101 Great Irish Restaurants in Dublin: The cream of the capital

Our 101 Great Irish Restaurants guide, sponsored by Nespresso Professional, includes restaurants from all over the country that serve up delicious food, offer wonderful service, and are well worth a visit.

Whittling the lists down to just 101 listings was no easy task, which is a testament to the sheer number of quality outlets that can now be found around the island of Ireland. We hope this guide will be one you refer to again and again throughout the year when deciding where to eat. Read on for the Dublin restaurants that made the cut in our 101 Great Irish Restaurants guide.

Big Mike’s, Blackrock, michaels.ie/big-mikes

Ireland, as a country, is abundantly rich in coastline and cows, and there aren’t many places that know exactly what to do with both quite like Big Mike’s. The jewel in chef Gaz Smith’s family of restaurants is big, ballsy and bold, and very very fun.

Although the meal will start delicately, with expert service from an army of industry veterans, with homemade breads and gorgeous butterscotch butter (trust us), expect to blink and be drinking shots of Jäger to wash down the most incredible surf and turf platters you’ve ever seen, with catch fresh out of the water that morning, and beef that would make any butcher blush.

Big Mikes is the final boss of what a neighbourhood restaurant can become. Don’t skip on the starters - anything arancini-based or slow cooked is a guaranteed winner.

Fish Shop, Smithfield, fish-shop.ie

The small and unassuming Fish Shop is equal parts the best chipper you’ve ever been to in your life, and the kind of marble-countered spot you’d find on holidays in Spain and dream of forevermore. It is, quite simply, special.

You will eat the likes of Portuguese cockles swimming in sherry and chorizo, squid sliders and the most perfect baked sole you can imagine. But there’s also the beer-battered hake and chips, the eponymous Fillet O'Fish Shop burger, as well as the hugely varied and interesting wine list, and the excellent staff.

Etto, Merrion Row, etto.ie

How do you define a great restaurant? Is it just the food? The legacy? Is it longevity, and the ability to stay relevant over years? Etto has it all, and then some. The food is spectacular - the mussels with ‘nduja, sweetcorn and samphire are as iconic as any dish in the city, and the suckling pig with sausage roll, swede, apple and horseradish purée with choucroute is a dish that will stay with you for a long time.

For a tiny restaurant on a block full of offices, Etto has been consistently loved by critics and punters alike. Dublin would be less delicious without it.

Lee’s Charming Noodles, Parnell Street, charmingnoodles.weebly.com

It’s a somewhat depressing reality that life is getting more expensive at an alarming rate. But sitting in the window of Lee’s Charming Noodles, getting your specs fogged up by a huge bowl of hot and sour braised beef noodles for under a tenner offers a trip to a culinary Neverland where quality doesn’t come at the compromise of cost, and you’re almost guaranteed a Cheshire Cat grin.

Lee’s churns out some of the greatest Lanzhou and Szechuan food in the city, in a totally unfussy and supremely affordable manner - at the time of writing, there isn’t a single item over €16 on the menu. What should you order? Some combination of Lanzhou hand-pulled noodles, cumin lamb and the ever incredible Szechuan-style mala seabass should do the job.

Library Street, Setanta Place, librarystreet.ie

A restaurant, above all else, should be fun, and chef Kevin Burke intrinsically understands that. Library Street is a restaurant that seriously delivers, without taking itself too seriously. The menu is built around sharing and a convivial buzz, and the brief is nothing short of perfectly nailed.

Once you’ve eaten the crispy chicken wing with morel and tarragon mayo you will immediately want to order another, such is its deliciousness, and the great heaving tranche of chargrilled turbot with jus gras, brown butter béarnaise and sorrel is every bit as lip-smacking as it sounds. This is a place for mates, dates and endless clean plates, with a killer wine list to match all budgets.

Rosa Madre, Temple Bar, rosamadre.ie

If you put a call into central casting requesting an ebullient, slightly mischevious, always fun-focused Italian restaurateur, the chances are that Luca De Marzio would appear at your desk before you’d finished the conversation.

Time has been known to stand still, and pre-agreed wine budgets to disappear out the window, as soon as you settle into this two-storey temple to la dolce vita on Crow Street. Fish is the speciality - ask De Marzio what’s fresh that day, then get him to recommend a bottle from his superb wine list to enjoy with it. After some pasta? The linguine with Irish clams is superb.

Hakkahan, Stoneybatter, hakkahan.ie

There is something deeply addictive about the floral fragrance and numbing sensation of Szechuan pepper, and the best place to get your fix of it in Dublin is Hakkahan on Manor Street. It may look like a simple restaurant, but once you step through the doors and park your bum on on a bench, you are taken on a deep dive through one of the best Chinese menus in the city.

The chef’s special section is rich with dishes like Fu Qi Fei Pian, husband and wife beef slices with offal, ginger, garlic, chili oil and coriander, and Hong Shao Ya, Silverhill duck with pickles, chili, garlic and coriander. The dishes pack a wallop of heat but remain surprisingly easy on the wallet; be prepared to sweat a lot and smile even more.

Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud, Merrion Street, restaurantpatrickguilbaud.ie

If the team behind Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud ever find themselves at a loose end, they could probably fill their days giving seminars on longevity in business for not insignificant fees. It opened in 1981, the same year Diana Spencer married Prince Charles, Ronald Reagan was sworn in as US president, and Bucks Fizz won the Eurovision in Dublin with Making Your Mind Up.

Back then it was located on St James’s Place East, but in 1997 it moved to its current home at the Merrion Hotel, having won its first Michelin star in 1990 and its second in 1996.

Over the decades, it has remained true to its French fine dining ethos while also training some of the country’s best chefs, and tweaking its offering to reflect the changing demands of high-end diners. A true institution, in every sense of the word, with one of Europe’s best-stocked wine cellars and superlative service from Stephane Robin and his team.

Korean Table, Stoneybatter, koreantablestoneybatter.com

At the abundantly charming Korean Table, owner Vivian Cho has turned a small hole in the wall in Dublin 7 into nothing short of a phenomenon.

Operating a walk-in only policy and discarding a bloated catch-all Asian menu in favour of 10 excellent dishes cooked from Cho’s own family recipes, Korean Table is an example of someone building something, and everyone coming, and for good reason.

Rich beef ribs with white radish in a Korean broth would brighten up even the darkest of days, and the Korean fried chicken is the best in town. If you’re looking for supreme comfort, butter kimchi fried rice is the way to go. Be sure to buy yourself a jar of kimchi on the way out to bring the magic home.

Dax, Upper Pembroke Street, dax.ie

Graham Neville is the chef’s chef, consistently lauded by his peers for his attention to detail, focus on flavour, and quietly confident dishes. You will find his cooking at Dax, an elegant basement restaurant just off Leeson Street that’s just as good a location for a romantic date as a business lunch.

Expect top-notch produce like Wicklow venison, Salter’s free range pork and and Carlingford oysters, some of the best service in the city centre from owner Olivier Meisonnave and his team, and a great wine selection.

Pickle, Camden Street, picklerestaurant.com

Pickle is as much a restaurant as it is chef/owner Sunil Ghai’s love letter to the cuisine of northern India. Hailing from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, and later going on to hone his craft in some of the finest restaurants in Delhi, Ghai is a passionate and infinitely knowledgable ambassador for Indian cuisine in Ireland, and that is abundantly reflected in Pickle.

The goat keema pao, rich in garlic and black cardamom, is a truly revelatory dish, deep and rich and incredibly balanced, while favourites like butter chicken offer simpler options that are still remarkable tasty. A tasting menu is €85 a head, but the smart money is on the raan feast, a slow braised leg of lamb that easily serves four people for €120.

Uno Mas, Aungier Street, unomas.ie

Where to begin with Uno Mas? The barely there resistance of a tender tortilla against your knife? The gorgeous sunshine contrast of colours of Cantabrian anchovies and salmorejo? Or the seductive jiggle of a Flan de queso imploring you to have one more bite?

Uno Mas is a restaurant that seldom, if ever misses. Celebrating the cuisine of Spain with an Irish heart, the three way dream team of restaurateurs Liz Matthews and Simon Barrett and chef Paul McNamara have worked together to create one of Dublin’s more unequivocally loved restaurants. The wine list is varied, leaning heavily towards Spain, with an a selection of sherry and port to suit all palates.

Hawksmoor, College Green, hawksmoor.ie

Sometimes you have to go big, and it doesn’t get much bigger than an internationally lauded steakhouse offering incredible wood fired prime cuts in the ex-headquarters of The National Bank. Hawksmoor is far from subtle, with dark wood, leather and polished brass to beat the band, but it leans into it with grace, and the food matches up.

Huge slabs of meat, aged beautifully and cooked over fire, are what people will gravitate towards. But the grilled monkfish is such a simple expression of this glorious fish, and the Ballylisk wellington is one of the unsung hero veggie dishes in the city, with celeriac, mushroom and runny Ballylisk cheese imprisoned in puff pastry to everyone’s benefit.

Although dinner here can definitely run to a fair few quid, the lunch and early bird menus offer excellent value.

Woodruff, Stepaside, woodruff.ie

The first bite of Woodruff’s ethereally light doughnut filled with the year’s first rhubarb and a meadowsweet creme diplomate is enough to confirm that you are eating somewhere that is a serious cut above. The food is painstakingly seasonal, local and considered, with chef Simon Williams cutting no corners, fermenting, pickling and curing a larder’s worth of ingredients to make every plate pop.

The menu changes regularly, but expect to see expert cooking combined with unpretentious food, welcoming service in one of the most architecturally savvy spaces in the city, and ultimately, an experience that will make the journey to Stepaside worth it in every way.

Mamo, Howth, mamorestaurant.ie

Whether you take the Dart, drive the car or perhaps arrive by boat in Howth in north Co Dublin, you should always head for Mamo. Start with their signature “Cod Chips”, then follow with sharply executed starters like strozzapretti pasta with rabbit, before moving on to cote de boeufs or turbot to share.

Mamo is a gem on the coast, the food is generous, playful and supremely delicious. Truly one of Dublin’s great restaurants.

Piglet, Temple Bar, pigletwinebar.ie

Piglet is the Franco-Italian baby of Enrico Fantasia and Thibaud Harang, hidden away on the nice end of the border of Temple Bar. The food tastes familial; Italian leaning but cooked in the style of a French bistro. It’s the kind of place you pop in for a light lunch and a glass of wine and find yourself staying for dinner with a bottle.

The rich, saucy take on a prawn pil pil is so good that it deserves its own float in the St Patricks Day parade, and the cote de boeuf frequently comes into the conversation about the best in the city. But what makes the restaurant truly great is its charm. Warm hospitality, regulars coming and going and if you’re lucky, a glass of home made Pineau des Charentes to close off the evening.

Variety Jones, Thomas Street, varietyjones.ie

There are a lot of restaurants that cook French food, or Indian, or Thai, but Variety Jones cooks food that’s uniquely Variety Jones. Offering an €85 no choice chefs menu that changes regularly but always focuses on food cooked on the hearth, the plates produced in this small space, by a relatively small team led by Keelan and Aaron Higgs, are nothing short of miraculous.

The tasting menu provides a blend of bright and bold flavours, from jerk spiced celeriac and curry crab, to the signature spaghetti Alfredo, and onto barbecue monkfish with west African jollof. Wash the lot down with a list full of natural, biodynamic and indie vineyards, as well as some classic heavy hitters. Eat in Variety Jones. Punk’s not dead.

D’Olier Street, D’Olier Street, dolierstreetrestaurant.com

Sitting at the counter, overlooking the kitchen of the newly Michelin-starred D’Olier Street, is like watching a ballet corps in full flow - the chefs have incredible economy of movement, seemingly exchanging orders telepathically.

The tasting menu for €118 per person starts with French toast with lardo and relish, is reminiscent of the best pub sandwich you’ve ever had, while the cod dish with basil, girolle and chicken is insanely tasty and brilliantly balanced.

It’s a theme carried through to the desserts, which are exceptional, with the blackcurrant Bakewell tart being a highlight. A beautiful restaurant, serving sharp, modern food with an excellent team.

Crudo, Sandymount, crudo.ie

On an avenue off the green in Sandymount in you’ll find Crudo, which has been slowly building a cult following, and for good reason. Neighbourhood restaurants are tough at times, but perfectly stripped back Mediterranean food that leans into provenance and tradition is a great recipe for not just repeat custom, but a growing throng of loyal diners willing to take a culinary holiday to the Costa Del Dublin 4.

Cacio e pepe fritti are gooey and moreish, and freshly made morcilla flambeed at the table is a perfect blend of style and substance. The hospitality is warm, familiar and professional, and the wine list is expertly curated, leaning heavily into Italian varietals to match a selection of freshly made pastas, risottos and excellent meats and fish for mains.

Crudo has distilled the magic of a meal cooked by an Italian grandmother and turned it into a restaurant, and will leave you grinning for long after the last plate is mopped clean.

777, South Great Georges Street, 777.ie

If you like your margaritas cold and strong, your music loud and your pigs head carnitas crispy, then 777 is a one stop shop for you. Somewhere in between a modern Mexican restaurant, a dive bar and nightclub, it is one of the city’s most important restaurant.

Not only has the food been consistently excellent since the word go, but when it opened in 2012 there was nothing remotely like it anywhere in Ireland. You could stick 777 in any city in the world and it would be cool, and a trendsetter in and of itself.

Cocktails are excellent and range from €14 to €16, and the food is built for sharing. Long time favourites are the tuna ceviche with lime, coconut and apple, and the tacos, which are two for €8 on Tuesdays.

Pho Kim, Parnell Street, phokim.ie

You won’t found anywhere in Dublin doing Vietnamese food more authentically than Pho Kim. Crispy Bánh xèo get wrapped in salad leaves and stuffed with herbs before going for a dunk in fragrant nước chấm for a perfect bite. Tender Bánh cuốn stuffed with pork, prawn and black mushrooms are impossibly moreish.

If you’re partial to an excellent bowl of pho you won’t go far wrong, but if you want something a bit more special, try the excellent Bún bò Huế, a rich and spicier noodle soup hailing from central Vietnam which incorporates pork bones alongside beef for an insanely aromatic broth.

Mae, Ballsbridge, maerestaurant.ie

Mae is concrete evidence that amazing things can come in small packages. Tucked upstairs above The French Paradox wine shop, chef Grainne O’Keefe has created a jewel of a restaurant, serving modern Irish cooking in a refined, thoughtful way.

The €75 per person tasting menu is generous in flavour and awash with brilliantly intelligent cooking. Coolea ravioli in a black garlic and pepper sauce bursts on the tongue, flooding your taste buds, while excellently cooked pieces of cod come with a wild mushroom tarragon and balsamic risotto. Get the tarte tatin to finish, or live in regret forever more.

Obviously being above a French wine shop, the list is mostly French with some amazing value on bottles. Guidance from sommelier Julien Chaigneau will set you sight.

Chapter One, Parnell Square, chapteronerestaurant.com

The barriers of entry that exist within fine dining are important to consider. It can be very expensive. It often requires in-depth knowledge of the chef, the food and the wine. It’s a mountain that you often have to climb to understand.

But at Chapter One, you will not be going up that mountain alone. Mickael Viljanen’s cooking holds your hand, and guides you through the most perfectly, precisely executed flavours you could imagine. Everything seems familiar but everything is new. This is a truly world class restaurant.

Grano, Stoneybatter, grano.ie

Roberto Mungo is a man who loves his home. He loves it so much he brought his first home to his second, and the result is Grano. Located in the heart of Stoneybatter, and booked out weeks in advance, it is a Calabrian restaurant to the core, importing a vast majority of its ingredients from the villages surrounding Mungo’s family home.

The result is the best scaldanduja you’ve ever tried, served over a flame to melt into crostini; pappa al pomodoro that are so soft they melt in your mouth and finally, for mains, the pasta, all made in house, from flour milled from fields that Roberto owns back home.

The Italian adage of taking something good and not messing it up lives strongly through the actions of Grano, and you should try for yourself, if you can get a booking.

Row Wines, Dublin 2, bereenbrothers.com/row

One of the hottest openings of last year from the team behind Orwell Road, Row Wines has cemented itself as a must-visit spot in the city centre. With its slick design, natural wines, small plates from chef Frank Imperial and a DJ spinning tunes on vinyl, it has something for everyone.

The Kilkee crab rosti is undoubtedly one of the restaurant's best dishes, but you'll be hard-pressed to find a miss on this menu. When the sun is shining, the little terrace outside that spills onto Coppinger Row is the place to be, but sitting inside and enjoying the convivial atmosphere will always be an experience to remember. Bring a gang, share the whole menu and soak up the vibes.

FX Buckley, Pembroke Street, thebuckleycollection.ie

A warm hug in restaurant form, the Pembroke Street outlet of The Buckley Collection is a cosy, inviting space that you won’t want to leave. Steaks cooked in Josper charcoal ovens are the star attraction, but there’s also Sean Ring’s wonderful chicken from Kilkenny, and the kidneys made famous in Ulysses.

Always wanted to try a jeroboam or a melchior? You’ll find them on this particularly impressive wine list.

Big Fan Bao, Aungier Street, bigfan.ie

Big Fan Bao grabs you from the moment you come through the door. Neons, bright lights, a bustling kitchen and incredible smells fill a generally packed room with excitement and get the digestive juices going.

Head chef Alex Zhang, from Dailang in northern China has a knack for combing classic technique and skill with Irish produce. The pork snowflake jiaozi dumping are served connected by the finest tuille imaginable, and the wagyu cheeseburger rolls are dangerously addictive.

Eating in Big Fan is fun. Go as a group, chalk down what you fancy on the menu and dig in.

Liath, Blackrock, liathrestaurant.com

Some of the most exciting food in Dublin is being cooked by Damien Grey in this tiny restaurant situated in Blackrock market. Now holding two Michelin stars, it offers a dining experience like no other – seasonal Irish ingredients are coaxed to express the most dazzling of flavours across a multi-course tasting experience, while exciting wines are paired and presented by the always friendly staff.

While the menu changes constantly, there are some constants like the smoked eel and Parmesan cone – it is a signature of Grey’s and a singular bite of perfection. The room is small with a great view of the open kitchen, so a meal at Liath always feels intimate and special. You'll need to book your table well in advance, but it’s so worth the wait.

Host, Ranelagh, hostrestaurant.ie

Small but perfectly formed, Host is everything you want out of a neighbourhood restaurant. Known for its pasta and steaks, the food here is distinctively focused on very good Irish ingredients, with producers like McNally’s, Peter Hannan and McLoughlin’s all namechecked on the menu.

The high window seats that overlook Ranelagh are the perfect spot to while away an evening while banquette seating further into the restaurant is both comfortable and cosy. The wine list here has been carefully thought out and offers a lovely range of drinks from funky to fresh, while the chef’s menu for two – which starts at €53 per person – will give you a taste of everything that Host has to offer at a very reasonable price.

Volpe Nera, Blackrock, volpenera.ie

Chef Barry Sun has landed on a winning formula at Volpe Nera, a neighbourhood gem that serves a unique take on Mediterranean cuisine, featuring brilliant Irish ingredients and a hint of Asian inspiration.

Seafood and meats are handled with wonderful care, but don’t skip the bites section of the menu or you’ll miss out on the exceptional mushroom butter, delicately dressed oysters and perfectly crispy croquettes. There is a serious selection of wine on offer here, so make sure to ask for a recommendation to pair with your meal – you'll be in for a treat.

Orwell Road, Rathgar, bereenbrothers.com/orwell-road

There’s a real sense of confidence in the air when you enter Orwell Road, the restaurant from the brothers Marc and Conor Bereen where chef Dan Hannigan is behind the stove. The menu is small, as is the room, but everything is incredibly delicious and well curated.

There’s a balance to the food, with the seasons well represented through great Irish producers. The king oyster mushroom with sauce gribiche and chicken skin is a recent addition to the menu but an absolute winner; there's a depth of flavour there that sums up what the restaurant is all about.

Lottie’s, Rathmines, Dublin 6, lotties.ie

From Domini Kemp and Brian Montague’s Valence Hospitality, Lottie’s opened in Rathmines just over a year ago in the space formerly occupied by Lenehans Bar & Grill. They've done a serious job on the interiors, installing velvet furnishings, gold features and more to give the space a more upmarket look, which pairs well with head chef Ted Ostache's thoughtful menu.

Just as welcoming to those looking for a glass of wine and a snack as it is for those on the hunt for a multi-course meal, this neighbourhood restaurant was recently awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand for its good food at moderate prices.

3 Leaves, Blackrock, Dublin, 3leaves.ie

Owned and operated by couple Santosh Thomas and Milie Mathew, 3 Leaves opened in Blackrock Market in 2016 and has been serving unique Indian food ever since. The service is always warm, the food is always delicious and the value is always superb.

If you're lucky enough to visit, you'll find a menu that showcases the diverse flavours from across India. Santosh grinds spices fresh for the restaurant every morning, and you'll taste this care in the food, while the front of house team, led by Milie, are incredibly welcoming - you might arrive a stranger, but you'll leave a friend.

Bastible, Portobello, Dublin 8, bastible.com

Awarded a Michelin star in 2022, Bastible is a little gem located on the South Circular Road. With a tasting menu on offer for €105, dishes change regularly, but the housemade sourdough with cultured butter has become a firm favourite.

Refined and carefully curated by chef Killian Walsh, the food here is modern and seasonal, showcasing great produce and clever techniques. With an open kitchen at the centre of the minimalist room, you'll soon find out why this neighbourhood restaurant consistently impresses.

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