Whether you want to try elevated gastropubs, Instagram-worthy cafes, or Michelin-starred restaurants, Dublin has a lot to offer the discerning foodie visiting the Emerald Isle. These are the top 15 restaurants in Dublin right now (although there’s no shame in eating fish and chips for a more casual meal):
Best for small bites: Fade Street Social Gastro Bar
Dylan McGrath is the host of Ireland’s MasterChef, making him the country’s famous celebrity chef. In 2013, he opened Fade Street Social, serving Irish-style tapas and main courses in a stylish, modern lounge. The atmosphere is both upbeat and calm, perfect for celebrations and parties.
Fade Street’s ratings and celebrity chef helped put gastropub on the map, but it’s the fresh Irish ingredients and commitment to local produce that deliver the flavor and experience that have made it the best place to enjoy little ones. Bites with great flavors.
Try the Irish steak, which is melt in your mouth, or the scallops served in the shell. Finish off the evening with an exclusive version of the classic banoffi cake made with fresh cream, banana sorbet and digestive chips.
Best for a gourmet dinner: Patrick Guilbaud restaurant
Receiving praise from both the city and the city, Patrick Guilbaud’s restaurant has been recognized as the epicenter of fine dining in Ireland. The restaurant’s self-proclaimed goal is to provide a ‘flawless dining experience’ and its menu and atmosphere do not disappoint, offering excellent service and food.
This is the only restaurant in Ireland with two Michelin stars and every dish is a masterpiece. Start with the Castletownbere King scallops or the coconut scented lobster cream and blue lobster ravioli, and continue with the local Wicklow lamb glazed in cilantro mojo with shitake, cauliflower and lamb jus. While the restaurant offers beautiful desserts, the Irish farmhouse cheeses are a lovely way to end the meal.
Best for old-school charm: Fire Restaurant
In 1715, the Mansion House in Dublin became the official residence of the Lord Mayor of Dublin. While the building remains in the care of the state, in 2005, the original dinner room was converted into the FIRE restaurant at the Mansion House. In fact, the Lord Mayor still lives in the Mansion House and often comes to dine at ‘Dinner’, which today is one of Dublin’s trendiest and most upbeat dining establishments.
Although the building of the restaurant is more than 300 years, the food is definitely the 21 st century Ireland, combining local ingredients with international flavor. Try their Slaney Valley Irish lamb skewers with Moroccan spices or the prawns with monkfish and sesame. Finish the evening with a Bavarian passion fruit with basil cream.
Best for vegetarians: Vegenidad
Vegenity is the brainchild of Australian chef Mark Senn who worked at Mildred’s of Soho in London before moving to the Irish capital. The chef himself has been a vegetarian for over 20 years and was tired of bland vegetarian options. Their plant-based street food is so full of flavor that you don’t have to be a vegetarian to enjoy it.
The food truck-style restaurant can be found parked inside a warehouse in Portobello, serving constantly changing international dishes like soy chili bibimbap, shimeji mushrooms, pickled broccoli, stewed black beans, steamed rice.
The casual yet incredibly tasty atmosphere is only open for brunch and dinner Thursday through Sunday, so be sure to plan in your Dublin meal schedule. It is also BYOB, so you can bring your own beer and wine to enjoy with your vegan dinner.
Best for breakfast: Póg
Specializing in low calorie treats with zero refined carbs or sugar, Póg remains as indulgent as it is healthy. With freshly squeezed juices, vegan waffles with coconut cream and poached eggs served with polenta, charred kale and spicy Italian nduja sausage, Instagrammable Cafe is the ideal place for breakfast in Dublin. The fact that everything is good for you is simply the sugar-free icing on the carob cake. Coffee topped with latte should be your morning pick, but there are also raspberry bellinis on the brunch menu if you’re feeling a bit cheeky.
Best for Families: The Woolen Mills
Overlooking the Ha’Penny Bridge, there aren’t many Dublin restaurants in a better location than The Woolen Mills. This Irish institution serves local food, including a seven-course seafood menu. The adult flavors and pretty design will please parents, but the restaurant is also completely kid-friendly. Pick up a high chair, browse the kids’ menu, and enjoy a meal on any of the restaurant’s four floors, even on the rooftop terrace if the little ones can handle it!
Best for Irish Angus Steaks: Shanahan’s
Shanahan’s On the Green is an American steakhouse serving certified Irish Angus steaks. Owner John Shanahan is the Bostonian head of the classic 1990 show “Hooked on Phonics,” but he was always associated with his Irish heritage, retaining dual citizenship in both countries. Similarly, the restaurant intertwines Irish-American memories and traditions, including the “Oval Office” bar, which has documents and memorabilia from each of the American Presidents of Irish heritage.
Anthony Dunne is the restaurant’s meat specialist and the man responsible for checking the quality of all steaks. The restaurant guarantees that all aged beef comes from specially selected cattle. The meat is the star here, but the side dishes stand up to any steakhouse on either side of the Atlantic, with creamed spinach and mashed potatoes served in shiny copper pots and mountains of their signature onion rings.
Best for sushi: try in rustic
As well as serving unforgettable tapas at Fade Street Social, celebrity chef Dylan McGrath went ahead and opened one of the best sushi restaurants in Dublin. Technically, Taste at Rustic serves a much more comprehensive Japanese menu with everything from Wagyu beef broth to dark miso soup with truffle shimeji mushrooms and pumpkin tofu. All the offerings (which are prepared in the dining room) are delicious, but it is the Nigiri that uses mainly local seafood that is truly a must. You’re going to want more of one of the truffle-smoked bacon burned seabass, especially after climbing all the stairs into the attic space where this ultra-cool restaurant sits above McGrath’s rustic stone restaurant.
Best for a Date Night: The Green Chicken
With a cozy atmosphere and bistro vibe, The Green Hen is one of the best late night restaurants in Dublin. Decorated with vintage French cinema posters and photos, the restaurant has a gorgeous bar that makes you feel like you’ve just stepped off Exchequer Street and into a Parisian dream. There is a fully restored wooden bar, serving delicious cocktails as well as one of the best wine by the glass deals in Dublin. For a true night of French romance, start with the goat cheese salad and move on to the delicious duck breast. If you want to keep the bill low, stop by between 5-7pm for the three-course Early Bird special that costs just over € 20.
Best for Seafood: Matt the Thresher
Surrounded on all sides by the Atlantic Ocean, Ireland has access to some of the best seafood in the world. For a local seafood experience in the heart of Dublin, look no further than Matt the Thresher, a trendy fish restaurant near Fitzwilliam Square.
The long wooden bar is the ideal place to enjoy half a dozen oysters or a Dublin Bay prawn cocktail. As you enter, stop to admire the large display of live lobsters and crabs and fresh fish because there may be a catch of the day that is too tempting to pass up. The fish arrives simply but expertly cooked, allowing the seafood to speak for itself.
The atmosphere here is cozy and never too bulky, so you may end up having drinks, but save room for a drink at O’Donoghue’s, one of Dublin’s best pubs and just around the corner.
Best for a good artistic dinner: Chapter one
Ideal for small groups, the Chapter One pre-theater menu offers an easy way to enjoy a high-end dinner before setting off for Ireland’s famous theater district. Comprised of several detailed and themed private dining rooms, Chapter One’s interior exudes rustic elegance while its menu is full of modern flair.
The special menu offers Michelin-rated meals at an extraordinary price: for 40 euros, diners choose three impeccable courses. Although the menu changes according to the season, its version of duck with blood orange and foie gras and dried and roasted Irish meat stands out. Diners rave over Irish coffee made in front of guests, heating sugar and coffee on a small burner and then setting off a miniature conflagration once the bartender adds the whiskey. If you try the Irish coffee from Chapter One, you will be pampered for life.
Best for Irish Stew: Hatch & Sons Irish Kitchen
With the green countryside and cold waters of the Atlantic at your disposal, Ireland has some amazing fresh ingredients. A focus on Irish food is exactly what you’ll find at Hatch & Sons, in the basement of the Little Museum of Dublin. The cozy cafe just off St. Stephen’s Green has a small menu of classics, including excellent Irish steak and Guinness stew. For something quick, don’t miss the Wicklow Cheddar Ham and Cheese Sandwich served on a soft blaa , a bun that hails from Waterford.
Best for pizza: Da Mimmo
This family-run Italian restaurant quickly became a staple on Dublin’s food scene after opening in the capital in 2010. The focus on fresh ingredients, hearty Italian food, and new flavor combinations make it one of the best stops. for pizza in Dublin. You can get your cake to go, or settle for the taste of wood-fired pizza that has a perfect crisp crust. Don’t miss out on their mojito pizza, featuring leeks, buffalo mozzarella, prawns sautéed in a rum and brown sugar marinade, cherry tomatoes and bright mint and lemon zest.
Best crowd pleaser: Fallon and Byrne
Part of the food market, part of the wine bar, and part of the restaurant, Fallon & Byrne is an unforgettable dining experience. The unique restaurant spans three floors of a historic telephone company building not far from Dublin Castle. Start at the lower level wine bar to work your way through some of the 600 affordable bottles, and dine on free-range Irish chicken on a bed of paprika risotto. The main level of the grocery store is perfect for shopping for gastronomic souvenirs and for a sandwich made with fresh ingredients from the farm. Or better yet, reserve a table in the restaurant on the top floor for a healthy and wholesome meal that focuses on seasonal ingredients. You’ll find creative pastas, dangerously good burgers made with local beef, and carefully prepared vegetable dishes to please everyone in your group.
Best for French Inspired Fusion: Pichet
Run by chef Stephen Gibson, Pichet offers a unique French experience in the middle of Dublin. The interior is quaint and gives off a Parisian vibe, while the menu focuses exclusively on ingredients grown in Ireland.
Start your evening with your choice of wine from their collection of exquisite origin and pair it with the roasted carrot served with quinoa, pickled apple, mint and smoked yogurt. For the main course, try their delectable roasted potato gnocchi made with roasted cauliflower, capers with browned raisins, and smoked farmhouse gubbeen cheese.
The best pubs in Dublin
