was no longer there but Mary’s bar had popped up out of nowhere… now I’m no conspiracy theorist but by god there must be a secret club under Marys…
Anyway, no one believed me and I began doubting myself. Maybe I was confused about the location or something. So I’m out on a date with a fabulous man and am regaling him with this story as we are walking past Marys, when suddenly, a man smoking by a black shutter says, ‘yes, we are open until 4am when don’t you go in?’ and gestures to a lane way beside him… right next to Marys.
How intriguing…
I went gleefully down the laneway, we came across a group of people dancing & dinking beers, a dj set up on the right and a girl selling bottled beer from what looked like one of those school tables from a box she had underneath. Random and wonderful. I notice a door to her left and being the inquisitive soul I am, I grab himself and venture into the unknown. The stairs lead us to an underground vault — esque place with people sitting around at like dinner booths, some dancing and a disco ball. This scene did not alleviate my confusion… I dared to ask the barman where I was but I think he thought I must be mad or an amnesiac and just told me I was in the club… Unfortunately a bad reference to a 50 cent song did not help. We decided to just go with it, grabbed a beer and had a dancey dance. Eventually we went back to the lane way and had some lols with a random group out there who told me we were in/​at the back of Pacinos. They had apparently paid € 10 entry fee to join this random party.
All in all, I had a lot of fun that night and Pacinos had some part in that. It was very much a follow me down the rabbit hole kind of experience and I encourage other to give it a bash. Not sure if this review will help anyone but thought I would share it all the same :)

Excellent small Italian café right off Grafton. The pasta was cooked just to perfection. Service was very good and it’s quiet enough to talk to each other at your table but with nice music.

I was so pleased with myself when i found pacinos. They have amazing pizza. Kind of limited on pasta dishes which loses a star but they make up for it with their drink menu. I love the seats in the front by the big windows… great for people watching. Staff seems to be busy in an empty resturant so need to be aggressive at getting their attention. Still its a cool spot and I go regularly. :)

Horrible place. Horrible service. Plus they’re a overpriced given their very central location next to the touristy area (by Trinity college). They speak Italian but not much English so it was hard for us to order drinks (we had some questions but they nodded yes and couldn’t really answer). Overall poor experience, had to ask for our bill several times and the food took a really long time… not worth it. If you’re going to wait this long, might as well go across the street to Avoca!

Went there for lunch before a hen party activity in the cellar bar downstair (cozy and lovely space)
I had ‘tortelloni con crema tartufata’ very very good, as Italian I can say authentic Italian food.

How tragic that I’ve only just discovered this gem as my year at Trinity College is winding down. Their lunch special is easily one of the best in the city centre! Could not believe the size of the jalapeño pizza my BF ordered. Thin, crispy crust… just perfect. I ordered the pollo sandwich which came on a glorious toasted ciabatta and included chips with some damn tasty garlic mayo for dipping (not ashamed to admit some pizza definitely got dipped in it too). Soft drink was included (although they serve Pepsi, shame) all for just a measly € 8! Plus the interior is cozy and well-​decorated– would be a great place for a casual date.

Been here twice now, which actually means something in my case. Since we are relatively new to Dublin, we are still in the mode of trying new places, so it is rare for us to have repeat visits. It helped, too, that we had a grabone deal. But we wouldn’t have bothered with the grabone deal if we didn’t like the place the first time.
Nice location, nice interior, nice service, very tasty dishes, all at a moderate price.
One of my new favorites.

Since the Unilocal event at Pacinos many moons ago I have wanted to come back here and try the food.
I finally got the chance. Booking was easy via the booking form on the website.
I went for all three courses, and luckily, I shared the starter and dessert with someone else, and we each got our own main course. This is the best option I think because the portion sizes are very generous.
Every course was top notch, and the Pacinos coffee at the end also delicious. And the bill was surprisingly small. All in all, a great meal out and I will return, and hopefully it won’t take me so long next time.

The restaurant is lovely inside. Our waiter was very attentive and prompt. We got buy one cocktail get one free when we checked in on Unilocal.
The food was fairly good. I ordered the chicken soup it was a little too salty for my taste. Their bread was very good served with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. My husband ordered the pasta arribiatta And it was not spicy enough for him.
I would like to go back and try something else on their menu. They have several good options
Wow, tried them a second time. Antipasto excellent, pizza perfect thin crust, lasagna very good.

I’ve really meant to return to Pacinos sooner than this, having attended a great Unilocal event there last summer, but it took me until now. It was just one of those ‘it’s January oh god put the wine away’, quiet, midweek dinners with a friend.
I was starving so I went for excessive carb loading with bruschetta, followed by lasagne and chips. My friend went for the pizza. All were pretty good and the service was friendly and relaxed. I really must try the pizza next time. Definitely a good spot for a cheap and cheerful dinner and definitely better food than a lot of comparable places.

So since the lovely welcome we got for the cookey classes with Chef Lucca, I have been dying to get a proper taste of the Pacinos good. So when I was organising a nice meet up with the ladies from work, I could think of nowhere else I wanted to go!
I must say, the food surpassed my expectations (which were already pretty high after hearing how passionate Chef Lucca is about Italian cooking). We got the early bird (2 courses for 18 I think). I got the Bruschetta and Lasagne. They were by far the best Bruschetta and Lasagne that I have had. The portions were huge, which resulted in no space left for desert (which was a shame).
The food aside for a moment, the atmosphere in the place was lovely, really relaxed. The staff were extremely attentave.
To be honest, I don’t have a bad word to say about my experience. I would highly recommend Pacinos to anyone in the area! :D

A true surprise. Having passed by Pacino’s many many times over the years, I had genuinely never considered what culinary delights may await me inside. I guess being on the tourist trail has worked for them in some ways and worked against them in other ways. Being on the Sutton /​Grafton St /​next door to good aul Carroll’s Gift Store, it unfortunately may put some locals off.
Well no more! My eyes have been opened, I have seen the light!
The food I have had in here is without doubt the best Italian food in the city.
Chef Luca Mazza is apparently the driving force behind the transformation of Pacino’s in recent times — he started there in the latter half of last year, bringing a Michelin star and Italian sensibilities with him.
The food here is simple, good good food. The emphasis is on the ingredients and how they are married together, and this ethos is something that is immediately obvious from your first bite. Full, rich and flavoursome food. I had the pasta with fresh homemade tomato sauce, chili, garlic, cherry tomatoes and flat leaf parsley. This sounds like such a simple dish that it would be almost a shame to get it in a restaurant. Not so. Getting a dish like this just demonstrates how stunning really good ingredients can be if put together in the right way.
Other than the food, the staff is top notch. Professional, some Italian and some Irish (all very suave!), approachable and friendly, but with a polished overtone.
The guys in here know what they’re doing. Now they just need everyone else to know too!
Top Tip: 2 for 1 cocktails if you check in using your Unilocal app!

The cocktails alone make Pacinos well worth a visit, go on, treat yourself!!!

We went here after one of our friend’s made reservations for an evening. We were excited to have a good meal, because the place looks really nice and intimate.
However, as we all got seated, he revealed to us that this place didn’t have great reviews on Unilocal… BIG GULP! We were all nervous after that and some of us decided to go with «safe bets» like pizza. I mean c’mon, how can you mess up pizza right? Fortunately, the food was great and portions were fairly good too.
Service, however, was ok. He messed up on one of my friends order (brought a small pizza instead of large) and instead fix it, he just said sorry, want to order a garlic bread or something like that?
Otherwise, food and experience was great! Will be back, maybe even order «garlic bread or something» next time!

Several years ago I used to eat here every couple of months. We decided to give it a go 2 weeks ago. We will never go back.
Comfort — unless your on the raised seating area, your table and chairs seem to be slanted. The table we were at had such a slope on it I feared my glass was going to slide off.
Drinks — Ordered 2 diet cokes. We got brown water. Asked the waitress to take them away as was undrinkable. She then brought us 2 more and explained she got them from the bar downstairs, so they should be ok. I didn’t ask, but obviously they are giving tesco value cola (or some lower budget variety as I’ve had tesco value, and it didn’t taste that bad!) and charging you for a cottle of coke? Anyways, the waitress was nice about it and didn’t charge us for them.
The pizza — Upon leaving we asked ourselves why we just ate that garbage. During the meal, we decided that it was so unpleasant, that we just wanted to pay and get out. The only flavour the pizza had was «stale greasy». Disgusting.
The cost — Pizza here will cost same as everywhere else, so do yourself a favour and go elsewhere for it. Your not saving any money by eating it here.
Will eat at McDonalds before I even consider going here again

best italian food in the city so delicious an the stuff is absolutly friendly and helpful.
the price is fair: nothing is really cheap in Dublin, but the quality justifys the price
it’s difficult to name a favorite: pizza, pasta, everything was great! special tip: try a salad with House Dressing. This dressing is just perfect we bought a bottle and took it back home to Germany
— for our next stay in Dublin the Pacino’s will be (still) on our list. We only visit Dublin every other year, but my opinion is still the same for years: The Pacino’s is a good place to go and probably /​hopefully always be.