13 Best Restaurants in Ireland

When Garrett Byrne, the former head chef of Dublin's celebrated Chapter One, returns home and opens a restaurant, people take notice, and the awards---and diners from all of Ireland---start flooding in. The menu is a work of art, with common French themes toyed with and expanded. The ox tongue and cheek, in sauce gribiche with pickled salsify and horseradish cream, is just about the perfect starter. For a main, try the saddle of wild venison with bacon and chestnut dumpling, caramelized parsnip, and pepper jus. Byrne chose an industrial site beside the disused railway yard and transformed it into a stylish, uncluttered space with a beautiful green canopy for a sense of the French bistro. The oak flooring and curved banquettes contrast with the abstract splashes of bright colors on the walls. The wine list is long and luxurious.

It's rather fitting that this restaurant is in a converted church, as it's become something of a shrine for foodies. Jason Matthia's cuisine is classic French with contemporary Irish twists. The seafood cassoulet—half a dozen varieties of fish and shellfish with a delicate chive velouté—is legendary. Another specialty is venison, mushroom and cranberry pie with chestnuts and hazelnuts. The atmosphere is wonderful, too, with dark wood and tapestries providing an elegant background for the white linen. Matthia has opened a great café next door if you prefer something more informal.

This fresh, one-stop shop for everything organic and delicious in Dublin combines a huge deli with a cozy cellar wine bar and expansive second-floor French brasserie. Located on the top floor of a beautiful old telephone exchange building, the high-ceiling, light-filled dining room is always bustling. The menu covers everything from burgers to loin of rabbit, but the Wicklow pork belly, celeriac, and Savoy cabbage are typical. Leave room for the lemon-ricotta cheesecake. You can pick up a bottle of wine in the wine cellar and enjoy it for a small corkage fee.

Inside the Waterford Castle Hotel, the Munster Room's luxe decor—with oak paneling darkened with age and ancestral portraits in gilt frames—hints at one of the most sophisticated menus around. Options include a fixed-price, three-course menu featuring adventurous starters such as ballotine of quail with celeriac foam, winter slaw, and cinnamon and apple jelly. The dress code is smart (jackets for the men) and the surroundings suggest a big night out. Main-course winners include the best of Irish steaks or the roasted goose breast with potato-and-orange stuffing and burnt-orange sauce.

Also known as "Dublin's finest restaurant," this Michelin-starred place on the ground floor of the Merrion Hotel boasts a menu described as French, but chef Guillaume Lebrun's genius lies in his occasional daring use of traditional Irish ingredients—so often taken for granted—to create the unexpected. The ambience is just as delicious, if you're into lofty, minimalist dining rooms and Irish modern art (the Roderic O'Conors and Louis le Brocquys are all from the owner's private collection). The best dishes are flawless, such as the roast red leg partridge. Follow that, if you can, with the assiette au chocolat (a tray of five hot and cold chocolate desserts). Nearly as impressive are the 70-page wine list, the view of the Merrion's manicured gardens, and the two-course lunch special. Soaring white vaults and white walls won't make you feel warm and cozy, but you can always go somewhere else for that.

Claiming to be Ireland's first "certified organic restaurant," this idyllic spot is tucked away in a rural valley as part of the BrookLodge Hotel. Dunmore East cod with dillisk and wild woodruff, and wood pigeon with crispy coppa and white tomato foam are part of the feast. The glossy decor—midnight-blue walls, mirrored ceiling, and gleaming mahogany furniture—comes as a surprise, but cues you to the creative menu that awaits. The Big Table, which seats up to 40, is perfect for large parties or people who want to eat family-style. After dessert, check out the spectacular wine cellar.

When is a wine bar not just a wine bar? When it's also one of the city's most talked-about restaurants where you can drink or dine (tapas-style) at the bar, in the lush armchairs of the open-plan lounge, or in the more formal, restrained-modern dining room. The Roscoff onion tart is an adventurous starter, while the cold meat platter is a finger-lickin' little bar dish. The wine list is the envy of many a more expensive eatery, and with a couple of dozen wines poured by the glass you can dare to try something really special. There's a sister café in the same building with equally scrumptious offerings at a lower price point.

This exceptional eatery just off George's Street lost a little of its intimacy when it expanded, but the crowds still come for authentic French food at a fair price. Start with 12 snails, fresh herbs, garlic, and pastis butter. For a main course, the slow-roasted pork belly with black pudding manages to be hearty and adventurous at the same time. Desserts have a devilishly childish touch to them—passion-fruit cake with white chocolate sauce is a typical example. Pop next door to Hogan's bar while you're waiting.

This Breton-inspired, unpretentious eatery has one of the most inviting and good-value menus in the city. The look is very much casual bistro, a satisfying backdrop for starters like the beet risotto with winter truffles, and such mouthwatering mains as the loin of venison with red cabbage and celeriac paste. 

Polished tables, a large stone chimney, and bay windows are the cornerstone of this contemporary space behind this double-fronted town house. At dinner, owner-chef Olivier Queva's classical French background is evident in his treatment of the daily catch directly from the pier, including fresh grilled lobster in the summer, and clever ways with unusual cuts of meat. In winter, the catch of the day is replaced by game: quail, pheasant, wild duck, or venison. The wine list is long and includes a good selection of French and new-world wines to complement serious and well-judged cuisine.

The stuffed fox on the wall with the pistol in his hand inspired the name of this warm, gamy, stylish new eatery in a Georgian basement conveniently located near the Gate Theatre. The chef-owner graduated from a Michelin-star kitchen and he brings that elevated standard to the seasonal, fixed-price menu, with dishes like venison with parsnip, black pudding, chestnut, and blackberries. Lighter choices include a roast barley risotto, with pickled mushrooms and smoked ricotta. The staff at Mr Fox know their wines and love nothing more than to match a bottle to your meal choice. The cozy little bar is perfect for a predinner tipple.

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.