Kat's 9 Lives

Having just returned from Dublin recently, I was very reluctant to try Dublin 4 as I thought it may be unfair and I had been fed up with European food.  Little did I know that I was tricked by some people to come here AGAINST my will and then they failed to even show up.  Needless to say that I was furious, but I decided that I should just stay since I made the effort to come out here and try to enjoy the rest of my evening despite the rudeness that these people showed me.  Can we say friendship over?  Such inconsiderate people are not worth my time.
First off, the parking situation here is not the best.  It's a very small area to park and most are just 20 minute parking spots so I was a bit concerned.  If you drive to the back, then you have to valet for $5 so be sure to get there early for a parking spot or pray someone is leaving.  You can park in the 20 minute spots at night as they don't mind as much.  The server told me it was okay and that they are more stringent in the morning than at night.
Everyone there was very friendly and after I sort of told the server what happened with my horribly lame friends, she even offered to accompany all night and keep me company.  I thought that was very sweet and endearing of her.  The service here is super friendly and great.  This is definitely their best seller as the feeling of being welcomed and that they really care.
This place is definitely no Temple Bar in Dublin, as it is clean and not everyone is drunk or smoking.  Dublin 4 has a very comfy homely feel to the place.  I enjoyed the dark decor.  From the outside and location, you would not remember where you are.  This strip mall is tucked away near the freeway and can be easily missed but there's a lot going on in this plaza.
To start off the night I decided to try the D4 Reuben Rolls, $12.  At first I thought this would be mini rolls but to my surprise they were rolled up in egg rolls and fried.  For those of you who know me, I absolutely love fried foods.  It's house cured corned beef, sauerkraut, and Blarney cheese inside accompanied by the D4 dipping sauce.  The flavor was very light and did not wow me.  There was also quite a bit of oil dripping out of the rolls when I took a bite.  Maybe I like my food a little bit more flavorful, so the roll needed to be a little bit more savory for my taste and a little more tightly packed so that the oil does not seep through.
After looking the menu up and down, there were a few items that looked decent but in the end I decided to try one of their gastropub pies.  To be fair, I had a really great Shepherd's Pie in Dublin so I had some high expectations as I am not necessarily a big pie fan.  At first I expected it to be laced with potato on top but it had a flaky pastry on top instead.  A great twist as I love a good puff pastry.
I decided to try the Dublin Lawyer Lobster Pie, $21.  It was made with Maine lobster, cognac cream sauce, and fresh shucked peas.  Maybe I should have went with my gut feeling to avoid this as I am not that big of a fan of peas.  The sauce was very flavorful.  I used the pastry to dip into the sauce.  There were tons of carrots and peas, but no lobster in sight.  After some more digging, I found the chunks of lobster.

All in all everything was fine but I wasn't really impressed with the food.  The service was very good, which helped make up for a lot of it.  I did try my best to save the night and they did try to help as well.  Food-wise, I will still have to be honest that it was just okay.