181 Best Restaurants in Ireland

A Carrick institution, this gastropub is very popular, so advance reservations for dinner are usually needed. Main-course dishes may include glazed pork belly, Hereford beef burger, 12-hour slow-cooked beef daube, or sustainable fish such as ling. Try some of the craft beers or ciders, including its own Oarsman lager, Galway Hooker, or Anderson's red ale. Save room for the lemon posset, or cotton-candy dessert. There's a resident guitarist Tuesday through Saturday evenings.

Set in a magnificent and grand Palladian-style bank in the center of Dungarvan, the Old Bank restaurant is the place to withdraw some delicious food and cocktails. The Italian bistro menu has plenty of local twists. Open with Harty's oysters on ice with beetroot, cacao nib, and shallot dressing. For a main try the rare tuna in sesame, with tataki of red onion and garlic crisps. The real treat is an after-dinner original Abbeyside Martini in the stylish cocktail bar.

Taking full advantage of Galway's fish-rich waters, Oscar's offers a daily changing menu based on the availability of the straight-from-the-trawler catch at the local market. Its warm interior with a ruby red backdrop, billowing fabric, and pine furnishings in close quarters has the essence of a seafaring vessel, with mackerel from the Aran Islands, and monkfish and scallops.

Osta Café's philosophy is straightforward: serve locally sourced food, preferably organic, simply prepared. Come for light bites, lunch, or Sunday brunch; the "30-km breakfast" is named for the proud fact that all ingredients are from within that distance—with the exception of the fair-trade, organic Mexican and Peruvian arabica coffee (ethically sourced). The eggs Benedict and ham or bacon at brunch (9 am to 3 pm) is the most popular dish of all. Lunch is the main reason to come here, but there's also occasional music and poetry evenings, which are advertised on social media.

Irish owner--chef Denis Cotter has won awards for his cookbooks, which have added greatly to the fame of this simple, café-style restaurant. The Mediterranean–Eastern fusion-style food is locally grown, and is known for its imaginative combinations, so tasty that even dedicated meat eaters forget that it's vegetarian. 

The hodgepodge collection of old tablecloths, cutlery, and cups creates a warm, family atmosphere in this sweet little café on the balcony level of the Powerscourt Town House Centre. Weary shoppers resuscitate with the simple menu, fresh-baked goods, TLC, and wonderful people-watching. The soups and sandwiches are top-notch but the salads have a cult following. Tarts are seasonal and cakes are old-school; the Victoria sponge and lemon and poppy seed are two standouts.

Once the village pub, the Pier Head is still a bar, but it sells more food than pints these days. The location is idyllic, at the top (head) of the village's pier. Lunch is served in the bustling, wood-floor mahogany bar (restaurant lunch Sunday only), with outdoor seating and modest sea views. At dinner, you can choose between the bar and the more formal upstairs restaurant with unforgettable views across Kinvara Bay to Dunguaire Castle. Both have roaring open fires and friendly staff. Fresh local seafood and locally reared meat (beef, lamb, pork, and duck) feature on the simple, unfussy menu. Don't forget that in summer there will be enough daylight until around 10 pm to enjoy the view.

This cozy café—with a pine-panel ceiling, farmhouse furniture, and paintings of poppies on the walls—is a great place for breakfast, lunch, or late-afternoon tea. Expect potato cakes, shepherd's pie, lasagna, vegetarian quiche, house salads, and soups. The most popular dishes are Poppies chicken (a casserole-like concoction) and beef and Guinness pie. For dessert try the apple pie or the rhubarb crumble, which is so good that the Irish rugby team stops by after practice.

Take a seat upstairs overlooking the serene waters of Donegal Bay and feast on some of the area's best produce. The early-bird (5--6:30 pm) is the best value with two courses for €19.95. Although there's a crossover between the menus, a much wider selection is on offer for dinner where you'll find steak, chicken, Guinness-braised shank of Donegal mountain lamb, or fisherman's pie made up of a robust combination of cod, hake, shellfish, and smokies (smoked haddock) straight from the boats. Round off your meal with a Boozy Bailey's: an espresso coffee and a shot of Bailey's Irish cream liqueur with a vanilla ice cream float, all topped by a dollop of softly whipped cream.

This delightful, old-fashioned tearoom with granite tables and mahogany paneling serves light bites and more substantial fare for breakfast and lunch. Breakfasts may be the full Irish (€8.95, served until noon), waffles, or pancakes with a multiplicity of fillings. For lunch, beef lasagna, quiche, or a wide selection of salads, sandwiches, and croissants are on the menu.

Huge steaks and fresh, locally sourced fish dominate the dinner menu in the renovated upstairs restaurant in the Nesbitt Arms Hotel. Decor still harks back to the days when Ardara was Donegal's foremost weaving and wool center; tweed throws and blankets will keep you warm on a night of wild Atlantic weather. Ask for a "lunch on the go" package if you wish to keep moving, or settle in with a creamy and smoky Donegal Coffee, made with Silkie whiskey and blended at the Slieve League Distillery. The whiskey's name was inspired by the Gaeltacht legend of the silkies, or selkie seals, which came ashore as beautiful sea maidens with long dark hair and soulful brown eyes. There's music in the bar every Saturday night.

Fresh-off-the-boat fish is the big draw at this restaurant at the family-friendly Ferrycarrig Hotel. Seafood from Kilmore Quay is a favorite, but the Killurin lamb is just as local and tasty, as is the wild Wicklow venison loin with red cabbage tatin, parsnip puree, red wine jus, and game chips (potatoes, flour-dusted then thinly sliced and fried). Check out the wine list, one of the better ones in the Southeast. While the tables are formally appointed with crisp white linens, the light-filled dining room has a friendly, relaxed vibe. 

A warm glow emanates from this Georgian town-house restaurant, where owner-chef Antonio Cavaliere is intensely involved in preparing such luscious Italian dishes as rigatoni all' arrabbiata (tubes of homemade egg pasta in a fresh tomato sauce with chili and garlic). Other specialties, such as medallions of fresh Kilmore Quay monkfish with roasted cherry tomatoes, garlic, white wine, and a touch of fresh chili, go particularly well with Antonio's garlic roasted potatoes—highly recommended as a side dish. A splendid all-Italian wine list complements the menu, and there's a host of delicious homemade desserts. This is one of the best Italian options in town. The restaurant accommodates overnight guests in the town house above.

While the bistro food at this Ballsbridge stalwart is always top-class, it's the jovial atmosphere and superb service that keep locals coming back. It's famed for the wine list, with great options by the glass, and that certainly helps to explain the wonderful buzz that always seems to be about this popular neighborhood place. For a starter try the Dublin Bay prawn bisque. The grilled hake with linguine, wild mushrooms, artichokes, and tarragon cream is a standout main course.

Sitting atop the stylish Mayson Hotel, this rooftop steak house is all about the views, with walls of floor-to-ceiling windows offering vistas of Dublin Bay and the mountains beyond. Decked out in dark wood and leather booths, the sleek interior is contemporary-cool meets 1930s saloon. Meat is the star of the menu, with quality steaks complemented with delicious sides like Parmesan and tarragon fries. Alternative mains include grilled sea bream with caper lemon dressing. The pear and almond ricotta cake is the perfect cap to a great meal.

Nestled into a lamp-lit corner of Kirwan's Lane near the Quays, this slim, two-story oasis has served quality local seafood for more than 20 years. Its selection reads like a travel guide from the highlights of the Wild Atlantic Way: Burren smoked salmon, Dingle prawns, and Connemara mussels. Owner Mike O'Grady combs the local waters for the finest produce for Kirwan's, and beef and chicken are also on the menu. Specials are a highlight.

Local produce and stunning views are the stars of this hotel restaurant, with the Wicklow lamb a thrilling house specialty in season. Low ceilings give the very formal dining room a slightly overbearing feel, but floor-to-ceiling windows look out onto the serene Sugar Loaf mountain. The food focuses on Wicklow produce with a twist, and a favorite starter is the pheasant consommé with fairy ring mushrooms (also known as Scotch bonnet mushroom). You can follow that with the pan-fried halibut with purple potato chips, mussel and mushroom puree, citrus hollandaise, and seaweed salad. 

A great-value, Middle Eastern delight hidden away in the Chester Beatty Library, the Silk Road Café has a buffet-style menu always full of exotic surprises. The light-filled atrium (Tuesday–Friday 10 am–4:45 pm, Saturday 11 am–4:45 pm, and Sunday 1–4:45 pm) and serene atmosphere make you want to linger longer than you should.

This tiny café and takeout shop serves an astonishing array of fresh soups daily. They come in three sizes, and you can get vegetarian soup or soups with meat- or fish-based broth; best bets include pumpkin chili and coconut; fragrant Thai chicken; beef chili; and hearty mussel, potato, and leek. The friendly staff make fine coffee and delicious smoothies. The cost of soup includes bread and a piece of fruit for dessert—an excellent value—and there's also a decent grab-and-go breakfast.

The emphasis is firmly on seafood and fresh local produce at this traditional family-run tavern in the village of Murrisk beneath Croagh Patrick. Hearty portions of Clew Bay seafood, Connemara lamb, and local farmhouse cheeses are served all day, and children can get half portions or order from their own menu. Fishermen arrive regularly with freshly landed langoustines (Norwegian lobster), which are then poached and served in garlic butter. Upstairs a more elaborate à la carte menu ($$$) is served in the evenings in the separate restaurant, with a quieter, candlelit atmosphere.

Michael and Alissa Donoghue do not have to travel far to get the ingredients for their little cottage café that overlooks the pier. Their flock of chickens provide eggs, and the vegetable and herb garden—nurtured with seaweed throughout the year—furnishes their salads. Alissa met Michael while visiting the island from America. She uses her home recipes along with generations-old Donoghue recipes on her eclectic, made-from-scratch menu.

Imaginative food and a warm welcome await at this 300-year-old bar and restaurant, its thatched roof (completely redone in 2017), exposed wooden beams, and brick walls adding to the intimate country atmosphere. Main courses may include half honey roast duck, braised lamb shank, grilled aubergine with goat cheese, or chicken with black pudding. Leave room for the apple and mixed berry crumble. The pub is run by Des Connole, who brings a long pedigree: he is the sixth generation of his family to own it.

Clusters of smoked glass pendant lights, aromatic candlelit tables, green banquette furnishings, and smooth music add luster to this always-busy riverside restaurant hidden down a side street beside the bridge. Tuck into some truly creative Athlonian food which might include glazed ham hock, Castlemine free-range pork loin with sausage dumpling, lamb with sheep's cheese polenta, Wagyu beef, or featherblade of beef (sourced from the shoulder blade of the cow). Craft beer, such as American Amber Ale or Seeking Sunshine IPA, comes from the Dead Centre Brewing company next door. The value menu is €38 and €58 for five courses.

A genuine trattoria in the heart of crazy Temple Bar, Toscana buzzes with chatter all evening long and offers a popular pre-theater menu. A Mediterranean slant to the simple dining room includes plenty of Italian landscapes, cream tones, and wood. A typical starter is the traditional Tuscan bean soup. For a main try the seafood risotto with copious fresh mussels, prawns, and clams. The meat and pizza dishes are also always reliable, and the sticky toffee pudding is a dessert that will send you home with a smile on your face.

Step behind the Victorian arched facade here and you'll discover a buzzing contemporary restaurant, masterminded by the two Treyvaud brothers (one a popular TV chef), that features classic Irish dishes (e.g., fish cakes, sausages, or bacon and cabbage) with a continental twist. The interior is simple—pine floorboards, wood-beam ceiling, lines of red-back chairs—so the food takes center stage. To start try the local smoked salmon, or deep-fried calamari. Follow with bacon and cabbage Treyvaud-style (smoked loin with buttered cabbage and whole-grain mustard sauce), or half a roast guinea fowl with wild forest mushrooms, or the renowned homemade fish cakes with whole-grain mustard, chives, and garlic aioli. 

Travelers come here to get up close and personal with the surf from behind a bowl of steaming Atlantic seafood chowder. Floor-to-ceiling windows capture the breath of the bay from a cozy distance, except in storm season when it can be a little too close for comfort. Images of the property's defiant stand against giant ocean waves have gone global. The menu is concise but covers ground and sea with oysters, mussels, sea bass, pork skewers, and steak. Expect a wait in high season. Next door the sister property, Spooney's, offers standard beach desserts like sundaes and ice cream---and good old fish-and-chips.

Ship's wheels, fishing nets, and sculpted stone sharks leave little doubt that the Atlantic's catch takes center stage in this small, whitewashed cottage inn right in the heart of Letterfrack. Stuffed with timber nooks and crannies, and with an open fire, it's the place to warm up after a Connemara coastline hike. While Cleggan crab and Clew Bay oysters are the stars of the menu, steak, chicken, and vegan options such as a wild mushroom linguine with sun-dried tomatoes and pesto make a welcome appearance.

Coffee slices, cheesecake, apple pie, lemon drizzle, and a host of other delectable sweetness have greeted visitors for more than 65 years at this charming, second-generation bakery in the heart of Clifden. For those up early, a fine Irish breakfast will set the pace for a good day's sightseeing or hiking.

Once Dublin's favorite secondhand bookshop–café, the Winding Stair now houses an atmospheric, buzzing little restaurant, with old wooden floors, simple decor, a downstairs bookshop, and grand views of the Ha'penny Bridge and the river Liffey. Hearty portions of upscale traditional Irish food rely on Irish-only ingredients; the pork chop with crispy pigs’ ears and hispi cabbage is a standout. Upstairs, former habitués will enjoy seeing the old bookcases around the walls (some of which are now stacked with wine). An inventive wine list and a wonderful Irish farmhouse-cheese selection are two more treats on offer, and your sweet tooth insists that you try the rice pudding with melted plums.