Gerald’s Bar is an ideal first-date venue for those of you who get a bit baffled by wine. Although there’s a long list, they only have three reds and three whites open at a time (which are chosen by a lucky customer) so once you pick your colour it’s easy. Sometimes customers will be involved in a round of the traditional Italian card game, Scopa, to choose bottle will be opened next. 

The short menu is scrawled on butcher’s paper and taped behind the bar in humble Italian style. Indulge in a sharp cheese from the Pyrenees or an Irish gorgonzola while you watch a waiter slice prosciutto right before your eyes. For mains you will find dishes such as veal chops with creamed carrot; a salad of tender buffalo mozzarella, basil, tomato and olive oil; or home-cooked gnocchi.

Or you're welcome to just come for the wine and linger at the bar enjoying the atmosphere. Gerald's Bar is so humble and welcoming I almost expected an old Italian woman to start spoon feeding me soup and pizza.

This charismatic Italian eatery offers home-style cooking at its best and you’ll always find it buzzing with chatty patrons and drenched in warm light, even when the rest of Rathdowne Street has gone to sleep.