There was a time when Dublin’s most notable gift to the culinary world was a spice burger – usually ordered from a chipper on the way home from the pub (Anthony Bourdain even tried one when he visited the city for his TV show No Reservations in the early 2000s). But in recent decades the Irish capital has shed its reputation for sub-par (or, not to malign chippers, let’s say unadventurous) food and gained a newfound swagger, thanks to a young generation of brilliant homegrown chefs.
The result is that it now has a restaurant scene to rival any in Europe, and a corresponding generation of foodies to fill its hottest tables – as well as a renewed focus on championing Ireland’s abundant ingredients. As a keen Irish foodie – and someone who regularly ordered spice burgers as a student in the city many years ago – I will now patiently queue at the hole-in-the-wall serving the best pizza in town and build lunch at a buzzed-about spot into my weekend plans. Here’s a pick of the best restaurants in Dublin – from crisply laid two-star tables to the neighbourhood joints we’d all love to have around the corner.
Amai by Viktor
1. Amai by Viktor
Brilliant Brazilian food is not what you expect to find – or look for – in Dublin city centre, but Amai by Viktor has been taking everyone by surprise since it quietly opened in the second half of 2025. The restaurant is set above The Corkscrew off-licence in a beautiful room that was once a shoe shop. Running the kitchen is Brazilian Viktor Silva, whose multi-course tasting menu might include beef pastel with banana ketchup, wood pigeon with blackberry and cachaca jelly with black lime. It’s also open for lunch when you can taste a crunched-down version. Love (amai means “to love” in Brazilian Portuguese) goes into everything here – long may Dubliners enjoy this slice of South American passion and sunshine.
Address: Amai by Viktor, 4 Harry Street, Dublin D02 CX24
Website: amaibyviktor.ie
2. Chubbys
If you’re the type of person who likes to lock in your foodie adventures in advance, this is the one for you, as gold-dust bookings are best bagged via Instagram a couple of months ahead. Sandwich shop owner Barry Stephens opened a Mexican food truck during lockdown, and this is its evolution, set in a former warehouse in the northside neighbourhood of Clontarf. His wife Jen softened the space by painting it pink, and it now hums with grinning diners tucking into Korean-spiced, six-hour-smoked free-range pork belly, beef birria tacos and charred baby gem in a blue cheese vinaigrette, washed down with cold beers from Dublin brewery Whiplash. The terrace outside is the spot for cocktails on a sunny day and hopping summer dance parties.
Address: Chubbys, Rear of 46 Clontarf Road, Clontarf, Dublin D03A5X2
Website: instagram.com
Mongoose
3. Mongoose
This new arrival in the Liberties neighbourhood is the hot table everyone is talking about. From the team behind Michelin-starred yet uber-casual Variety Jones next door, Mongoose is only open from Sunday to Tuesday – hence the frenzy to bag a seat. The fluorescent cardboard signs on the window and the stripped-back decor belie the high-level cooking going on here. Dishes such as cockles in white wine, Parmesan-topped agnoletti pasta and porchetta with gremolata are hearty and happy-making; and there’s a wodge of sticky toffee pudding with Jersey milk ice cream for dessert. The brilliant value Monday lunch menu has three courses for 32 euros – a great excuse to beat the start-of-the-week blues and treat yourself to a meal out in what can be a very pricey city.
Address: Mongoose, 78 Thomas Street, The Liberties, Dublin, D08 F2RN
Website: mongoose.ie
4. Comet
Tucked down a lane off super-central Dawson Street, on the site of a former wine bar, Comet is a European-style bistro that got foodies in the Irish capital all aflutter when it arrived in mid 2025. The pedigree of the team who run it is impressive: chef Kevin O’Donnell cut his teeth at Dublin favourite Bastible before working in starry kitchens in Denmark and returning home to roll out popular supper clubs; along the way he met his wife, Laura Chabal, who now brilliantly runs the front of house at Comet, which they set up with O’Donnell’s old Bastible bosses. Anyone feeling daring can roll the dice on the four-course carte blanche for 78 euros. Otherwise, there could be melon and cucumber salad with cured pork, aged duck and beetroot, and a quail roasted on toast with vin jaune sauce that’s been a menu staple since Comet opened. The brilliant low-intervention wine list is a worthy pairing for the sublime cooking.
Address: Comet, 3 Joshua Lane, Dublin D02 C856
Website: cometrestaurant.com
Vada
5. Vada
Northside enclave Stoneybatter has become a restaurant hotspot in recent years, with classic Italian at Grano and brilliant modern Chinese at Hakkahan. And this neighbourhood café added a zero-waste ethos to the mix. It was founded by Sarah Boland, who trained at Ballymaloe Cookery School in County Cork, and head chef Hannah O’Donnell, formerly of Galway favourite Kai, steers the kitchen. For dinner (Wednesday to Saturday), there could be rabbit croquettes with the sharpness of apple as a “picky bit”, followed by mussels with beet tartare and scallops with chickpea masala. These are flavour combinations you won’t find anywhere else in the city, and they work. A weekend brunch of croissant French toast with whipped dark chocolate and strawberries is as over-the-top and treat-yourself as it sounds.
Address: Vada, 30 Brunswick Street North, Stoneybatter, Dublin D07 TP64
Website: hellovada.com
6. Bang
Bang originally opened to much buzz in Dublin in the boom years of the late 1990s before fizzling out and being sold a decade later. Now Richie Barrett, the son of that owner, has rejuvenated the space once again, and the buzz is very much back. The focus this time around is on the food of the Iberian Peninsula, which chef Eric Matthews (Barrett’s longtime friend and partner in this new venture) has turned into a menu featuring a gooey tortilla named after the legendary Barcelona tapas spot Cal Pep and piri piri chicken reminiscent of beachside lunches in the Algarve. It’s all served amid interiors as warm as a Valencian sunset – and, proving their commitment to the theme, the decadent chocolate mousse swims in a puddle of caramel made from jamón fat and gets an extra kick of Pedro Ximénez sherry at the table.
Address: Bang, 11 Merrion Row, Dublin D02 KW61
Website: bangrestaurant.com
Mamó
7. Mamó
One of Dublin’s quintessential neighbourhoods and a must for visitors, Howth is a charming fishing village and well-heeled residential suburb on the north side of Dublin Bay, known for the seafood restaurants lining its small working harbour. Mamó is an affectionate term for grandmother in the Irish language, and this small restaurant feels like a warm embrace as soon as you walk in. The food here is a spin on contemporary Irish fare – even the cod chip from the nibbles section of the menu is a clever culinary nod to the restaurant’s location. Work up an appetite on the panoramic trail around Howth Head before lunch (the ground-floor counter takes walk-ins if you haven’t booked) or look out over the twinkling lights of the harbour at night from the first-floor dining room.
Address: Mamó Restaurant, Harbour House, Harbour Road, Howth, Dublin, D13 E9H9
Website: mamorestaurant.ie
8. Uno Mas
Spain informs the overriding theme of the food at this perennial favourite spot in a long narrow space on Aungier Street. The menu kicks off with tapas-inspired classics such as moreish croquetas, padrón peppers and squid à la plancha and moves on to more substantial starters: beef tartare with pickled Spanish chillies or crab with taramasalata and radish, perhaps. Mains follow the same big-flavored cue – the salt-aged Delmonico steak for two accompanied by béarnaise, beef dripping potatoes and Bordelaise sauce is a menu staple, and there is an extensive list of lesser-known Spanish and Portuguese wines and sherries. Order the modest-sounding flan de queso for dessert even if you think you’re full – honestly.
Address: Uno Mas, 6 Aungier Street, Dublin, D02 WN47
Website: unomas.ie
Fish Shop
Jack Higgins9. Fish Shop
For one of Dublin’s more elevated fish-and-chip experiences, perch on a stool at the diminutive spot Fish Shop in Smithfield, which has been serving happy regulars for 10 years. There’s a handful of small plates to start – oysters, prawn croquettes or mussels from County Cork – and the main event is a selection of sustainably sourced species from Irish coastal waters such as hake, haddock and plaice, which can be served without the crisp beer batter if that’s your preference, and hand-cut chunky chips. Accompany it all with a glass of something from the highly selective wine list, which gives a shout-out to the expat Irish winemakers turning out brilliant bottles in vineyards from Slovenia to the South Downs. There’s a side of salad for a crunch of green and a zingy lemon posset for dessert. Also, try its sister wine bar on the other side of the river, Bar Pez, on Kevin Street.
Address: Fish Shop, 76 Benburb Street, Smithfield, Dublin, D07 X3PN
Website: fish-shop.ie
10. Note
Most evenings, Note thrums with a pleasing bustle as people drop in for an after-work Negroni at the bar and snacks of lamb kofte topped with Aleppo pepper, or something more substantial from the succinct bistro-style menu served in the wedge-shaped dining room. It might include Connemara oysters with pickled garlic scapes followed by beautifully plated dishes such as smoked beetroot, with milk curd, cherries and dillisk. The wine list features a cherry-picked roster of natural and low-intervention wines and grower Champagnes from small producers, as well as a tight line-up of 10 classic cocktails, including two non-alcoholic options (try the Connemara Sour with peated whiskey). Despite being pretty much in the centre of the city, it still manages to retain a casual neighbourhood feel. It’s also one of the best restaurants in Dublin that opens for dinner on Mondays – worth noting if you are in town for a long weekend.
Address: Note, 26 Fenian Street, Dublin D02 FX09
Website: notedublin.com
D’Olier Street
David McClelland Photography11. D’Olier Street
Michelin-starred D’Olier Street is smart and slick – the culmination of three friends’ dream to open a fine-dining restaurant in Dublin. Occupying the striking, stuccoed Victorian D’Olier Chambers opposite Trinity College, the restaurant serves just one option: a leisurely-paced, 13-course tasting menu for 139 euros that ranges from micro bites to more substantial plates, so there is no need to feel daunted. There is also a five-glass wine pairing curated by one of Dublin’s best sommeliers, plus a non-alcoholic cocktail pairing. Australian-born chef James Moore spent time working in the two Michelin-starred kitchens of Manhattan’s Atera, so there are some serious cooking skills on show here – try to bag one of the 10 seats at the chef’s counter and pray that the foie gras custard with pineapple and dinky English muffins is still on the menu.
Address: D’Olier Street, D’Olier Chambers, D’Olier Street, Dublin D02 H589
Website: dolierstreetrestaurant.com
12. Chapter One
Chef Mickael Viljanen has been the talent behind the stoves of one of Dublin’s best restaurants since 2021, and the culinary creativity he brought with him was rewarded with two Michelin stars the following year. Born in Sweden, raised in Finland and a long-time resident of Ireland, Viljanen combines his Nordic sensibilities with sublime skills and decadent ingredients such as foie gras and hand-dived scallops. His inventive renderings of Irish produce could include dishes such as Donegal lobster glazed with Kari Gosse spices, plus pumpkin, yuzu and mandarin. The three-course lunch is a more affordable way to experience one of Ireland’s most exciting dining rooms – be sure to save space for the dedicated Irish coffee trolley.
Address: Chapter One Restaurant, 18-19 Parnell Square North, Rotunda, Dublin D01 T3V8
Website: chapteronerestaurant.com