If you think getting your dinner delivered to you is the height of luxurious laziness, then surely getting your lunch delivered to you is pure notions. I feel a twinge of guilty pleasure when I give in to the temptation of calling in for dinner. But that twinge becomes a full-blown power surge of boldness when I order lunch for delivery, especially because I work from home. What must my neighbours think of me?
Whether you work from home or in an office, or you want to have your lunch delivered to you in one of Ireland’s major public parks (I mean . . . notions), Deliveroo is the enabler you’ve been looking for. This piece is not at all sponsored by Deliveroo nor have I been sweet-talked by freebies or vouchers. To me, they simply have access to the best quality food on the take-away market. And I’m not ashamed to admit (well, maybe a little ashamed) that I have done extensive personal research in the area of delivery food.
The company hasn't avoided the criticisms common in the gig economy
Deliveroo was founded by former investment banker Will Shu. When he moved from New York to London, he was struck by the lack of quality food on the delivery market so he set up Deliveroo in 2013. It has since spread to 84 cities. The company hasn’t avoided the criticisms common in the gig economy. It has been accused of under-paying its bike-based delivery riders by seeing them as self-employed contractors as opposed to employees. And it has come under fire for not offering proper bike safety training or providing helmets for its delivery riders.
But back to notions. In Dublin’s city centre, you can go for the healthy choice with: the Ottolenghi-esque Eathos on Baggot Street; Green Beards in Ranelagh; or from a few locations of Cocu from around noon onwards. Moro is a reasonably priced cool Moroccan café on Camden Street that takes orders from 12.30pm. Seafood is available on the southside with SMS Cervi or on the northside from Klaw Poke on Capel Street, with both available for delivery from 12.30pm.
Brother Hubbard offers breakfast, lunch and dinner on the Deliveroo service. Peak notions for lunchtime has to be Hang Dai, the stellar Chinese restaurant on Camden Street, which starts taking Deliveroo orders at 12.45pm.
Kai and Ard Bia are the best spots for breakfast, lunch and dinner in Galway but they don’t do delivery. Wa Café, one of the best sushi restaurants in Ireland, doesn’t start its Deliveroo service until after 5pm so your best lunch-time option in Galway is to break from the Deliveroo tradition of this piece and get a delicious Dough Bros pizza through Just Eat. If you’re in Limerick, La Cucina Centro start accepting orders of its lush home-cooked Italian fare from 12.15pm.
I would like to think that as Irish people we have moved beyond notions
In Cork, your best bet for lunch is Rocketman or East, which take orders from 12.15pm. Miyazaki, the best ramen house in the country, starts taking delivery orders from 1pm. If I was just a touch more insane and a fraction less aware of my financial restrictions, I would consider paying the train fare of a Deliveroo rider so that they could take their bike to Cork on the train, pick up an order of this phenomenal ramen, and get the train back to Dublin with said ramen in time for supper. But that would be insane, right? It just couldn’t be done, could it? I mean ... can it? No, it can’t. It definitely can’t. Right? Damn.
I would like to think that as Irish people we have moved beyond notions. Heck, we’ve embraced notions. So be bold and order a lunch delivered to you. Just don’t tell your mam or granny about it. . . and definitely don’t tell them how much it cost.
