The 38 Essential Dublin Restaurants

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Customers sit at tables outside a restaurant with signs advertising Reyna and Turkish Grill.
Outside Reyna.
Reyna

Pop-up tacos tucked behind a pawn shop cocktail bar, dry-aged beef tartare at a canal-side chef hangout, an ambitious Michelin-starred menu in a coastal suburb, and more of Dublin’s best meals

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Outside Reyna.
| Reyna

Dublin is a village as much as a city, with the feel of a tight-knit community spread along the River Liffey. It’s incredibly walkable, especially if you want to pop from pub to pub following in the footsteps of James Joyce, Brendan Behan, and Oscar Wilde on a guided literary pub crawl. It’s also a great base for a tour of the Irish seaside, with villages like Howth, Blackrock, and Dún Laoghaire well worth a 30-minute train ride.

Famous for its pubs, Dublin now punches well above its weight when it comes to restaurants, and not just with fine dining. Young chefs, many of whom have worked in Michelin-starred restaurants in London and other European food capitals, bring a vibrancy to the city by taking more casual approaches to their menus. Central to their cooking is quality local produce, like native oysters, lobsters, and fish plucked from the Atlantic and the Irish Sea, and grass-raised beef and lamb from the wild hills of the countryside. While Ireland is not widely known for its viticulture, the wine bar scene continues to grow, with enough cellars stocked with biodynamic and low-intervention bottlings to rival New York, Copenhagen, or Paris; that’s where you’ll find some of the most creative food in the city, too.

Corinna Hardgrave is a restaurant critic and food writer for the Irish Times. She is an international food and wine judge, the winner of the Food Writing Award at the inaugural Irish Food Writing Awards in 2021, and the Restaurant Writing Award in 2022.

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In a smart room buzzing with locals, the dishes at Bala Nayak and Nidhi Joshi’s new restaurant lean toward the south of India. Unique combinations of flavors bring originality to the food, which includes battered and deep-fried kale and samphire scattered with jewelled pomegranate seeds, light and textured crab kebabs, and spicy pork vindaloo. The thalis at lunch are a particularly good value.

Korean Table is tucked away in a quieter part of Stoneybatter, one of Dublin’s hippest neighborhoods. There, Vivian Cho serves a concise menu in a smart, narrow room with raw-plaster walls, tumbling green foliage, and festival lights. Meals start with complimentary banchan including pickled seaweed, zucchini tempura, and kimchi. Prices are incredibly keen and you won’t go wrong with a warming hotpot or a tofu bibimbap.

A plate of various pickled vegetables, with dipping sauces.
Vegetables at Korean Table.
Corinna Hardgrave

The best durum wheat is produced by an ancient grain called senatore cappelli according to Roberto Mungo, who ensures that all of the handmade pasta at his wonderfully convivial restaurant in the hip enclave of Stoneybatter follows his mother’s recipes precisely. Grano is incredibly popular, so you’ll want to book your table here well in advance, and failing that, you’ll find lighter food and plenty of wine at Afianco, Mungo’s vineria next door.

Sitting on a high stool at one of the marble counters in Peter Hogan and Jumoke Akintola’s compact restaurant is one of life’s little pleasures, whether you’re on your own or seated next to some interesting company. Start with the snacks, a gilda perhaps, and a glass of fino. Or delve into the low-intervention wines on a list worth investigating. As you’d expect, it’s all about the fish, which is pristine and cooked simply, either deep-fried in batter or whole-roasted. You won’t get better fish in Dublin.

Fried fish on a pile of fries, with a glass of white wine nearby and a bottle
Quintessential fish and chips
Fish Shop

Argentinian Florencia Matan and her husband, Benjamín Pugliese, started selling facturas (Argentinian pastries) door-to-door, and demand soon pushed them to find a permanent spot. In 2021 they opened their bright-yellow bakery and daytime cafe in the middle of the Liberties. The facturas and alfajores are baked fresh each day, and there are numerous variations of both displayed on the counter, along with empanadas, medialunas, cañoncitos filled with cream or dulce de leche, glazed buns, and fried pastries.

Brothers Aaron and Keelan Higgs recently opened a shiny 30-seater premises next door to the original location of their Michelin-starred Variety Jones. Head chef Keelan makes extensive use of live fire and a wood-burning oven. The tasting menu, which always includes a stuffed pasta, turns family style when it gets to larger courses of grilled fish and meat.

Note: A fire broke out in the new location just a few days after it opened, forcing the team to operate out of their old space for now. 

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A beef cheek and oxtail Parker House roll with bone marrow gravy and a cock-a-leekie pie for two are just some of the reasons to visit Stephen Mcallister and Andrea Hussey’s deceptively sophisticated gastropub in the heart of the Liberties. This is the perfect spot for an early dinner before a concert in Vicar Street. Just be sure to book.

A white restaurant exterior with striking red borders around the entrance to the restaurant, with the words ‘Spitalfields’ and ‘pub’
Outside Spitalfields
Spitalfields

Slightly outside downtown (but definitely worth a trip), Barry Fitzgerald and Clairemarie Thomas’s Michelin-starred restaurant is decorated in low-key decor that belies the quality of inventive cooking in the kitchen. While there are some Nordic influences including ferments and foraging, the tasting menu (the only option) is based on seasonal, Irish produce. Featured dishes might include poached oyster with elderflower and tomato dashi; mackerel tartare with fermented gooseberry; and lamb neck with pointed cabbage and sheep’s yogurt. A vegetarian menu is available and there’s a well-chosen low-intervention wine list. 

Part cafe, part food shop and deli, the Fumbally has been a hub for this cool part of town, where many small businesses focus on sustainability and ethical sourcing — and increasingly fight off encroaching development. Coffee, breakfast, or lunch at an upcycled table is a convivial affair, as is dinner on Saturday nights. It’s all very laid back, with seasonal dishes that reflect the fresh produce, house ferments, and natural wines you’ll find for sale on the shelves.

A buffet laid out on a long wood table with people milling about nearby.
Items at the Fumbally.
The Fumbally

Sunday lunch is a bit of an industry secret at this lovely canal-side restaurant, where you’ll find the room filled with off-duty chefs. A few recent tasty morsels included ox tongue on tiny waffles with pickled girolles; dry-aged beef tartare with smoked marrow; and Castletownbere lobster with burnt onion.

Get here before midday if you want to bag a spot at one of the two sharing tables in Gwen McGrath and Ken Doherty’s 10-seater restaurant, open for lunch only. The menu, penned on a white paper sandwich bag, is driven by two things: whatever organic produce is available that day from McNally Family Farm, and a heartfelt adherence to simplicity. Most of the plates are vegetarian, like crushed fava beans with chicory, but there are always one or two meat dishes, including offal.

A bowl of cauliflower, carrots, and other vegetables in golden broth.
A vegetable dish at Assassination Custard.
Corinna Hardgrave

Drinkers covet the tables at Enrico Fantasia and Thibaud Harang’s wine bar at the upper end of Temple Bar. Far from the touristy streets further down, Piglet is incredibly atmospheric in the evening, with regulars who all seem to know each other. The set lunch menu (cacio e pepe, pork ragu, duck gizzards) is pretty affordable, making it easier on the wallet to justify a bit of a rummage through the impressive wine list.

Bartenders work behind a bar covered with bottles, beside another large shelve of bottles, with an upstairs seating area visible above
Inside Piglet
Piglet Wine Bar

Vanessa Murphy and her Spanish partner Anna Cabrera are part of the beating heart of this side of town. Regular diners queue for tables at Las Tapas de Lola to work their way through Spanish tapas and a smart wine list, which also includes some interesting sherries and vermouth. Nearby on Montague Street, you’ll find more ambitious dishes (like chuletón or lamb sweetbreads in port sauce) at the duo’s bodega restaurant, La Gordita, where the barstools are the most coveted spots.

Las Tapas de Lola

A gloriously fun interior with columns of neon light, a hammered gold bar, and a blazing-red ceiling with two black fans indicates what to expect in Robert Hayes and Alex Zhang’s Chinese-inspired restaurant. Creativity, energy, and vibrant flavors are lined up on a tick-the-box menu, which includes lobster and wagyu beef tucked into a squid ink bao, cheeseburger dumplings, corn ribs, and feather blade steak with fermented bean and Urfa pepper. Sip clever cocktails, such as She Sells Sichuan, made with gin, Aperol, lychee, hibiscus, and Sichuan pepper.

A server moves between tables in a dining room outfitted with purple lights, patterned floor, and large tubular lights.
Inside Bigfan.
Bigfan

Gildas, tortillas, squid a la plancha, and flan de queso are just a few of the dishes on the menu at Liz Matthews and Simon Barrett’s smart, award winning restaurant. Come with a good appetite to try the salt-aged Delmonico steak, served with bearnaise, beef-dripping potatoes, and Bordelaise sauce; it’s the stuff of legends. The wine list here is particularly good, featuring some of Spain’s most acclaimed small producers and an impressive selection of grower Champagnes. Vegetarian dishes are available, and the kitchen can cater to vegans with advance notice.

A bar with dark green tiles and pendant lights, where bartenders work.
Inside Uno Mas.
Corinna Hardgrave

Look for the neon “Ca$h 4 Gold” sign, venture through the dive bar that looks like a pawn shop — where there are good pints and cocktails — and head to the back where Ian Cairns has found a home for his Mexican-inspired pop-up, Órale Street Food. Tacos, tostadas, and burritos sit alongside more sizable main courses on a menu that is perfect for sharing and casual dining.

Whole fish topped with crispy fixings and cilantro, served on a leaf.
Whole seabass. 
Órale Street Food

Step into this atmospheric restaurant for the best North Indian food in the country. The express lunch tiffin box is a perfect quick bite if you’re eating on your own, but it’s better to turn up with a group of friends in the evening to really work your way through Sunil Ghai’s menu. The beloved goat keema pao is a slow-cooked wonder in which minced goat meat melds with black and green cardamom, cinnamon, coriander, mint, ginger, garlic, onions, Kashmiri chillies, and kalpasi moss. It’s delicious mopped up with maska pao, a brioche-style bun.

Pickle

Inside a former butcher’s shop with the original awning still in place, you’ll find a cave à manger-style wine bar with an 18-seat communal high table and counter seats at the window. Katie Seward, one of the country’s top sommeliers, constantly updates the superb list of more than 150 low-intervention bottles. David Bradshaw, who previously worked in Michelin-starred Lyle’s in London, has a deft touch in the concise menu of small plates.

Customers seated on the sidewalk and street outside a red brick restaurant with a large sign reading Frank’s.
Outside Frank’s.
Corinna Hardgrave

The robata-style grill brings an extra dimension of flavor to every dish at Mister S. To start, you need to order the burnt end rendang spring rolls, made with beef that has been brined, barbecued slowly, shredded, and mixed with Malaysian spices. Follow that up with smoked Angus short rib, Andarl Farm tomahawk pork, or grilled fish. The restaurant is open for a sneaky good lunch on Friday.

A hand holds a whole fish above a wood-fired grill
Whole fish go on the grill
Mister S

At the sister restaurant to Ryon Wen and Ian Keegan’s equally good Hakkahan in Stoneybatter and more upscale Nan nearby, spring for the plate with one of each dumpling on the menu. If you’re going full-in, order the smashed cucumber, prawn toast, and black fungus salad, and ask for the secret Little Sichuan menu with nose-to-tail dishes like steamed chicken claws and garlic ribs.

Three large pleated dumplings in a pool of red sauce topped with fixings.
Dumplings in sauce.
Little Dumpling

The celebrated chef Mickael Viljanen took over Chapter One as chef/patron in 2021, and now many consider the restaurant to be the best in Ireland. The cooking is precise and detailed, with top-quality produce given the classic French treatment. There is of course a tasting menu, but you can dine for a reasonable sum if you opt for the excellent lunch; unlike many daytime menus at top-end restaurants, this one actually does reflect the kitchen’s abilities. Bookings open on the first of each month, and you need to be lightning quick to snag one. Otherwise, ask to be added to the cancellations list.

Sometimes, all you want is a truly great kebab. Ali and Cumali Aydin’s charcoal-grilled adana, made from hand-chopped lamb and beef, is generally considered the best in Dublin. The large menu extends to lamb chops, Turkish meatballs, falafel, lavash straight out of the tandoor, and house-made baklava.

Customers sit at tables outside a restaurant with signs advertising Reyna and Turkish Grill.
Outside Reyna.
Reyna

Shane Windrim’s New York-style slice shop, which features 48-hour fermented dough with blistering hot toppings, is one of the most popular places in Dublin. Grab one of the high stools or a spot on the bench outside, and choose from one of eight pizzas, which change regularly. The stars of the menu are the Sicilian-style burrata square slice and the Hot Pep with cheese, pepperoni, jalapeno, and hot honey. Wash it down with the house beer, or spring for a glass of grower Champagne.

You’re unlikely to find a better cheese toastie anywhere in the world. But you’ll need to grab a daytime stool, since the toasties come off the menu once the clock strikes 5:30 p.m. After that you can have some charcuterie and cheese plates, along with one of the iconic bottles from small producers that line the shelves at Dublin’s original natural wine bar. If you don’t feel like paying the corkage fee, try a few different glasses from Brian O’Caoimh and Kevin Powell’s regularly changing by-the-glass list. Walk-ins only.  

On one of the best people-watching streets in Dublin, La Maison sports a convivial, sizable terrace, along with a cozy interior. This Gallic institution serves classics like a French onion soup generously slicked with molten Gruyere. The early evening menu is an exceptionally good value with options like duck confit and gnocchi, but you could find yourself running up a bill as you tuck into the a la carte later in the evening.

A large covered patio with cane chairs and white tablecloths.
The terrace at La Maison.
La Maison

The Bereen brothers’ buzzy restaurant, where live DJs kick up the energy in the evening, is as much about the cocktails and vibe as it is about the wine and clever food. Order the rosti loaded with crab and topped with bottarga and wild garlic, and flatbread with a foaming Coolea cheese dip. There’s no minimum order or requirement to have a main course, so sticking with the small plates is a good strategy here. Grab a table at the outdoor terrace for enviable people watching.

Hawksmoor may be a London institution and rated as one of the world’s best steakhouses, but the newly opened Dublin outpost in the city center is solidly Irish on the plate. Options for larger cuts of beef from the country’s top producers are chalked on a board daily, perfect for sharing after you’ve worked your way through some Flaggy Shore oysters, bone marrow with onions, and local lobster. Dublin’s finest dining room, in a meticulously restored landmark building designed by William Barnes in the mid-1840s with a soaring 40-foot dome, adds to the drama. Sunday lunch is a steal, and the corkage is only 5 euros (about $5.50) on Mondays.

A luxe bar with blue leather stools, back-lit shelves of spirits, and rich wood.
The bar at Hawksmoor.
Jamie Hacket

With sustainability and carefully sourced produce at its heart, Stephen O’Dwyer’s small, daytime cafe is a popular spot for brunch or lunch. The menu is chalked on a blackboard, and you can see the bowls of beautiful salad, beetroot hummus, and tzatziki as you queue to order. The biggest decision: whether to get all this goodness in a bowl or wrapped in a flatbread.

You’ll be tempted to order so many things at Alon Salman’s restaurant, Shouk, so here’s a game plan: Start with some cocktails, followed by the mezze platter, and then perhaps the chargrilled smoked eggplant. Then dig into the meats. There are serious grills in action here, and the aroma of shawarma wafts through the air. The outside seating area is particularly fun.

Hands reaching into various colorful dishes on a sunlit wooden table
Digging into that mezze
Shouk

Irish chef Kevin Burke worked for years in London, including as head chef at Michelin-starred restaurant the Ninth, before returning to town as part of a wave of chefs bringing excitement to Dublin. At Library Street, in the former Allta space, he’s knocking out some thrilling food. Start with the char-grilled langoustines (just get right in there and let those juices drip down your face), then the risotto, followed by meat from the grill. Whatever you do, leave room for the spectacular desserts, and dive into the low-intervention wine list where there are plenty of options by the glass. Plates are designed to be shared, but after one taste you may not feel like doing so. 

A plate of grilled langostines with colorful garnishes
Langostines
Naoise Culhane Photography

One of the most charming places to eat in Dublin is at the entrance of the Royal Hibernian Academy, a contemporary art museum. During the day, Jess D’Arcy and Killian Durkin offer soups, sandwiches, and salads. The mood changes in the evening, transitioning from coffee shop to smart wine bar. Small plates include Calabrian anchovies, burrata with seasonal vegetables, and poached halibut with crispy chicken skin, all of which can be washed down with choices from the enviable wine list.

A tostada-like dish covered in colorful, chopped ingredients.
A dish at Margadh Food & Wine.
Margadh Food & Wine RHA Gallery

In-the-know diners, and there are plenty of them, head to Dax for a true taste of French fine dining from talented chef Graham Neville. His stuffed zucchini flower in lobster bisque is a signature dish, and you’ll also find classically cooked red mullet, lamb, and sweetbreads. Co-owner Olivier Meisonnave is one of the country’s top sommeliers, overseeing an enviable wine list. This is a spot with wonderfully polished service.

Every city needs a destination bakery like Bread 41, a place that doesn’t just produce great sourdough but takes pure pleasure in surprising customers with creative, exciting pastries. Eoin Cluskey’s cafe, which is tucked under a railway bridge, now has a smart upstairs dining area, making it more of a destination lunch and brunch spot. Among the rotating list of specials, the kimchi fritter is likely to be the big hit of any meal.

A baker arranging dough in bread baskets to rise
Bread in the works
Bread 41

A Friday or Saturday lunch at this wine bar is one of the true joys of Dublin dining; options like mussels escabeche tartine and salted cod with butter beans are tasty, affordable, and presented in an utterly chic room. A midday meal will have you planning a return visit in the evening to pair Essa Fakhry’s small plates with the impressive low-intervention wine list. Dinner is pricier, but the markup on the higher-end wine bottles is relatively modest. The crab crumpet with sea urchin has become a signature dish.

A sleek restaurant interior with lots of wood and large windows.
Inside Note.
Al Higgins

Seasonal produce is central to the menu at this casual trattoria. Ross Lewis, former head chef of two-Michelin-starred Chapter One, takes a simple approach, focusing on pasta, pizzas, and meats cooked in the wood-burning oven, including a formidable shoulder of suckling pork. The sharing menu is particularly good value and includes two starters, two pasta dishes, a main course, and a dessert.

A closeup on spaghetti with clams.
Pasta at Osteria Lucio.
Osteria Lucio

You wouldn’t expect to find a two-Michelin-starred restaurant in a market in a coastal Dublin suburb, but if you get a reservation, it’s worth jumping on the train to Blackrock, to pull up a seat at one of the few tables at Liath. The five elements of taste form the framework for Damien Grey’s precise menu, starting with bitter flavors and moving onto sour, salty, savory, and finally sweet.

A trip to the seaside town of Skerries should include a booking at Cathal Leonard’s fine dining restaurant, particularly if you’re looking for somewhere special for Sunday lunch. The room is smart, with white linen-clad tables. The produce on the menu, with locally landed fish and seasonal vegetables, has a radius of meters rather than miles. The wine list, from sommelier Maire McHugh, is impressive.

From above, a dish of broccoli, sardines, and fried crispies on a textured background
Vegetables shining at Potager
Potager

Lobsters, shrimp, prawns, and crab come directly from a handful of local boats at this casual restaurant in the coastal village of Howth, a 30-minute train journey from the city center. At this relaxed space with plenty of nautical nods, tuck into unfussy dishes of shellfish bisque, crab salad, and fish and chips. With blankets on hand and a little cabin roof overhead, the outdoor tables are as pleasant on a chilly day as when the sun shines.

A table set for four.
A table at King Sitric.
Corinna Hardgrave

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In a smart room buzzing with locals, the dishes at Bala Nayak and Nidhi Joshi’s new restaurant lean toward the south of India. Unique combinations of flavors bring originality to the food, which includes battered and deep-fried kale and samphire scattered with jewelled pomegranate seeds, light and textured crab kebabs, and spicy pork vindaloo. The thalis at lunch are a particularly good value.

Korean Table is tucked away in a quieter part of Stoneybatter, one of Dublin’s hippest neighborhoods. There, Vivian Cho serves a concise menu in a smart, narrow room with raw-plaster walls, tumbling green foliage, and festival lights. Meals start with complimentary banchan including pickled seaweed, zucchini tempura, and kimchi. Prices are incredibly keen and you won’t go wrong with a warming hotpot or a tofu bibimbap.

A plate of various pickled vegetables, with dipping sauces.
Vegetables at Korean Table.
Corinna Hardgrave

The best durum wheat is produced by an ancient grain called senatore cappelli according to Roberto Mungo, who ensures that all of the handmade pasta at his wonderfully convivial restaurant in the hip enclave of Stoneybatter follows his mother’s recipes precisely. Grano is incredibly popular, so you’ll want to book your table here well in advance, and failing that, you’ll find lighter food and plenty of wine at Afianco, Mungo’s vineria next door.

Sitting on a high stool at one of the marble counters in Peter Hogan and Jumoke Akintola’s compact restaurant is one of life’s little pleasures, whether you’re on your own or seated next to some interesting company. Start with the snacks, a gilda perhaps, and a glass of fino. Or delve into the low-intervention wines on a list worth investigating. As you’d expect, it’s all about the fish, which is pristine and cooked simply, either deep-fried in batter or whole-roasted. You won’t get better fish in Dublin.

Fried fish on a pile of fries, with a glass of white wine nearby and a bottle
Quintessential fish and chips
Fish Shop

Argentinian Florencia Matan and her husband, Benjamín Pugliese, started selling facturas (Argentinian pastries) door-to-door, and demand soon pushed them to find a permanent spot. In 2021 they opened their bright-yellow bakery and daytime cafe in the middle of the Liberties. The facturas and alfajores are baked fresh each day, and there are numerous variations of both displayed on the counter, along with empanadas, medialunas, cañoncitos filled with cream or dulce de leche, glazed buns, and fried pastries.

Brothers Aaron and Keelan Higgs recently opened a shiny 30-seater premises next door to the original location of their Michelin-starred Variety Jones. Head chef Keelan makes extensive use of live fire and a wood-burning oven. The tasting menu, which always includes a stuffed pasta, turns family style when it gets to larger courses of grilled fish and meat.

Note: A fire broke out in the new location just a few days after it opened, forcing the team to operate out of their old space for now. 

A beef cheek and oxtail Parker House roll with bone marrow gravy and a cock-a-leekie pie for two are just some of the reasons to visit Stephen Mcallister and Andrea Hussey’s deceptively sophisticated gastropub in the heart of the Liberties. This is the perfect spot for an early dinner before a concert in Vicar Street. Just be sure to book.

A white restaurant exterior with striking red borders around the entrance to the restaurant, with the words ‘Spitalfields’ and ‘pub’
Outside Spitalfields
Spitalfields

Slightly outside downtown (but definitely worth a trip), Barry Fitzgerald and Clairemarie Thomas’s Michelin-starred restaurant is decorated in low-key decor that belies the quality of inventive cooking in the kitchen. While there are some Nordic influences including ferments and foraging, the tasting menu (the only option) is based on seasonal, Irish produce. Featured dishes might include poached oyster with elderflower and tomato dashi; mackerel tartare with fermented gooseberry; and lamb neck with pointed cabbage and sheep’s yogurt. A vegetarian menu is available and there’s a well-chosen low-intervention wine list. 

Part cafe, part food shop and deli, the Fumbally has been a hub for this cool part of town, where many small businesses focus on sustainability and ethical sourcing — and increasingly fight off encroaching development. Coffee, breakfast, or lunch at an upcycled table is a convivial affair, as is dinner on Saturday nights. It’s all very laid back, with seasonal dishes that reflect the fresh produce, house ferments, and natural wines you’ll find for sale on the shelves.

A buffet laid out on a long wood table with people milling about nearby.
Items at the Fumbally.
The Fumbally

Sunday lunch is a bit of an industry secret at this lovely canal-side restaurant, where you’ll find the room filled with off-duty chefs. A few recent tasty morsels included ox tongue on tiny waffles with pickled girolles; dry-aged beef tartare with smoked marrow; and Castletownbere lobster with burnt onion.

Get here before midday if you want to bag a spot at one of the two sharing tables in Gwen McGrath and Ken Doherty’s 10-seater restaurant, open for lunch only. The menu, penned on a white paper sandwich bag, is driven by two things: whatever organic produce is available that day from McNally Family Farm, and a heartfelt adherence to simplicity. Most of the plates are vegetarian, like crushed fava beans with chicory, but there are always one or two meat dishes, including offal.

A bowl of cauliflower, carrots, and other vegetables in golden broth.
A vegetable dish at Assassination Custard.
Corinna Hardgrave

Drinkers covet the tables at Enrico Fantasia and Thibaud Harang’s wine bar at the upper end of Temple Bar. Far from the touristy streets further down, Piglet is incredibly atmospheric in the evening, with regulars who all seem to know each other. The set lunch menu (cacio e pepe, pork ragu, duck gizzards) is pretty affordable, making it easier on the wallet to justify a bit of a rummage through the impressive wine list.

Bartenders work behind a bar covered with bottles, beside another large shelve of bottles, with an upstairs seating area visible above
Inside Piglet
Piglet Wine Bar

Vanessa Murphy and her Spanish partner Anna Cabrera are part of the beating heart of this side of town. Regular diners queue for tables at Las Tapas de Lola to work their way through Spanish tapas and a smart wine list, which also includes some interesting sherries and vermouth. Nearby on Montague Street, you’ll find more ambitious dishes (like chuletón or lamb sweetbreads in port sauce) at the duo’s bodega restaurant, La Gordita, where the barstools are the most coveted spots.

Las Tapas de Lola

A gloriously fun interior with columns of neon light, a hammered gold bar, and a blazing-red ceiling with two black fans indicates what to expect in Robert Hayes and Alex Zhang’s Chinese-inspired restaurant. Creativity, energy, and vibrant flavors are lined up on a tick-the-box menu, which includes lobster and wagyu beef tucked into a squid ink bao, cheeseburger dumplings, corn ribs, and feather blade steak with fermented bean and Urfa pepper. Sip clever cocktails, such as She Sells Sichuan, made with gin, Aperol, lychee, hibiscus, and Sichuan pepper.

A server moves between tables in a dining room outfitted with purple lights, patterned floor, and large tubular lights.
Inside Bigfan.
Bigfan

Gildas, tortillas, squid a la plancha, and flan de queso are just a few of the dishes on the menu at Liz Matthews and Simon Barrett’s smart, award winning restaurant. Come with a good appetite to try the salt-aged Delmonico steak, served with bearnaise, beef-dripping potatoes, and Bordelaise sauce; it’s the stuff of legends. The wine list here is particularly good, featuring some of Spain’s most acclaimed small producers and an impressive selection of grower Champagnes. Vegetarian dishes are available, and the kitchen can cater to vegans with advance notice.

A bar with dark green tiles and pendant lights, where bartenders work.
Inside Uno Mas.
Corinna Hardgrave

Look for the neon “Ca$h 4 Gold” sign, venture through the dive bar that looks like a pawn shop — where there are good pints and cocktails — and head to the back where Ian Cairns has found a home for his Mexican-inspired pop-up, Órale Street Food. Tacos, tostadas, and burritos sit alongside more sizable main courses on a menu that is perfect for sharing and casual dining.

Whole fish topped with crispy fixings and cilantro, served on a leaf.
Whole seabass. 
Órale Street Food

Step into this atmospheric restaurant for the best North Indian food in the country. The express lunch tiffin box is a perfect quick bite if you’re eating on your own, but it’s better to turn up with a group of friends in the evening to really work your way through Sunil Ghai’s menu. The beloved goat keema pao is a slow-cooked wonder in which minced goat meat melds with black and green cardamom, cinnamon, coriander, mint, ginger, garlic, onions, Kashmiri chillies, and kalpasi moss. It’s delicious mopped up with maska pao, a brioche-style bun.

Pickle

Inside a former butcher’s shop with the original awning still in place, you’ll find a cave à manger-style wine bar with an 18-seat communal high table and counter seats at the window. Katie Seward, one of the country’s top sommeliers, constantly updates the superb list of more than 150 low-intervention bottles. David Bradshaw, who previously worked in Michelin-starred Lyle’s in London, has a deft touch in the concise menu of small plates.

Customers seated on the sidewalk and street outside a red brick restaurant with a large sign reading Frank’s.
Outside Frank’s.
Corinna Hardgrave

The robata-style grill brings an extra dimension of flavor to every dish at Mister S. To start, you need to order the burnt end rendang spring rolls, made with beef that has been brined, barbecued slowly, shredded, and mixed with Malaysian spices. Follow that up with smoked Angus short rib, Andarl Farm tomahawk pork, or grilled fish. The restaurant is open for a sneaky good lunch on Friday.

A hand holds a whole fish above a wood-fired grill
Whole fish go on the grill
Mister S

At the sister restaurant to Ryon Wen and Ian Keegan’s equally good Hakkahan in Stoneybatter and more upscale Nan nearby, spring for the plate with one of each dumpling on the menu. If you’re going full-in, order the smashed cucumber, prawn toast, and black fungus salad, and ask for the secret Little Sichuan menu with nose-to-tail dishes like steamed chicken claws and garlic ribs.

Three large pleated dumplings in a pool of red sauce topped with fixings.
Dumplings in sauce.
Little Dumpling

The celebrated chef Mickael Viljanen took over Chapter One as chef/patron in 2021, and now many consider the restaurant to be the best in Ireland. The cooking is precise and detailed, with top-quality produce given the classic French treatment. There is of course a tasting menu, but you can dine for a reasonable sum if you opt for the excellent lunch; unlike many daytime menus at top-end restaurants, this one actually does reflect the kitchen’s abilities. Bookings open on the first of each month, and you need to be lightning quick to snag one. Otherwise, ask to be added to the cancellations list.

Sometimes, all you want is a truly great kebab. Ali and Cumali Aydin’s charcoal-grilled adana, made from hand-chopped lamb and beef, is generally considered the best in Dublin. The large menu extends to lamb chops, Turkish meatballs, falafel, lavash straight out of the tandoor, and house-made baklava.

Customers sit at tables outside a restaurant with signs advertising Reyna and Turkish Grill.
Outside Reyna.
Reyna

Shane Windrim’s New York-style slice shop, which features 48-hour fermented dough with blistering hot toppings, is one of the most popular places in Dublin. Grab one of the high stools or a spot on the bench outside, and choose from one of eight pizzas, which change regularly. The stars of the menu are the Sicilian-style burrata square slice and the Hot Pep with cheese, pepperoni, jalapeno, and hot honey. Wash it down with the house beer, or spring for a glass of grower Champagne.

You’re unlikely to find a better cheese toastie anywhere in the world. But you’ll need to grab a daytime stool, since the toasties come off the menu once the clock strikes 5:30 p.m. After that you can have some charcuterie and cheese plates, along with one of the iconic bottles from small producers that line the shelves at Dublin’s original natural wine bar. If you don’t feel like paying the corkage fee, try a few different glasses from Brian O’Caoimh and Kevin Powell’s regularly changing by-the-glass list. Walk-ins only.  

On one of the best people-watching streets in Dublin, La Maison sports a convivial, sizable terrace, along with a cozy interior. This Gallic institution serves classics like a French onion soup generously slicked with molten Gruyere. The early evening menu is an exceptionally good value with options like duck confit and gnocchi, but you could find yourself running up a bill as you tuck into the a la carte later in the evening.

A large covered patio with cane chairs and white tablecloths.
The terrace at La Maison.
La Maison

The Bereen brothers’ buzzy restaurant, where live DJs kick up the energy in the evening, is as much about the cocktails and vibe as it is about the wine and clever food. Order the rosti loaded with crab and topped with bottarga and wild garlic, and flatbread with a foaming Coolea cheese dip. There’s no minimum order or requirement to have a main course, so sticking with the small plates is a good strategy here. Grab a table at the outdoor terrace for enviable people watching.

Hawksmoor may be a London institution and rated as one of the world’s best steakhouses, but the newly opened Dublin outpost in the city center is solidly Irish on the plate. Options for larger cuts of beef from the country’s top producers are chalked on a board daily, perfect for sharing after you’ve worked your way through some Flaggy Shore oysters, bone marrow with onions, and local lobster. Dublin’s finest dining room, in a meticulously restored landmark building designed by William Barnes in the mid-1840s with a soaring 40-foot dome, adds to the drama. Sunday lunch is a steal, and the corkage is only 5 euros (about $5.50) on Mondays.

A luxe bar with blue leather stools, back-lit shelves of spirits, and rich wood.
The bar at Hawksmoor.
Jamie Hacket

With sustainability and carefully sourced produce at its heart, Stephen O’Dwyer’s small, daytime cafe is a popular spot for brunch or lunch. The menu is chalked on a blackboard, and you can see the bowls of beautiful salad, beetroot hummus, and tzatziki as you queue to order. The biggest decision: whether to get all this goodness in a bowl or wrapped in a flatbread.

You’ll be tempted to order so many things at Alon Salman’s restaurant, Shouk, so here’s a game plan: Start with some cocktails, followed by the mezze platter, and then perhaps the chargrilled smoked eggplant. Then dig into the meats. There are serious grills in action here, and the aroma of shawarma wafts through the air. The outside seating area is particularly fun.

Hands reaching into various colorful dishes on a sunlit wooden table
Digging into that mezze
Shouk

Irish chef Kevin Burke worked for years in London, including as head chef at Michelin-starred restaurant the Ninth, before returning to town as part of a wave of chefs bringing excitement to Dublin. At Library Street, in the former Allta space, he’s knocking out some thrilling food. Start with the char-grilled langoustines (just get right in there and let those juices drip down your face), then the risotto, followed by meat from the grill. Whatever you do, leave room for the spectacular desserts, and dive into the low-intervention wine list where there are plenty of options by the glass. Plates are designed to be shared, but after one taste you may not feel like doing so. 

A plate of grilled langostines with colorful garnishes
Langostines
Naoise Culhane Photography

One of the most charming places to eat in Dublin is at the entrance of the Royal Hibernian Academy, a contemporary art museum. During the day, Jess D’Arcy and Killian Durkin offer soups, sandwiches, and salads. The mood changes in the evening, transitioning from coffee shop to smart wine bar. Small plates include Calabrian anchovies, burrata with seasonal vegetables, and poached halibut with crispy chicken skin, all of which can be washed down with choices from the enviable wine list.

A tostada-like dish covered in colorful, chopped ingredients.
A dish at Margadh Food & Wine.
Margadh Food & Wine RHA Gallery

In-the-know diners, and there are plenty of them, head to Dax for a true taste of French fine dining from talented chef Graham Neville. His stuffed zucchini flower in lobster bisque is a signature dish, and you’ll also find classically cooked red mullet, lamb, and sweetbreads. Co-owner Olivier Meisonnave is one of the country’s top sommeliers, overseeing an enviable wine list. This is a spot with wonderfully polished service.

Every city needs a destination bakery like Bread 41, a place that doesn’t just produce great sourdough but takes pure pleasure in surprising customers with creative, exciting pastries. Eoin Cluskey’s cafe, which is tucked under a railway bridge, now has a smart upstairs dining area, making it more of a destination lunch and brunch spot. Among the rotating list of specials, the kimchi fritter is likely to be the big hit of any meal.

A baker arranging dough in bread baskets to rise
Bread in the works
Bread 41

A Friday or Saturday lunch at this wine bar is one of the true joys of Dublin dining; options like mussels escabeche tartine and salted cod with butter beans are tasty, affordable, and presented in an utterly chic room. A midday meal will have you planning a return visit in the evening to pair Essa Fakhry’s small plates with the impressive low-intervention wine list. Dinner is pricier, but the markup on the higher-end wine bottles is relatively modest. The crab crumpet with sea urchin has become a signature dish.

A sleek restaurant interior with lots of wood and large windows.
Inside Note.
Al Higgins

Seasonal produce is central to the menu at this casual trattoria. Ross Lewis, former head chef of two-Michelin-starred Chapter One, takes a simple approach, focusing on pasta, pizzas, and meats cooked in the wood-burning oven, including a formidable shoulder of suckling pork. The sharing menu is particularly good value and includes two starters, two pasta dishes, a main course, and a dessert.

A closeup on spaghetti with clams.
Pasta at Osteria Lucio.
Osteria Lucio

You wouldn’t expect to find a two-Michelin-starred restaurant in a market in a coastal Dublin suburb, but if you get a reservation, it’s worth jumping on the train to Blackrock, to pull up a seat at one of the few tables at Liath. The five elements of taste form the framework for Damien Grey’s precise menu, starting with bitter flavors and moving onto sour, salty, savory, and finally sweet.

A trip to the seaside town of Skerries should include a booking at Cathal Leonard’s fine dining restaurant, particularly if you’re looking for somewhere special for Sunday lunch. The room is smart, with white linen-clad tables. The produce on the menu, with locally landed fish and seasonal vegetables, has a radius of meters rather than miles. The wine list, from sommelier Maire McHugh, is impressive.

From above, a dish of broccoli, sardines, and fried crispies on a textured background
Vegetables shining at Potager
Potager

Lobsters, shrimp, prawns, and crab come directly from a handful of local boats at this casual restaurant in the coastal village of Howth, a 30-minute train journey from the city center. At this relaxed space with plenty of nautical nods, tuck into unfussy dishes of shellfish bisque, crab salad, and fish and chips. With blankets on hand and a little cabin roof overhead, the outdoor tables are as pleasant on a chilly day as when the sun shines.

A table set for four.
A table at King Sitric.
Corinna Hardgrave

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