Where We Eat
Our favourite Dublin restaurants, from neighbourhood gems to special occasion dining rooms.
Great produce served with a Spanish influence in Etto's sister restaurant. The Flan de Queso is just one of the exceptional dishes and the wine list is excellent. This is the sort of restaurant that you will want to go back to again and again. It's great value too.
Note is our kind of place. A short seasonal menu comprising of well sourced ingredients cooked with skill and care, an amazing wine list of rare, natural wines. All of this for a great price, in a lovely dining room, served by a friendly and hospitable crew.
Our favourite restaurant in our home city of Dublin. Chef Damien Grey has been pushing Liath further and further towards culinary perfection in recent years. The food is superb, balancing flavours perfectly, demonstrating exceptional skill and a superb palate. Despite its accolades and flourishing reputation, the experience has remained convivial and fun. Add to this superb service and a nice wine list, and Liath is an exceptional restaurant.
A stalwart of the Irish food scene for decades. Classical French food with some excellent Irish seasonal produce served with aplomb and consistency. Professional, formal and knowledgeable service. The lunch menu represents good value.
One of our favourite casual dining spots in Dublin. Some top produce from home and abroad, Italian inspired, delicious food and great value. Some interesting wines and friendly service means Etto has never let us down.
Grano, located in Stoneybatter, is known for its quality Italian cuisine made from top-notch ingredients. While their starters and desserts are delightful, it's the pasta dishes that keep patrons coming back. You can even take a seat and observe the skilled artisans crafting fresh pasta. Grano is a true culinary gem in the area.
A bistro-style restaurant, cooking consistently good and tasty food. A talented kitchen, led by Stephen Gibson, produces well executed, flavoursome, interesting and modern bistro food.
Serving moreish, wholesome, delicious and generous dishes whilst retaining the cosy charm and hospitality of your neighbourhood pub, The Old Spot is a great place to bring the family, especially for Sunday lunch.
Top produce, good cookery, friendly service and great value makes Bastible a charming neighbourhood restaurant to spend a couple of hours. It is run by chef Barry Fitzgerald, previously of the Harwood Arms in London.
If there is a better Chinese restaurant in Dublin we haven't found it yet. The food here is authentic and cooked with skill. The lunch menu is amazing value. The place is always full of regulars.
Margadh is a fantastic wine bar located in an art gallery in Dublin's city centre. The wine list is thoughtfully curated and served alongside some tasty and well cooked food. The service is warm and friendly and the prices represent excellent value.
Executive chef and co-owner James Moore has graced D'Olier Street in Dublin's city center with his culinary prowess. The tasting menu promises a delectable journey, including highlights like a pork dish adorned with gremolata. However, it's the desserts that truly left a lasting impression, with the brioche doughnut emerging as the standout star.
Barry Sun, formally head chef of the fantastic Etto, has opened this small and charming restaurant in Blackrock. The food, made with very well sourced produce, is cooked with care and skill. The service is hospitable and welcoming. There is so much to like in Volpe Nera and, since its family friendly, its a great place to spend an afternoon with the kids.
Chef Adam Nevin, a native of Maynooth, has returned home to lead the ambitious kitchen at The Morrison Room in the charming Carton House hotel. His focus on local, top-quality produce shines through in his elegant and skillfully prepared dishes. Combined with the sophisticated dining room and a surprisingly affordable wine list, The Morrison Room is a restaurant we eagerly anticipate returning to.
Chef Kevin Burke brought his impressive CV back to Dublin in 2019 and opened Library Street in 2021 to critical acclaim. The food at Library Street is a moreish and generous offering of fine produce. The wine list is interesting and concise, pairing well with the food menu. Hospitable service and a lively dining room add to the charm of this restaurant.
We count ourselves lucky because this is our local restaurant and over the last few years it has got better and better. The chef, Simon Williams, uses the best local Irish produce to serve up moreish, delightful and skillfully prepared dishes. This is a restaurant for a special night out or a Saturday lunch with the kids. Also, it has an absolutely brilliant, ever-evolving, wine list.
Great layering of spices, depth of flavour and great cookery make this Indian restaurant a must visit. Run by the charming husband and wife team, Santosh and Milie, in a rudimentary space in Blackrock Market with prices so low it feels like you are robbing them. It is bring-your-own-bottle here.
Since it opened in 2017, Host in the trendy village of Ranelagh has been a hit with locals and regulars, so much so that it is very difficult to get a reservation. But it's worth the effort if you manage to secure one. Host's menu centres around sharing plates, with their homemade pasta dishes often being the highlight. The restaurant is convivial and buzzy and the wine list is appealing. Host is a fantastic neighbourhood restaurant.
Locks has been a very good restaurant for many years now, but since chef Andy Roche left Aimsir to take over the kitchen the food has gone up another level or two. This is a restaurant that would suit any occasion, but it is one of our favourites for a Sunday lunch with the kids. The food manages to be homely, but with modern touches and a sharing guinea-fowl dish will live long in the memory. Couple the excellent food with warm service and you are on to a winner with Locks.
An authentic Italian restaurant focusing on seafood. Raw seafood dishes are a speciality of the house and not to be missed. They make all their own pasta. The food in Rosa Madre will transport you to Italy.
Run by chef John Wyer and his wife Sandy, Forest Avenue is a casual, lively and fun restaurant with a neighbourhood feel serving some very tasty, well executed food in a comfortable dining room. The wine pairings are worth the extra.
Cooking over fire is very on-trend at the moment. So many restaurants are doing it, but not many doing it well. Mister S delivers stripped back dishes cooked over fire from some of Ireland's top producers, such as Andarl Farm. There is no messing, no fuss, just cooked to deliver a great flavour and served with some nice sides. The desserts are not bad either.
If you want some very good Indian food in Dublin, then Pickle is the best choice in Dublin at the moment. Great use of spicing in some fantastic dishes. The wine list is bit on the dull side, so probably better having a beer.
Burgers done properly here. Unlike many 'gourmet' burger places, there are no giant concoctions filled with all sorts of ingredients, piled so high that you can't possibly eat it. Just a quality, well sourced burger and great fries. The way burgers should be.
The only place to go for Ramen in Dublin. All too often ramen is disappointing bowl of shop-bought noodles in a weak or cheaply flavoured broth, but The Ramen Bar take it seriously, making their own noodles to deliver bowls of warming, nourishing goodness. If you are feeling a bit tired-and-emotional or have a touch of man-flu, this place will sort you out.
Mamó is a delightful restaurant in the fishing village of Howth in the north of Dublin. Mamó offers diners a small, ever-changing, seasonal menu. The highlight for us was the seafood dishes with the freshest produce sourced from just outside the front door. Friendly service and a nice wine list makes Mamó a lovely experience.
A fantastic wine list is what Piglet is best known for, but the simple and moreish food is not to be overlooked. The lunch menu is particularly great value. It's a charming little wine bar.