![\"IMG_4565\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1786348152_763_.JPEG\")
\n Pre-made sandwiches in Centre on Dame Street The Journal<\/p>\n
IN SOME OF Dublin\u2019s city centre establishments, a chicken fillet roll or a basic sandwich could now set you back nearly as much as a teenager on minimum wage makes in an hour.<\/p>\n
The once cheap and cheerful lunch options are not immune to inflation.<\/p>\n
Since 2018, Tesco meal deals have gone from \u20ac3.50 to \u20ac5 for those without a club card. That\u2019s a 43% increase in seven years.<\/p>\n
Many coffee shops sell pre-made sandwiches. In Bear Market, they\u2019re \u20ac8.95, while in Caf\u00e9 28 on Dame Street, they\u2019re \u20ac10.50. Up-market spots like Dollars on Exchequer Street have larger sandwiches for between \u20ac12 and \u20ac13.50.<\/p>\n
\n Pre-made sandwiches in Centre on Dame Street The Journal<\/p>\n
The Journal\n<\/p>\n
When our reporter looked at the price of a Centra deli breakfast roll in the city centre, she found it ranged from \u20ac7.25 to \u20ac8.25, depending on the amount of fillings chosen.<\/p>\n
Dunnes perhaps provides the best value for money, offering freshly-made sandwich with three fillings for \u20ac4.25. Their breakfast rolls were \u20ac4.99 and a turkey roll was \u20ac6.25.<\/p>\n
Still, the humble sandwich is looking less humble every year.\n<\/p>\n
The standing lunch<\/p>\n
Irish food journalist Patrick Hanlon says meal deals he once bought at Boots and WH Smith at Dublin Airport have almost doubled in price in the last couple of years.<\/p>\n
He said that while the cost of eating out is no doubt spiralling upward, so is everything else.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re happy that a pint is inching on eight quid, how come you aren\u2019t happy if a sandwich is inching on 10 quid?<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are that beacon of convenience, but they aren\u2019t ever going to get any cheaper. And a caveat: if things get cheaper, there\u2019s a reason why,\u201d said Hanlon.<\/p>\n
He told The Journal that the explosion in the number of grab-and-go places shows establishments are trying to provide good quality food at a price people will pay.<\/p>\n
There are several pizza places in Dublin now offering a different dining style \u2013 \u201cqueue up, get a slice, eat it standing up\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cSpaces are at a premium, the rents are increasing, and it is harder and harder for operators to earn a profit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think all of us are holding that to possibly an old standard, and are aghast at how expensive it is. But I mean, everything is relative at the end of the day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Good value lunches in Dublin<\/p>\n
So where can you get a hearty meal in the capital when you\u2019ve not brought lunch from home?<\/p>\n
Hanlon says pizza by-the-slice places like Mani and Doom Slice are reasonably-priced for the quality.<\/p>\n
The Place Proper Street Food, a food truck market on Hogan Place in Dublin 2, has a selection of options at fair prices, he says.<\/p>\n
Some sit-down restaurants are offering quicker dining experiences, with prices that are easier to stomach and deals on two-course meals instead of three.<\/p>\n
For a sit-down lunch, Hanlon recommends Chez Max and Umi Falafel, where you can get a meal for under \u20ac15 without being rushed or pressured to order more.<\/p>\n
![\"dublin-ireland-15th-january-2025-chez-max-french-restaurant-located-near-the-entrance-to-dublin-castle-on-palace-street\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1786348153_954_.JPEG\")
\n Chez Max, located at the entrance to Dublin Castle on Palace Street Alamy<\/p>\n
Alamy\n<\/p>\n
His favourite might be the Pepper Pot Caf\u00e9, which has \u201cincredibly competitive\u201d prices and a great setting in the Powerscourt Townhouse Centre.<\/p>\n
Hanlon also recommended Chiya for a fresh kebab at a \u201cdigestible\u201d cost.<\/p>\n
In the mid-2010s, \u20ac10 was \u201cplenty\u201d for lunch in Dublin, says Maggie Fagan, the editor of Char, a food and drinks magazine.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think now it would be around \u20ac15, but there are still deals to be had.\u201d<\/p>\n
For an affordable lunch, she recommends mom-and-pop shops, such as McCabe\u2019s Deli on Tara Street. She said Asia Market on Drury Street also has great deals.<\/p>\n
Fagan said student caf\u00e9s that are open to the public are a great hack for getting a high-quality, but subsidised meal.<\/p>\n
She recommended The Goodies Caf\u00e9 in the National College of Art and Design (NCAD) and the Buttery in Trinity College Dublin.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Do you eat out for lunch less often since prices have increased?<\/strong><\/p>\n \n Poll Results:<\/p>\n I never ate out much anyway (243)<\/p>\n I’m a bit more mindful (214)<\/p>\n No, I still buy lunch often (70)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"IN SOME OF Dublin\u2019s city centre establishments, a chicken fillet roll or a basic sandwich could now set…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":629769,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[73],"tags":[79,2190,52,18,35734,19,185,17,2361,266091],"class_list":["post-629768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-cost-of-living","tag-dublin","tag-eire","tag-food-and-drink","tag-ie","tag-inflation","tag-ireland","tag-lunch","tag-lunching"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/117070120806105493","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629768","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=629768"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629768\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/629769"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=629768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=629768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=629768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}