Known for its vibrant literature and music scene, Dublin’s unshakeable spirit also shines at its restaurants. Thanks to an eclectic restaurant landscape that’s equal parts immigrant-influenced and homegrown, eating out in the Irish capital has never been better—and the locals know it.
The coveted counter seats at a pasta and natural wine spot in Ranelagh book out as soon as they’re released. A legendary Sunday roast keeps the regulars coming to a beloved Portobello pub. In Dublin 2, a sought-after restaurant in an 18th-century coach house expertly combines Irish produce with French techniques.
These Dublin spots are go-to’s for good reason—they showcase the best of Irish food and hospitality. Read on for a guide to the 14 restaurants Dubliners adore.
Dublin 1
Brother Hubbard – North
As the flagship of the four branches of Brother Hubbard empire, the Capel Street location holds a special place in Dubliners’ hearts. For starters, it’s a roastery, bakery, and the site of the Insta-famous French toast (available in a rotating mix of flavours such as baklava, matcha cheesecake, and Eton mess). Brother Hubbard’s prolific breakfast features all the eggs, oats, and housemade pastries you could want, including cinnamon and walnut scrolls, which have a cult-like following. The evening menu channels a full-blown Middle Eastern feast featuring nigella seed flatbread, Lebanese-style chicken wings, and Ottoman-influenced baked aubergines with peppers, spinach, and leeks. To all that, add a foliage-filled room and warm service and it’s no wonder this relaxed retreat is a consistent crowd-pleaser.
Bar Italia
Dubliners know that the second-best thing to an Italian getaway is a meal at this quayside charmer. Bar Italia is where you’ll find what’s possibly the best pasta carbonara in the country, thanks to the predominantly Roman kitchen team and their obsession with doing it exactly as it’s done at home. The 72-hour fermented pinsas (Roman pizzas) are thin and crispy, topped with ingredients such as housemade fennel sausage and Mediterranean anchovies, and daily specials ensure locals never tire of visiting. The Italian wine list is also worth a deep dive.
Dublin 2
Fallon & Byrne Wine Cellar
Between taxes, import duties, and cost of living increases, drinking the good stuff in Dublin is expensive. So it helps to have Fallon & Byrne’s refreshingly reasonable corkage offer on hand. The award-winning grocery store-restaurant hybrid is a city-centre favourite for its candlelit wine cellar: Well-versed locals know they can choose anything off the shelf—there are over 300 bottles—from Sunday to Tuesday and they’ll pay just €1 (on top of the retail price) to sip it in house. The wine is best paired with a succession of snacks and dishes such as arancini with gorgonzola and pickled apple, fritto misto with saffron aioli, and cheese and charcuterie boards.
Osteria Lucio (Grand Canal Dock)
Acclaimed Irish chef and restaurateur Ross Lewis (co-owner and former head chef of MICHELIN-starred Chapter One in Dublin 1) now mans the kitchen at this casual Grand Canal Dock osteria. Local tech workers are known to swarm into the cavernous space at 5 pm sharp. They’re here for a hearty Italian spread that includes the popular slow-roasted suckling pig with roasted potatoes and apple horseradish sauce, plus sourdough pizzas that are fired up in the middle of the restaurant, designed to spark major FOMO for those who didn’t order them. The all-Italian wine list is a joy to read and drink, and scenic al fresco seating cements the restaurant’s status as a neighbourhood all-star.
One Pico
Sometimes you crave white tablecloths, velvet chairs, and a menu that takes you from lobster tail to passion fruit soufflé with sheep’s yoghurt sorbet from County Mayo. That’s when you head to One Pico, an elegant French and Irish spot in an 18th-century coach house. The smart ticket is lunch: €65 for three courses (versus €89 at dinner). There are few better ways to spend an afternoon in Dublin than in the restaurant’s sleek dining room just behind Grafton Street before coming out into the light in search of an evening pint.
D’Olier Street
D’Olier Street opened at the end of 2022 but rocketed to the top of every Dublin hotlist since thanks to the globally inspired fine dining from executive chef and co-owner James Moore, formerly the head chef at two MICHELIN-starred Atera in New York. The foie gras custard with mini English muffins from superstar pastry chef Mina Pizarro, whose previous stints include leading the pastry department at Press in Napa Valley, quickly became the dish Dubliners buzzed about. The beautifully restored room in D’Olier Chambers is a special place to dig into the restaurant’s exquisite 12-course tasting menu.
Nan Chinese Restaurant
Nan Chinese is Ireland’s first restaurant specialising in Huaiyang cuisine, dishes that are often served at banquets and celebrations in China. Expect subtler flavours than what’s found in Cantonese or Sichuan fare, with star creations such as prawn and bamboo shoot dumplings, melt-in-your-mouth meatball soup, and whole deep-fried sea bass in sweet and sour sauce. Dublin’s Chinese Irish community is known to fill up Nan’s modern pink-walled dining room regularly, along with everyone else who’s hungry for a road-less-travelled take on Chinese food.
Dublin 4
Yoi Izakaya
Dublin isn’t a sushi lover’s paradise, but local foodies know that Yoi Izakaya is a special exception. Choose from sashimi and nigiri with salmon, octopus, or fried tofu. Or go big with a dragon roll filled with crab mayo, ebi tempura, and asparagus, topped with roasted eel, avocado, eel sauce, and masago (smelt roe). For something more indulgent, get the monkfish futomaki, gilded with black caviar. The long canteen-like room is decked with Japanese screens and artwork, and the staff is always eager to please.
Dublin 6
Lottie’s
Lottie’s is one of those rare restaurants that actually pleases everybody. The sophisticated brasserie-inspired menu features prawn bisque with toasted sourdough and bavette with chimichurri, crushed potato, and Roscoff onions. The area’s families flock here for one of the city’s best juniors’ menu. It’s a far cry from chicken goujons and chips. Instead, kids can choose from gnocchi, buffalo mozzarella and red pepper pesto flatbread, and even a mini steak. If they eat their greens, they’ll get a free scoop of ice cream.
The Butcher Grill
The Butcher Grill, a cosy spot in Ranelagh, might serve oysters, gambas, and tuna tostadas, but regulars know the main event here is the steak, cooked on a wood-fired grill in the open kitchen. Choose between Uruguayan, American, or Irish ribeyes, strip loins, and tomahawks, best washed down with a bottle of Malbec. The result is a faithful steakhouse every neighbourhood wishes it had.
Host
If you want a table at Host (spoiler alert: you do), you’ll have to plan ahead. Prime-time tables at this Italian-influenced gem book out weeks in advance, with Ranelagh regulars piling in for burrata with Italian peaches, salt-aged Irish ribeye, and the restaurant’s infamous pumpkin cappellacci with walnuts and sage—a dish so celebrated that diners will riot if it ever leaves the menu. Natural wines and attentive staff complete the buzzy experience—the most desired seats boast views of the action-packed kitchen.
Dublin 8
Hen’s Teeth
You’ll find Dublin’s cool kids at Hen’s Teeth, a gallery, cafe, and hi-fi lounge in one of the city’s most electrifying pockets. Regulars can’t get enough of its imaginative shared plates such as the ramen Scotch egg, goat cheese bonbons with beet and apple puree, and tempura cod and chips. The wines are natural, the tunes are cool, and the shop slash art gallery up front is ideal for taking a memento home with you.
57 The Headline
A good pint and a classic Sunday roast are surprisingly hard to score in Dublin, but those in the know head to 57 The Headline for one dry-aged black Angus beef, roasties, herb stuffing, and house gravy—arguably one of the best spreads of its kind in Ireland. The three-course early bird (€29) is a great deal, featuring house wings, fish and chips, and smash burgers. Punters adore the place for its large drinks selection, a mix of beer, wine, spirits, and sherries that is particularly impressive for a humble neighbourhood pub.
Fayrouz
This laidback bolthole is where locals go for a taste of Lebanon. Fayrouz is all about reinterpreted Levantine classics and known to dish up some of the best shawarma in Dublin, made with Irish lamb. For a taste of the greatest hits, get the mezza platters laden with arayess (stuffed oven-baked pitas), hummus topped with lamb, and a top-notch fattoush salad of toasted bread, sumac, and pomegranate molasses. The mosaic-ceilinged room has a few clandestine tables tucked in private spaces for more intimate meals, and you can bring your own wine—with no corkage charge.
Lisa Cope is the founder and editor of All The Food (allthefood.ie), an independent, ad-free online guide to eating out in Dublin. Follow them on Instagram here – @allthefood_ie.
