Coming to Dublin from Rome we were pretty sure we would not be as impressed with the food scene here as with that of the Eternal City. But to our (not entirely complete) surprise we have discovered that Dublin restaurants are excellent! We’ve really enjoyed getting to know both traditional Irish cuisine and its many modern iterations. We’ve also eaten a lot of non-Irish food here, including Mexican, Chinese, Indian, etc. But for this post we’ve opted for classic Irish food, mostly with a twist. We don’t actually know that the following seven are the very best restaurants in Dublin. But they are certainly our favourites!
L. Mulligan, Grocer
This Stoneybatter restaurant, L. Mulligan, Grocer, is one we just keep going back to for its inventive cocktails and clever use of local ingredients. And we’ve taken five sets of visitors here! The restaurant supports all kinds of small food producers. They make a fabulous cauliflower ‘chicken’ wings (if you want vegan food) as well as a superb duck (if you don’t)! There are suggested beer pairings for every dish. The staff are extremely friendly, and the kitchen is very happy to take special requests.
Fallon & Byrne
Fallon & Byrne is one of the fancier restaurants on our list, with prices (and service!) to prove it. The basement of this food emporium has a lovely wine bar. The main (ground) floor is where we get all our fancy gourmet goodies. The top floor has a space for receptions and the first floor (American second floor) has a beautiful little gem of a restaurant, all dark wood paneling and attentive and knowledgeable food people. It’s our favourite splurge in Dublin!
Avoca
Avoca is, in fact, one branch of a national group of stores selling a variety of Irish (and other) crafts and goods. In the basement there is a small food mart with mouth-watering prepared foods. On the first floor there are books, on the second floor there are clothes, and on the top floor is a café. We absolutely love this café. It’s got the best (and coincidentally, also the biggest) scones we’ve ever eaten, but also serves us a great range of more and less traditionally Irish foods, for breakfast, brunch, and lunch. You can stop in for a pot of tea and a scone or have a full meal. Either way, it’s terrific.
Brother Hubbard
Brother Hubbard has four locations, on both sides of the Liffey! (We especially love the one on Capel Street.) This place serves hearty and wholesome food, and its baked goods are genuinely extraordinary, including fantastic cinnamon roles and a chocolate hazelnut babka, just like mamma used to make. (Disclaimer: neither of our mothers has ever, to our knowledge, made a babka. Though we wouldn’t mind at all if they had!)
Variety Jones
We finally got into Variety Jones, a Michelin-recognized restaurant in our very own neighbourhood. It’s small and the menu is chef’s choice, changing (we think) daily. There are six courses, but each course comes in several parts. The duck parfait with cherries is apparently a regular, and we can see why – it was absolutely heavenly! We loved the lobster roll, but we always love a lobster roll. And we were also impressed by the pasta, by the swordfish and kale (above), and by a deconstructed apple pie with goat’s cheese ice cream (below).
O’Sheas Merchant
Ok, this is probably not one of the best restaurants in Dublin. But O’Shea’s Merchant is one of our favourites. It’s our local pub, offering live music every evening, a fantastic and hearty fish chowder, and classic pub food (lamb stew, fish and chips, bacon and cabbage…). We also like their chicken curry and Caesar salad. It’s almost never crowded, because the Brazen Head is right across the street and is filled day and night with tourists. We’ve tried both places and much prefer this one. And though it’s not so great for them that they’re not busier, it is really good for you if you are hungry on a weekend night.
Dunne & Crescenzi
Yes; we know we said Irish food. And Dunne & Crescenzi is Italian. But, like its owners, it is a perfect marriage between the two nations. (Disclaimer: we don’t actually know the owners, but we do know that she is Irish and he is Italian, and they’re married. And we have really positive feelings about them.) When we arrived from Rome we were feeling a bit snobby about Italian food, but this is the genuine article. Traditional dishes, lovingly re-created, in a posh ambience. Some of the waitstaff even spoke to us in Italian!
The truth is, we could have added three or four more places that we really like. But we thought we’d be moderate (unlike when we’re actually in a restaurant). So there you have it: our seven favourite Dublin restaurants!
