Picaderos

Absolutely amazing Latin American Restaurant in Maynooth. Excellent ambiance. Great music. Lovely staff. I loved it and we are planning to go back. We made the reservation on the same day. If you order lots of appetizers you would get to experience all the different flavours they offer. Don’t forget to try the churros at the end, perfectly well cooked.

Came in the late afternoon with a friend to enjoy a bottle of wine. We were told we can’t have wine without food so we had to order a tapas. Seems like poor business sense since they almost lost a € 25 wine sale over a € 6 tapas dish. It was a quiet time of the day with loads of tables so wine should have been permitted on its own. The chorizo was ok. They didn’t have the spicy one so ordered a honey type chorizo. Sweet wasn’t the same as spicy!

Perfect place for those who love Spanish and Mexican food. Really loved there food and serving staff were very friendly. Highly recommended. Will definitely go again.

I’m always VERY suspicious of places that have books for menus. Picadero’s has three: one for tapas, one for «a la carte» and one for drinks. I want delicious, well-​made food, not everything I could possibly ever imagine eating, so I was immediately put off by my Picadero’s experience. After taking about 15 minutes to go through the menu, I decided to get the Tequila Chicken Sandwich. A note for those trying to eat light: good luck! (I was only able to find two salads on the menu and they were piled with stuff.) The chicken sandwich was delicious but in the end, it wasn’t even what I ordered. It was the other chicken sandwich option on their menu, Portuguese Piri Piri style. My brother and sister-​in-​law also did not receive the items they ordered… getting filet steaks instead of rib eyes. Regardless, we were all very happy with our food but unhappy with the experience overall. It took 45 minutes after ordering to get our food and our server was never anywhere to be seen until it came out – of course, that is pretty much the status quo for European dining (the service, I mean).

Arrived here on a Wednesday night expecting not to need a booking only to find the place absolutely packed. Thankfully managed to get the last table. Wednesday night is Mexican night (not mentioned on their website) and having recently found a new love for nachos we decided to try out the Maynooth version.
I had been here before for lunch and didn’t rate it (place was empty, disinterested staff, too many menus and not so good food). This time though it had a very different atmosphere. I had changed my mind and now instantly liked it. Well kind of. The nachos were odd. They came with tons of salad on them. I am biggest fan of salad but not on my new best friend Nachos. The burrito was odd too. It was laid out flat on a plate (enchilada style with lots of cheese melted on top) with the filings all on the side. Now Im no Mexican food expert but every burrito and nachos I’ve seen so far haven’t looked like this. I’m guessing the chef isn’t an expert either.
Still it all tasted really good and at € 21 for 2 course and a drink who cares if the presentation is a little off. Make sure you book if you are coming here, the waiter told us they did 135 covers the Monday night just gone. I didn’t think that many people would even go out on a Monday in Maynooth let alone head to Picaderos. They must be doing something right.

Finding ourselves in Maynooth on a Sunday night in February for reasons that need not detain us here we happened on Picaderos at about 6.45 in search of sustenance. The place was buzzing but we were fortunate in securing a table without a reservation. On being seated we were handed 3 menus each — tapas, a la carte and Sunday lunch. And a fourth drinks menu for good measure. Interestingly, lunch in these parts runs from 1 until 7 so we qualified for that but only just. The lunch menu seemed to consist of the best bits of the carte at a keener price so we settled on that. Wings and nachos for starters were substantial and quite good. My main a ‘duo of game sausages’ a.k.a. bangers and mash was ok but nothing to write home about. The lamb shank was slow cooked to perfection and the meat balls selected by the ex-​teenager were pretty good too. A carafe of a pretty useful Crianza brought the total bill to just over € 70. Excellent value, great service, nice homely and friendly place. I could have done without the bloke in the corner channeling the Gypsy Kings on the guitar but it in no way interfered with a most enjoyable meal. The acid test — will we be back? Defo.

One word, lovely!
To start with, I’m Spanish, meaning I’m naturally picky with the tapas bars outside Spain… I have to say I was greatly surprised with the Spanish tapas at Picaderos! And the location and terrace are also a plus!
Best: Try the prawns al ajillo and the Croquetas de Jamon! Brought me straight back to home!
Lovely staff
Worst: The seafood paella has a bit of room for improvement :)

When here last night, amazing food and top quality service. Would highly recommend heading there for the earlier bird menu!

Food good, not great. Worth a visit though. Lovely lighting and atmosphere in the place. Has a Spanish holiday feel! If they keep it simple they should do well. Ordered lamb first time there, awful quality and poor taste. Stuck to chicken wings and a fajitas this time. Can’t go wrong with that! Really lovely staff and wine was great.

Yum yum yum! Been here loads and never disappoints ! It’s ALWAYS buzzing so booking probably essential but I did just rock up once before n they squeezed me in. The Tapas is the nicest I’ve had ever… And I’ve eaten alot of tapas let me tell ya… Nom! Great selection & good price. They do early bird menu with great variety also if ur the student type like myself! Service is speedy, relaxed, staff are very polite and genuine. Tonight i had nachos to start and steak fir mains. Perfectly cookedand nit a crumb left! Most impressed with the live music they play even tonight and its only a Tuesday!

I mean, as David B has quite rightly pointed out, it’s a lovely setting.
They have outdoor tables and chairs perfect for the sunny weather we always get in Ireland (!), and the indoors is quite simply enchanting. Candle lit, dark wood, and often times, lovely music in the background.
The staff are all either of Spanish or Latin descent, and all also very lovely (definitely a good spot for the ladies!) They are very attentive (ahem) and really polite.
Last Friday, I had a table booked for three friends and I. Two of us were coming from Dublin, the other two from Celbridge. Not being accustomed to rush hour traffic (thank you Unilocal!), we left with 40 minutes to spare, thinking that would be more than ample, considering it is normally a 25 minute journey. I’m sure you can guess how wrong we were. It took nearly one hour and 45 minutes to get to the restaurant, which meant we were over an hour late. At no point over that hour were our two friends put under any pressure to call us /​kill us /​move tables. They were served their starters at a leisurely pace, and ours were kept in the oven waiting for us. When we eventually arrived, rather embarrassed, the waiter told us that he had thrown out the starters they had kept and would get the chef to make up some fresh ones for us. This was entirely unexpected as our tardiness was our own fault! We were then served the fresh starters, and again, the staff were in no rush to hurry us on, when eventually we were all served our mains together.
All in all, this is the type of service that makes you want to return to a place, time and time again.
The food is good — not wonderful, but not bad. I feel that perhaps they have a little bit too much choice, spanning too many cuisines — Italian, Spanish, Argentinian, Mexican.
It is great value though (in particular if you’re there for the early bird), so unless you are on a ‘foodie’ outing (in which case I would give it a wide berth), I would definitely recommend giving Picaderos a go.

Setting is wonderful and outdoor seating on the main street is lovely during warm weather and sunny days.
Food is okay but overpriced and portions are very small unfortunately… If your’e hungry during lunch time then don’t come here!

yes the menu may be big and varied but it doesnt mean any of the good was good. Myself and my boyfriend went here for dinner and the whole experience was awful it was jammed! better to get rid of one or two tables. We got a sharing platter, it was like the frozen food from tesco and it may have been as it was still cold. We both got fillet steaks and after asking for the sauce to be on the side it was all over the steak it was probably to cover up the taste. It was grey, chewy and very fatty i dont know how that could be called a fillet. We said we would give desserts a go but they took a long time before they were given to use and again they were obviously frozen. It came to over 100EURO!!! The steaks alone were 30 each… Stay clear!

Good food, the chicken wings are a lil Spicey.
Had some live entertainment.

Live music, nice terrase, decent selction of wine, authentic staff who speaks Spanish. Varied latin american and Spanish cuisine inclduing Basque and Catalan, Argentinian and Mexican. Good Burgers, decent wine list. I’d go back for the good craic and to taste some more things on the menu.

A mix of Spanish, Argentinian and Mexican. Live flamenco guitarist on the Friday night I was here. Tasteful modern décor with comfortable chairs.
Food was pretty good, even on the early bird menu. The menu is extensive and there is a separate tapas menu.
Our waiter was a little slow and forgot our desert, Something I can forgive as to be honest, I am used to dreadful service in Ireland.
Later when the bill arrived, it was brought by a guy who sounded like he was from South Africa and we had a chat about what the Argentinean items are. Mainly it’s the steaks which are cooked Argentine style.
I reckon I will be back at some point. I am tempted by some of the food on the menu and curious to try some of their Mexican which can often be a disaster outside of the well known Burrito bars.