101 Great Irish Restaurants: Moreish, magnificent Munster

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 Munster restaurants that made the cut in our 101 Great Irish Restaurants guide.

Dede at The Customs House, Baltimore, Co Cork, customshousebaltimore.com

Melding and mixing Turkish flavours and technique with west Cork produce is a winning combo for this two-star Michelin restaurant, and a labour of love for chef-proprietor Ahmet Dede and his business partner Maria Archer.

Dede’s admiration for his adopted culinary home is writ large on his four-times a year changing menu developed by his largely Turkish chef brigade, making this fusion of style, ingredient and technique one of Ireland’s most unique dining experiences.

It’s all served up in a dining room that is designed to make you feel right at home, sans stuffiness, with a top-notch sommelier service, an inventive approach to cocktails, and a personable and informed front of house staff largely drawn from the local area.

Goldie Fish & Ale, Cork city, goldie.ie

Dedicated to championing fish cuisine with a daily changing menu depending on what is landed off the boats in Ballycotton, head chef Aishling Moore and her team work collaboratively to present their artfully-plated dishes as exciting, fun and delicious while meeting the challenge of sustainable seafood head on.

Goldie’s dual ethos of whole catch and fin to gill is the bedrock of how every ingredient is individually handled, ensuring the best extraction of flavour and texture. Fish nuggets made from fish trim like cod tongue and cheek, under Goldie’s care, become one of the most fun and tasty things you can eat.

St Francis Provisions, Kinsale, Cork, saintfrancisprovisions.squarespace.com

Described as freewheeling by its approach to everything – the menu, produce, flavours and presentation – by the Michelin guide, St Francis Provisions works with local growers, herdsman, fishermen and artisan producers from within a relatively tight network in and around Kinsale.

Dishes are made up on the fly depending on what lands in at the door each morning. Produce is king (or queen) here, with respectful treatment that lets flavours truly sing.

The all-female team is headed up by founder Barbara Nealon, whose motto of #guts speaks to the determination of the diminutive 17-seater restaurant to pursue a path less travelled if that’s what their collective instinct dictates.

Union Wine Bar & Kitchen, Waterford city, unionbar.ie

The brainchild of award-winning sommelier Morgan VanderKamer and chef Stephen McArdle, Union is a gorgeous spot in the heart of Waterford city. The food is incredibly refined and well thought out, yet service is casual and warm.

The menus are a blend of moreish flavours brightened with impressive techniques, each working perfectly with the exciting drinks list that VanderKamer has created. Ask her for a recommendation to really upgrade your experience, and prepare to sample something special.

The Glass Curtain, Cork city, theglasscurtin.ie

There’s flame and fire and plenty of meat on the menu here, but this is also a restaurant that has mastered nuance where the parallels of robust and delicate lean into each other. For instance, the vegetarian tasting menu easily matches the desirability of the omnivore’s menu.

And although tasting odysseys are no longer trendy, at The Glass Curtain it’s the best option for just sitting back, relaxing and letting every fine dish roll in off the pass and into your personal space. Heavily influenced by the county’s abundant larder of impeccable and seasonal produce, courses follow a backbone of structure while embracing a ‘what’s good now’ approach.

Pot Duggans, Ennistymon, Clare, potduggans.com

True to the adage that you can take your food seriously without taking yourself seriously at all is Pot Duggans. Even if the food wasn’t as deadly delicious as it is, their enthusiasm for everything they make would convince you otherwise. Hidden away with the sunniest courtyard known to man and overlooking the river Inagh, it’s an outstanding exemplar of the neighbourhood eatery.

A young, well-travelled, talented and flavour-curious team headed up by returning executive chef Ashley Gribben, the Pot Duggans concept isn’t one thing but many. Guests can dine on small and large plates paired with a well-curated selection of wines, or travel the world through food at The Melting Pot, a rotating collection of menus, changing every two months.

There’s also the Pizza Board for an even more casual dining experience, but with all the Pot Duggans hallmarks of quality sourcing.

The Oak Room at Adare Manor, Adare, Limerick, adaremanor.com

It would be easy for the Michelin-starred restaurant at this luxurious resort to be uber-stuffy. But it manages to walk that fine line between the type of service you’d expect in a location of this calibre, and the fun element that is always part of great dining experiences.

The room is gorgeous, all dark wood and striking ceiling panelling, and the food from chef Michael Tweedie and his team makes the very most of the Irish larder. Expect one of the best wine experiences in the country too.

Elbow Lane, Cork city, elbowlane.ie

There’s a hidden architecture to the food stylings of head chef Harrison Sharpe. What was once a pioneering over-the-fire restaurant has, over the ten years since its establishment, found a comfortable spot in the hearts of Corkonians. The spirit that was initially about mastering fire for flavour has now up levelled by exploring origins of new, untapped flavour bombs.

Co-located with its own nano-brewery, both head chef and head brewer collaborate in an exchange of ingredients. From brewer’s yeast comes beer miso; from wort comes kombucha, and from leftover beer comes beer vinegar used to preserve anything from apples to chillies to celery.

Produce is mostly sourced from within Cork, except the butter which comes from Sharpe’s home county of Wexford, handmade by his mum and dad, aka Irish Gourmet Butter.

Rare 1784, Kinsale, Cork, rare1784.ie

Head chef Meeran Manzoor’s style is a beautiful synthesis of classic French technique, Irish seasonal produce, and ancient Chettinad cuisine. Indian-born Manzoor pays homage to the intricate and endangered Chettinad food culture by incorporating it into highly creative and refined dishes showcasing an elegant mastery of spice and aromatics.

But this is not an Indian restaurant - this is elegant fine dining that take the best of three worlds and blends them into one perfect whole. The full glass-fronted pass is a unique insight for diners into how each dish is put together and finished.

Terre, Castlemartyr, Cork, terre.ie

Terre captures the essential essence of what it means to be a fine dining restaurant according to international standards. The attention to detail, from the moment of arrival to the last reluctant second of departure, is like nothing else in Ireland today.

There’s the remarkable and masterful globe-trotting cuisine of chef-patron Vincent Crepel, itself a singular expression of his life in food, the service, the table setting, the bespoke knives for just the main course, and the gifted sommeliers of both wine and tea.

Then there’s ease with which every team member breaks down the expected stuffiness associated with fine dining to create an environment that is relaxed and enjoyable. Nothing has been overlooked and no detail is too small.

Gregans Castle, Ballyvaughan, Clare, gregans.ie

Jonathan Farrell, previously of Bastible in Dublin, took up the reins at Gregans last year, and is using all that Michelin-level experience to great effect in this family-owned, quietly luxurious hotel in The Burren. At first glance, the menu can appear overly complicated – one dish is listed as having nine separate elements – but Farrell is a precise, unfussy cook who lets his flavours do the talking, and never tips over into self-indulgence.

Mikey Ryan’s, Cashel, Tipperary, mikeyryans.ie

This wildly popular gastropub is the casual dining arm of the warren-like complex of the Cashel Palace Hotel. Facing onto the high street and stretching all the way back virtually into the courtyard of its showier big brother, Mikey Ryan’s takes classic casual and comfort dishes and elevates them just enough to tip the scales in favour of the gourmet, without alienating those simply looking for a good feed.

It espouses the same culinary ethos as its neighbours of local and seasonal, while incanting the mantra of making it as delicious as it can be. It’s fun, vibrant and delicious cooking that will keep you coming back for more.

Beach House, Tramore, Waterford, beachhousetramore.ie

When Peter Hogan and Jumoke Akintola, the couple behind Dublin's Fish Shop and Bar Pez, opened the Beach House in Tramore in 2020, the restaurant barely got a chance to breathe before the pandemic hit. Since reopening it has become confident in its cooking and welcome, even gaining a recommendation from the Michelin guide.

Focused on seafood, Beach House has a menu that will please all palates, from sweet shellfish to whole fish that are begging to be shared. The wine cellar is renowned and you'll find some of the country's most carefully curated options available here – ask for a recommendation and you won't be disappointed.

Adrift at Dunmore House, Clonakilty, Cork, dunmorehousehotel.ie

The fourth generation of the Barrett family is now running Dunmore House, a gorgeous hotel in west Cork that offers incredible views, a wonderful welcome and comfortable rooms. This is a business that is steeped in its community, and that is apparent from the moment you sit down to peruse the menu in Adrift.

Fish comes from Union Hall, organic salad leaves and vegetables are grown in the hotel’s own garden, cheeses come from Toons Bridge, Gubbeen and more, and in season, Bushby’s strawberries are a must. A masterclass in Irish hospitality.

Cush, Ballycotton, Cork, cush.ie

Dan Guerin’s considered cooking is just one of the attractions at Cush in the east Cork village of Ballycotton; there’s also a great wine list, sea views and warm service. Seafood, as you’d expect, is a speciality, but you can also expect ingredients like Ballinrostig cheese used in agnolotti, and local beef.

Solas Tapas, Dingle, Kerry, solastapas.com

It’s worth persevering to get a table at Solas Tapas, because you’ll quickly realise everything you ever heard about it is true. In a town synonymous with the art of great food, you must be doing something exceptional to stand out, and indeed the restaurant finally gained its first Michelin nod in 2024 with a Bib Gourmand.

Solas Tapas’ doctrine of small plates served without slavish regime to arrival is a celebration of what Dingle is best known for. No, not ice cream, but the jumping fresh fish landed into port just a short stroll away. When food is this fresh, the best treatment is a light one. Other flavours support and enhance the leading actor, so when you’re sipping on crystalline local oysters your mind can wander to sunnier climes.

Restaurant Chestnut, Ballydehob, Cork, restaurantchestnutwestcork.ie

Chestnut’s chef-proprietor Rob Krawczyk comes from culinary royalty. His father, Frank Krawczyk, is one of the cohorts of artisan producers that kickstarted the contemporary west Cork artisan food movement and arguably, therefore, shaped Irish food as we know it today.

Also like his father, and aside from being one of our most gifted chefs, Rob is a master of charcuterie, and his passion for curing, pickling and smoking lends a particular lexicon of culinary expression to his dishes.

Menus take you by the hand and lead you from the smokehouse to the coast, to woodland and plains before ending with a chocolate petit four in the image of a real chestnut, signalling the end of your tour. Dishes are corset-tight in their presentation – just two or three elements. Precision is all here, but not at the sacrifice of a tasting experience that is never short of joyful.

Field Kitchen, Camus Farm, Clonakilty, Cork, fieldkitchen.ie

Head chef Bob Cairns taps into the creative influence of the Italian cucina and conjures up heady plates of distinctly Irish ingredients metamorphosised into dishes that transport.

There is Italian blood, and spirit, running through Cairns’ veins. His Instagram account is peppered with the hashtag #notirishfood highlighting his style honed on the essence of Italian food: a handful of ingredients in their prime presented at their best.

The result are plates that are vegetable forward, and where every ingredient is easily identified, tasted, savoured and in harmony with each other. The restaurant is located on a 30-acre working organic farm. Dexter beef and a boggling array of potato varieties are a speciality, but much variety of produce is grown all year round.

All Cairns has to do is wander out, see what’s at its best, pick, cook and serve. The hyper-local, hyper-seasonal aspect of the food ethos at Camus Farm Field Kitchen means the menu is an ever-moving target, and dishes are presented family-style creating an intimate interaction with every bite.

The Tannery, Dungarvan, Waterford, tannery.ie

Paul Flynn’s tried and tested back-catalogue of hit recipes have room to shapeshift just enough for the menu at The Tannery to move through the seasons, executed with technical brilliance and served with heart. Máire Flynn commands a front of house service that is a master class in what makes real Irish hospitality a draw for people everywhere.

The dining room preserves its links to heritage while flooded with natural light upstairs, and the buzz from the casual wine bar below tempts you in to stay a while longer once dinner is long finished. It’s been here since 1997 but feels as fresh as if it opened yesterday.

Homestead Cottage, Doolin, Clare, homesteadcottagedoolin.com

Homestead Cottage might only have opened in summer 2022, but it has won over all those who have visited, or indeed heard of it, since. Operated by husband and wife team Robbie and Sophie McCauley, the restaurant serves hyper-local cuisine from the surrounds of Clare amidst its cosy stone walls and roaring fireplaces.

It won a well deserved Michelin star this year, just months after opening, and looks set to cement itself as one of the most creative restaurants in the west. Secure your booking early and get ready to delight in whatever the McCauleys send your way.

The Herbert Restaurant, Cahernane House Hotel, Killarney, Kerry, cahernane.com

A little gem just outside the bustle of Killarney, Cahernane House takes inspiration from historical menus from its own archive, reinterpreting them for modern tastes and taking advantage of the wealth of excellent produce from around the Kingdom.

Head chef Cormac Vesey is relishing this juxtaposition, and when served in the ornate and elegant surroundings of the Herbert restaurant, with sweeping lawn views towards MacGillicuddy’s Reeks, it’s easy to be swept up in the romance of it all.

Dishes combine seasonal freshness with tastes of the exotic; tamarind, spice, passionfruit, mango and coconut were once fanciful treasures only the very wealthy could afford. Today, those exotics rub shoulders with seasonal game meats, seafood, vegetables from the walled garden, oats and blackberries to summon a thoroughly modern Irish cuisine.

The Mustard Seed, Ballingarry, Limerick, mustardseed.ie

Better known for its restaurant than the hotel that preceded it, head chef Angel Pirev’s imagination is fuelled by the quality and flavour of local produce, and what is grown and picked from the walled garden and glasshouses just steps from the kitchen.

Ostensibly a restaurant in a country house hotel, The Mustard Seed over delivers with a cuisine that is as in touch with the expectations of today’s diners as it is with traditional values of provenance and hospitality.

The tightly-knitted network of local producers, such as Croom-based butcher Pat Barry, provides reliable constancy to the menu, allowing Pirev to dance around it with exciting seasonal accents throughout the year.

The Bishop’s Buttery, Cashel Palace Hotel, Cashel, Tipperary, cashelpalace.ie

Hidden away in the vaulted underbelly of the grand palace hotel above, The Bishop’s Buttery is a cloistered dining experience. Executive chef Stephen Hayes displays an exceptional grá for the larder of goodies on his doorstep - Cashel Farmhouse Cheese is but a short drive away - and they are all proudly name-checked on the menu.

This is distinctly a fine dining tour de force, complete with the option of a private chef’s table and a very distinguished wine cellar, humidor and whiskey collection. But the food is anything but faux. Serious flavours, expert technical execution and plates as pretty as a picture are worthy of their surroundings. It was no surprise The Bishop’s Buttery received its first Michelin star in 2024. A fitting cap to this tailored outfit.

Everett’s, Waterford city, everetts.ie

Quietly beating its own path since 2018, Everett’s has garnered a loyal following in the Viking city. A champion of local producers, Peter Everett’s menus sing of the best of the Irish seasons from land and sea, presented to the diners in precise and beautiful plates of food.

Plenty of name-checking on the menu shows the variety that Everett can select from, including Dollar Bay clams, Comeragh mountain lamb, Andarl Farm free range pork, Coolatin cheddar, Garryhinch mushrooms and Derek Walsh’s beef.

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