Fine dining on the Dublin menu
Thanks to a new generation of creative chefs who are fully exercising their talents on Ireland’s incredible native produce, Dublin has arguably joined the ranks of worldclass dining destinations such as Lyon, or Barcelona.
There has never been a more exciting time for foodies to visit the city and lovers of the finer things in life are especially spoiled. Take a look at our top picks below for the city’s hottest fine dining spots, and book your tables now!
Chapter One
Voted the Best Restaurant in Dublin in last year’s Food & Wine Awards, in a surprise to absolutely no-one, Michelin-starred Chapter One continues to wow from its basement location on Dublin’s northside. Here, the creative talents of Ross Lewis are given full expression on a menu that focuses on Irish artisan produce and embraces influences as diverse as Catalan molecular gastronome, Ferran Adrià, and Ireland’s own doyenne of solid, traditional cooking, Myrtle Allen. The results are as delicious as they are visually stunning, and served up in a setting that is designed to offer a warm welcome to everyone.
Luna
With its dark wood and leather banquettes, muffled lighting and grownup ambiance, Luna is handsome and debonair with a gently roguish edge. Imagine George Clooney expressed as a restaurant and you’ll have it.
It’s the kind of setting that instantly makes you “15% more attractive and interesting” according to one of the uniformly impressed reviewers, and the old-school professional service confirms it.
The menu is the work of Chef Vish Sumputh, who spent six years at Michelin-starred Chapter One. Luna’s modern approach to New York-style Italian dining, with hand-made gnocchi and pasta and a charcoal grill, is finessed by Vish through ingredients such as dashi, fermented seaweed and truffles. The approach has been a winner from day one, with Luna sweeping up Best Restaurant awards within a year of opening and continuing to exert a magnetic power over Dublin’s most discerning, and satisfied, diners.
Etto
In the midst of the Georgian splendour of Merrion Square, Etto offers a casual dining experience with real flair. Consistent winners of “Best” dining awards, including Restaurant of the Year at last year’s Irish Restaurant Awards, this charming Italian spot is a firm favourite among Dubliners, who adore its soft blend of wine bar and bistro sensibilities. This might be a city restaurant, but it’s a real local to its legion of fans who appreciate the simple décor and daily changing menu of heartfelt, honest food that lets the full character of carefully selected produce shine through.
The Greenhouse
Confident, classical French cooking with a Scandi creative edge, velvet-smooth service and a comfortably stylish setting are all strong players in justifying The Greenhouse’s coveted Michelin star, which they first picked up in 2016; although Dublin’s diners had long been openly wondering what was holding the star-makers up. And when an excellent-value lunch menu is added into the mix, it’s easy to see why The Greenhouse is so often touted as the one restaurant you really can’t afford to miss out on in Dublin. Imagine rounding your day off with a sole with miso, cauliflower and roasted yeast, kombu and aged soy condiment, winter truffle and vin jaune sauce…
Dax
That enviable French capacity for combining sublime elegance and a warm human touch find full expression in Dax’s smart cellar restaurant where Dublin’s “best non-starred chef” (as yet), Graham Neville, turns out classic French cuisine that makes the most use of all the flavours Ireland’s top food producers can offer. Awarded Restaurant of the Year for 2018 by Ireland’s renowned culinary guide, Georgina Campbell, Dax is not a cheap night out, and nor should it be. But, at €29 for two courses and €35 for three, their set lunch menu offers tremendous value for food this good at one of Dublin’s most highly sought-after destinations.
Forest Avenue
The creation of native New Yorker Sandy Wyer and her husband
John, Forest Avenue is named after the street in Queens where Sandy grew up. As is fitting, the restaurant is a true neighbourhood hangout, a comfortable space defined by bare wood, leather, ceramics and fabrics in life’s gentler shades.
“Dublin’s most exciting new restaurant in years,” says the Irish Times, while the Irish Independent’s food writer also hails John Wyer’s food as “some of the most exciting food I have ever encountered”.
Chef John’s menu focuses on fresh ingredients that are still not seen enough, such as celeriac, raddish, swede and savoy cabbage, which are paired with the textures, flavours and characters of ingredients such as lamb rump, parmesan agnolotti, duck terrine and venison to create sumptuous flights of flavour that will absorb all your attention. This is peak performance contemporary dining.
The Pig’s Ear
There’s an old rule in hospitality that restauranteurs breach at their peril: “Never make them go upstairs.” But the creators of The Pig’s Ear knew what they were about, in so many ways, and those who make the short climb are amply rewarded with lovely views across to the Trinity College cricket pitches on the other side of Nassau Street. From there, a genteel elegance pervades the dining rooms of The
Pig’s Ear, yet the atmosphere and service are anything but stuffy; nor are the prices, all of which goes towards explaining how The
Pig’s Ear has become such a long-standing institution. The fare is recognisably traditional, but done with delicious twists. Think Earl Grey tea-cured salmon with cucumber, horseradish and dill, or barbecued pork belly with burnt pear, beetroot, lardo and crackling.