82 Best Restaurants in Ireland

In the heart of Sligo's busy Italian Quarter, Bistro Bianconi has built on its long-established reputation for top-class pizzas baked in a wood-burning oven. Inventive gourmet pizzas include the Michelangelo (goat cheese, caramelized onions, pepperoni, and a sprinkling of Parmesan), the Vegetariano, and the perennial favorite, Quatro Formaggi. The menu is heavy on classic fresh pasta and lasagna, while the signature dish, chicken bocconcini (with glazed ham and cheese), is as popular as ever. Steaks, burgers, and Mediterranean king prawns are also on the menu. If you fancy a cocktail, try the Wild Atlantic Way martini.

At this dreamy little cafe, local, organic, and seasonal are the words to live by, where you can chow down on simple savory and sweet delights, all made with a loving, homey touch. The plant-filled courtyard is also the perfect summer spot for a daytime glass of prosecco and small bites. The surprising eggs and soldiers with roast tomatoes and shallots is a typically delicious dish. Save room for the delicate tarts and moist sugar-dusted sponges. Ask about the fun cooking classes: they're the talk of the town.

Proud of its modern Irishness, Cistín Eile takes the produce of local farmers and applies a simple but stunning brand of culinary magic. The menu changes depending on what's good in the local market. Favorites include black-and-white pudding with cabbage salad, apple, and mustard, or the creamed white rabbit and herb spaghetti. "Hunger makes a great sauce," reads the Irish-language motto on the wall, so arrive with your appetite fully intact. Little time is wasted on the decor, though the space has a homey, warm feel. How they offer dishes of this quality at such affordable prices is a Wexford miracle. And the name? It's pronounced "kishteen ella" and means "another kitchen" in Irish.

It's not just the food that's made this restaurant the most popular in town: guests also like to drink in the views of King John's Castle (particularly when lit up in the evening) from under the heated terrace over sea bass served with crab beignets, salsa verde, and baby potatoes. Scampi comes with big planks of chips and lemon sole arrives in a bed of leek and onion. Burgers, steaks, and vegetarian option are aplenty on the menu, along with a good selection of beers on draft. Before or after dining, wander around the corner to see the Treaty Stone, the site where the Williamite-Jacobite war ended.

The unpretentious brilliance of this husband-and-wife restaurant and deli just off Nassau Street is what makes the classy little Italian joint so popular. The menu is extensive but simple: panini, a horde of antipasti, a few choice pasta specials, and some evening meat dishes and desserts. The all-Italian kitchen staff work wonders with high-quality imported ingredients. The gnocchi with a slow-cooked ragù of Gilligan's Hereford Irish beef makes a great lunch. A couple of long tables are perfect for groups, and the hundreds of bottles of wine on shelves cover every inch of the walls. 

Opened by a group of friends, the Fumbally started out with a market stall but quickly became the vanguard of true slow food in Dublin, finding its roots in a spacious, light-filled space smack in the middle of the Liberties area, the heart of the old city. Menus are simple but clever, with the Fumbally eggs, lightly scrambled with Gubeen cheese and sautéed kale, a classic. The pulled porchetta sandwich with overnight fennel and caper mayo is another favorite. A focus on local produce and a warm, unpretentious vibe make it a great place to while away an afternoon.

Owner Roberto Mungo brings his brand of simple Calabrian cooking to this classy little Italian, family-run joint in hip Stoneybatter. There are touches of other Italian regions on the menu, but standouts are Calabrian classics like deep-fried aubergine with tomato, mozzarella, and green pesto and baked mackerel with potatoes, herbs, red pepper cream, and asparagus. The wonderful nibbles menu (each for around €5) is perfect for a quick bite.

If the sight of a red double-decker bus parked outside a cottage in the desolately beautiful small island of Inisbofin comes as a surprise, then the delicious offerings at Austin and Kartika's gourmet outpost will floor you completely, in a good way. The bus has retired and functions as the couple's kitchen, dining area, and food counter, serving up pollock, crab, and mackerel sourced from local islander fishermen. Mutton and lamb come straight from the farm, along with root vegetables, while everything else is island grown.

A unique Korean-Japanese standout in the slew of cheap and cheerful Chinese eateries on Parnell Street (the closest Dublin comes to a Chinatown), Hop House is a restaurant and pub in one. Part of the old Shakespeare pub has been transformed into one of the friendliest, best-value restaurants in the city. The dining room is bright and busy, with little table buzzers for service and the sounds of music spilling over from the bar next door. Traditional Korean specialties like kimchi are augmented with a large selection of sushi rolls, including the mouthwatering crunch roll with king-prawn tempura, cucumber, crab stick, and teriyaki sauce.

Located on the Grand Canal Basin which connects the River Liffey and the Grand Canal, this popular new spot features an upturned rowboat on the ceiling, a nod to its location between these two iconic bodies of water. An open kitchen lines the back wall of the restaurant, and features a copper wood-fired pizza oven. The fare is classic American, with generous pancake platters, cheeseburgers, pizzas, sundaes, and giant cookies all designed to encourage lively, casual gatherings and sharing. The bar is a lively spot for after-work drinks and the outdoor terrace overlooking the canal is the place to be for weekend brunch, a fairly new concept and dining category in this city.

The dramatic location of this simple bar on the windswept waterfront of the tiny fishing village of Portmagee has led the Bridge to feature in ads as "the quintessential Irish pub." A simple menu with the emphasis on local seafood, fish-and-chips, and lamb is served in the low-beamed bar's rustic pine interior. From May to September the pretty, adjoining Moorings restaurant serves a more ambitious, pricier menu most evenings. There are also 17 rooms overhead and an ace craft shop next door, as well as set dancing every Tuesday and Friday evening during summer and live music on weekends.

Call to confirm availability of bar food between October and April, as the kitchen closes some days during the off-season, depending on how many visitors are around.

This hot sushi bar on suddenly hip Capel Street has given birth to sister restaurants around the city because it finally made the Japanese staple affordable. Japanese owned and run, the restaurant serves fresh and flavorful dishes—all the sushi standards you'd expect but better than anything else in the city. The interior is simple and unfussy: a long, narrow room with dark wood floors and rows of pinewood tables and seats dotted with red cushions. They also do a mean tempura and gyoza for those who don't fancy raw fish. 

Innovative, exciting, and original, No. 35 is a laid-back little restaurant with big ambition. Proprietor Dermot Brennan is a pig breeder of note, whose rare-breed free-range pedigree saddlebacks are the stars of Tony Schwartz’s menu, which is spangled with the best of Irish ingredients. Pork collar, Stonewell Cider--braised cabbage, apple purée, and a savory pickled mustard jus might follow a starter of Dingle Gin--cured Goatsbridge trout with coriander, lime, and apple or maybe a vegetable dish of wild and cultivated mushroom lasagna with St. Tola goats’ curd.

This fourth-generation establishment sits in the heart of Roundstone overlooking the harbor. It attracts year-round guests with its fresh-from-the-boats lobster, mussels, prawns, and crab, or other local produce such as Connemara lamb, and homey, open-fire setting. Vegans can order seafood crops like dillisk rice, served with locally sourced vegetables from Galway's farmlands. Take a seat outside the pub on a fine day to enjoy the bay views and local flavors.

Travel back to the 17th century at this evocatively furnished inn, distinguished by its wooden floors, dark furniture, and diamond-shape windows. The place is best known for its wonderful, hearty game and seafood lunches and dinners that are served in a nook of the bar—try the glorious cream of seafood soup. They also do a mean Sunday lunch. The menu blends Continental and Irish cuisines, reflecting the traditions of the German proprietor, Jurgen Schwalm, and his Irish wife, Aine. Highlights include an excellent seafood platter of salmon, oysters, lobster, and shrimp, along with a rich Hungarian goulash.

Slate flooring, rich timber fixtures, a large bay window, and whitewashed walls hark back to an earlier time of midmorning scones and cakes with afternoon tea---both of which are available at this gorgeous former town hall, a local landmark right on the southern corner of O'Connell Street. Lunch and evening meals are special too, making use of the rich County Clare produce like artisanal cheese or sea catch. Try grilled halibut with crab meat or a ravioli made from mushroom, courgette, spinach, and basil. 

Catch a sunny day and it's hard to beat an outside table at this small family-run whitewashed café on the waterfront overlooking the busy harbor. The breakfast menu runs until midday while lunchtime sandwiches with soup and salad are served all afternoon. Daily seafood specials may include mussels, haddock, monkfish, calamari, and a delectable chowder, followed by cheesecake and washed down with a choice of wine, craft beer, tea, or coffee as you watch the river of life float by.

The small menu at this tiny café in the middle of a quiet, off-the-beaten-track residential street emphasizes creative breakfasts and lunch (and brunch on the weekend) with a local twist. It's a good spot to sit and watch locals go about their everyday lives as you eat black rice quinoa porridge with coconut milk, miso, and banana or their wonderful spicy cannellini beans with chorizo, crème fraîche, and thyme. Don't leave without hitting up their devilishly tempting cake selection.

Head chef Alex Zhang has brought his own brand of daring Northern Chinese cuisine to this cool, new, city-center spot. The menu changes regularly, but the deep-fried duck wings tossed in secret seasoning and the fresh Irish lobster with tofu egg custard are typically thrilling dishes.

This cozy, affordable eatery right on main street has quickly established itself as a favorite with the locals. Exposed beams and leather banquettes create the bistro setting, but the menu is more Italian inspired than French. The seafood risotto is a hearty combination of shellfish, mussels, chili, squid, and prawns, with blushed tomatoes. Another popular main is the beef cheeks with creamy mash potatoes, braised red cabbage, and red wine gravy. The death by chocolate is the go-to dessert.

A small 18th-century coach house on a backstreet was an unlikely candidate to become the hottest place in a town famed for sophisticated eateries, but that's what happened here, and the uncluttered, minimalist premises and cobbled courtyard are buzzing with life. Reserve and your name is chalked on the wall beside your table, but the tall squeaky bar stools are just as popular. Simple hot dishes of the day might include scallop risotto or a hearty lamb tagine, but most people order the house specials—local charcuterie, farmhouse cheeses, Gubeen chorizo, smoked salmon, mixed antipasto—served on slates or wooden platters. End your locavore feast with locally roasted coffee and Koko chocolates.

Proprietors Brian and Ruperta Gallagher serve breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, and a light early evening meal—always using homegrown herbs in this congenial but unassuming tearoom. Daily specials—Irish lamb stew, pasta dishes, and turkey or corn-fed chicken—are served from 9 am to 7 pm. Haddock chowder and beer-battered fish are Friday specials. Soups, quiche, sandwiches, salads, and fruit are on the regular menu, along with homemade desserts, breads, scones, sticky cakes, and jams. Get there early for lunch, as the lines stretch out onto the street on busy days.

A delightful slow-food sanctuary within the Dublin dining scene, Brother Hubbard is a cozy, elegantly designed Northside café with a stripped-down but standout menu. The healthy emphasis is on fresh salads and soups with delicious twists; dishes tend to have a Middle Eastern feel, with an Irish touch here and there. It's strong on detail, from the muted tones and unobtrusive-but-striking modern design with elegant, cosy terrace, to the addition of cute little patterns in your cappuccino froth. The pea-and-mint soup with a dash of harissa oil is a perfect lunchtime treat. Try the flourless orange-and-almond cake for dessert.

Kinsale has other pub--restaurants, but none with such an idyllic waterside location. In summer, bar food is served on the big stone quay right beside the ocean. The characterful interior has a large open fireplace and a maritime theme, with a quirky selection of furniture. A concise, seasonal menu is on offer---try hot Oysterhaven oysters with spring cabbage.

One of the city center's best-situated spots for a bit of people-watching, this bustling, bohemian café emphasizes good, wholesome food. Organic ingredients play a prominent role on a menu that's laden with delicious salads and sandwiches. Try the grilled goat-cheese salad served with walnut-and-raisin toast and sun-dried-tomato tapenade on a bed of arugula. The delicious ploughman's sandwich—with Irish cheddar, vine tomatoes, branston pickle, and mayo served on brown bread—is a must.

This eatery is very popular, with a predominantly local clientele, so book ahead or arrive early before the queues. Sensible pricing, fresh organic food, and a social buzz come with good service and a quick turnover of guests. The all-day weekend brunch is particularly popular; the wording and presentation may be fancy, but the old-fashioned full Irish breakfast is there, along with trendier choices, and freshly squeezed orange juice and strong coffee.

The Buttery café was once known as The Independent Chapel, and on November 21, 1845, Frederick Douglass, the famous African American statesman, civil rights campaigner, and social reformer, delivered a stirring antislavery talk to rapturous applause from a large audience at the end of a visit to Ireland.

Set in a peninsula on Galway Bay's Flaggy Shore, the enterprising Brid Fahy opened this farm-to-wafer parlor experience back in 2006. Made with milk from the Friesian and Shorthorn herd from her five-generation farm, the ice cream here is fantastic, and for good reason: the cows cross between the mainland and a small island to graze and this gives the cow's milk a unique and varied flavor. This delicious cow's milk is combined with locally sourced ingredients such as hazelnuts, wild berries, rhubarb, and apples that are spiced with the taste of the ocean to create unique flavors that alternate with the changing of seasons. All to say, it makes for great ice creams.

This friendly, boho-chic café with its traditional red shop front (rua is Irish for red) is a showcase for fresh, locally produced foods, simply served. There's an imaginative children's menu, and at lunch there are three daily specials—roast meat, fish, and vegetarian—while many opt for the homemade soup and sandwich (served in a traditional soft roll known as a blaa), or a salad. Choose a platter of local farmhouse cheeses, perhaps, or a salad of Achill Island smokehouse salmon with local greens, the house cucumber relish, and a selection of fresh breads.

Paul William's smart, low-key restaurant in a pretty part of Georgian Limerick is all about good food, sustainability, and coffee. Flahavan's porridge with organic yogurt and fruit, organic eggs, and locally sourced onion sausage and bagels feature in the breakfast menu, while wraps, salads, freshly made soups, and vegetarian dishes are some of the other options available. 

Tapping into Galway's past as a major trading post for Spain, chef--owners JP McMahon and Drigin Gaffey bring all the favorite aspects of authentic Spanish cuisine and wine while also serving excellent local produce in this vibrant and warm Galway hot spot. More than 50 regional tapas served family-style at large, wooden communal tables are the heart of this restaurant filled with Spanish flavors and Irish produce and heart. There is an impressive craft beer and wine menu to accompany the food choices. For groups of eight or more, there's a tasting menu (€29 per person) that includes a sweeping selection of tapas.