World City Guide

Restaurants

The selected restaurants have been divided into five categories: Gastronomic, Business, Trendy, Budget and Personal Recommendations. The restaurants are listed alphabetically within these different categories, which serve as guidelines rather than absolute definitions of the establishments.
VAT currently stands at 21% and is generally included in the price of a meal. A service charge of 12.5% is also usually added to restaurant bills and many diners add a discretionary tip of around 5–10% of the bill. If service is not included, a tip of between 12.5% and 15% is usual. Credit cards are accepted in most restaurants.

The prices quoted below are for an average three-course meal for one person and a bottle of house wine or cheapest equivalent; they include VAT but not service charge or tip.

Gastronomic

L'Ecrivain
Portraits of Irish writers adorn the walls of 'The Writer', a light, airy and sophisticated restaurant specialising in new Irish cuisine. Derry Clarke is regarded as one of Dublin’s most acclaimed chefs, with one Michelin-star, and his signature dish, Dublin Bay prawns in Kataifi pastry with chilli jam and tartare sauce, is sensational. During summer visits, diners should ask for a table on the tiny balcony.

109a Lower Baggot Street, Dublin 2
Tel: (01) 661 1919. Fax: (01) 661 0617.
E-mail: enquiries@lecrivain.com
Website: www.lecrivain.com
Price: 70. Wine: 30.

Les Frres Jacques
Located in the city centre, opposite Dublin Castle, Dublin’s top French restaurant is celebrated for its classic, seasonal cuisine and its superb seafood, with west coast oysters and grilled lobster favourites. The intimate, traditional decor, combined with crisp white linens, an exemplary wine list and impeccable, formal service, make it an especially popular choice for business lunches.

74 Dame Street, Dublin 2
Tel: (01) 679 4555. Fax: (01) 679 4725.
E-mail: info@lesfreresjacques.com
Website: www.lesfreresjacques.com
Price: 60. Wine: 18.50.

Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud
The exceptional, contemporary French cuisine of chef Patrick Guilbaud, using the best in-season Irish ingredients, makes this one of Dublin’s finest restaurants. It is fully deserving of its two Michelin stars, with prices to match. The elegant ground-floor restaurant, decorated with 20th-century Irish art, opens onto a terrace and landscaped garden, offering alfresco dining in fine weather. The dishes too are works of art (including Connemara lobster ravioli with toasted almonds, or sole and duck confit with a red wine jus) dramatically served from beneath shining silver cloches.

Merrion Hotel, 21 Upper Merrion Street, Dublin 2
Tel: (01) 676 4192. Fax: (01) 661 0052.
Website: www.restaurantpatrickguilbaud.ie
Price: 100. Wine: 36.

The Tea Room
This modish restaurant in U2’s celebrated hotel, The Clarence, has handsome light oak furnishings, pristine white linens and designer cutlery and glasses, as well as understated, but flattering, blue lighting. The Tea Room offers a light, sophisticated menu of modern Irish cuisine – baked wild sea bass with fennel puree and Carlingford mussels, followed by roast leg of rabbit, Clonakilty black pudding, truffle mash, young leeks and ceps count among the favourite dishes. Then there is the passion fruit and orange tart, served with thyme and passion fruit ice cream or a platter of scrumptious farmhouse cheeses for afters. The martinis served at the neighbouring Octagon Bar are reputedly the best in town.

The Clarence, 6-8 Wellington Quay, Dublin 2
Tel: (01) 407 0813. Fax: (01) 407 0826.
E-mail: tearoom@theclarence.ie
Website: www.theclarence.ie
Price: 55. Wine: 30.

Thornton’s
Kevin Thornton is widely considered to be Ireland’s top chef. His imaginative two-Michelin-starred cooking (a combination of traditional Irish and southern French cuisine, cooked with refreshing simplicity) can be tasted at surprisingly affordable prices in a plush, formal dining-room on the first floor of The Fitzwilliam Hotel, overlooking St Stephen’s Green. Signature dishes include sautd foie gras with scallops and cep sauce, and roast suckling pig with poitin sauce. The set lunch menus (30 for two courses, 40 for three courses) are especially popular with business clients.

The Fitzwilliam Hotel, St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2
Tel: (01) 478 7008. Fax: (01) 478 7009.
Website: www.fitzwilliamhotel.com
Price: 100. Wine: 27.

Business

Brownes Brasserie
This grand Georgian townhouse, overlooking St Stephen’s Green, is a popular venue for business entertaining, due to its extensive wine list and sophisticated Mediterranean cuisine. Specialities include shallot tarte tatin and pan-seared scallops served with ratatouille or shellfish salsa.

22 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2
Tel: (01) 638 3939. Fax: (01) 638 3900.
E-mail: info@brownesdublin.com
Website: www.brownesdublin.com
Price: 60-70. Wine: 22.50.

Chapter One
This smart restaurant, decorated with paintings of local literary celebrities, serves modern Irish cuisine within the arched basement of the Dublin Writers’ Museum. By day, the local business clientele enjoy the three-course set lunch for 31, while the close proximity of the restaurant to the Gate Theatre and Abbey Theatre makes its pre-theatre menu (also 31) equally popular, with two-courses before the show, followed by dessert and coffee after the performance. Menu items include such delights as loin of boar with onion compote, fricassee of mushrooms, wild rocket and gnocchi, and seafood options such as roasted scallops served with a leek and smoked bacon risotto.

18-19 Parnell Square, Dublin 1
Tel: (01) 873 2266. Fax: (01) 873 2330.
E-mail: info@chapteronerestaurant.com
Website: www.chapteronerestaurant.com
Price: 55. Wine: 22.50.

Diep Le Shaker
Airy and sophisticated, this two-storey restaurant with a stylish cocktail bar is located near Fitzwilliam Square. Cheerful yellow decor, crisp white linen and excellent service attract a chic and glamorous crowd. It is especially popular for business entertaining. The menu offers equally stylish Asian cuisine, with such aromatic dishes as scallops steamed in their shells with garlic, ginger and light soy sauce, or stir-fried beef with chilli and Thai herbs.

55 Pembroke Lane, Dublin 2
Tel: (01) 661 1829. Fax: (01) 661 5905.
E-mail: info@diep.net
Website: www.diep.net
Price: 36. Wine: 20.

Dobbin's Wine Bistro
With its dark, cavernous interior, its jolly red-and-white gingham tablecloths and sawdust-strewn floor, this sociable bistro is a veritable Dublin institution for ‘doing lunch’, and is frequented by a loyal following of business people, politicians and locals. Popular dishes include a trio of salmon (smoked, marinated and poached), baked fillet of red mullet with lobster and bacon potatoes or prime fillet of beef served with deep-fried hash browns and lashings of brandy and black pepper sauce.

15 Stephen’s Lane, Dublin 2
Tel: (01) 676 4670. Fax: (01) 661 3331.
E-mail: dobbinswinebistro@eircom.net
Website: www.dobbins-dublin.com
Price: 50. Wine: 22.50.

La Mre Zou
This bright, cheerful, Provenal-style restaurant serves classical French cuisine with a superb choice of regional French wines within a Georgian basement on the north side of St Stephen’s Green. Service is friendly and efficient, and the set lunch menu (at 20.90 for three courses) is especially popular with local business clientele. Dishes include steamed mussels, or sauted young rabbit with rosemary jus and cep mushrooms.

22 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2
Tel/fax: (01) 661 6669.
E-mail: merezou@indigo.ie
Price: 40. Wine: 17.70.

Trendy

Caf Mao
Exotic curries, spicy satays and other innovative Asian dishes are the order of the day in this small, trendy caf-restaurant, located near Grafton Street. The interior is stylishly decorated in brilliant blues, reds and yellows. No reservations are accepted and there is frequently a queue, but it is well worth the wait.

2-3 Chatham Row, Dublin 2
Tel: (01) 670 4899. Fax: (01) 670 4893.
E-mail: info@cafemao.com
Website: www.cafemao.com
Price: 40. Wine: 16.95.

Eden
The outdoor terrace of this airy, minimalist restaurant on Meeting House Square makes an ideal venue for an al-fresco lunch of modern, market-fresh cuisine. It is also an ideal venue for a relaxed dinner when classic movies are screened in the square on summer evenings. The seafood terrine served with Guinness bread, or the char-grilled quail with calvados cream and champ, and the rhubarb crme brle are especially recommended.

Meeting House Square, Temple Bar, Dublin 2
Tel: (01) 670 5372. Fax: (01) 670 3330.
E-mail: enquiry@edenrestaurant.ie
Website: www.edenrestaurant.ie
Price: 45. Wine: 23.

Halo
On the north quay of the River Liffey, the trendiest dining room in town (designed by John Rocha) boasts an imaginative menu of Asian-influenced fusion food in an atrium setting, enhanced by smart minimalist furnishings, dramatic velvet throws and subtle spot lighting. Equally stylish dishes (roasted prawns, lime and coconut soup with gingered oyster fritter, followed by fillet of sea bass with yam mash, braised scallions and aromatic butter sauce) match the setting perfectly. The Valrhona dark chocolate and griotine mousse with vanilla sauce is a must for those with a sweet tooth.

Morrison Hotel, Ormond Quay Lower, Dublin 1
Tel: (01) 887 2421. Fax: (01) 878 3185.
E-mail: halo@morrisonhotel.ie
Website: www.morrisonhotel.ie
Price: 60. Wine: 25.

Jacob's Ladder
This is a chic, minimalist restaurant occupying two floors of a Georgian house overlooking the playing fields of Trinity College. Chef Adrian Roche specialises in imaginative, modern Irish cuisine, using seasonal ingredients to create such delicacies as scallops with beetroot and shellfish coddle (a modern version of the traditional Dublin dish) accompanied by an impressive wine list.

4 Nassau Street, Dublin 2
Tel: (01) 670 3865. Fax: (01) 670 3868.
E-mail: dining@jacobsladder.ie
Website: www.jacobsladder.ie
Price: 50. Wine: 24.

Wagamama
There is often a long queue in this basement branch of the slick, stylish Japanese chain of noodle bars, located just off Grafton Street and St Stephen’s Green. The cheap, tasty rice and noodle dishes served at long wooden benches are, however, well worth the wait. A gigantic bowl of ramen (noodle soup), the house speciality, is a meal in itself.

King Street South, Dublin 2
Tel: (01) 478 2152. Fax: (01) 478 2154.
Website: www.wagamama.ie
Price: 25. Wine: 18.

Budget

Avoca Caf
This stylish caf, on the top floor of the well-known Avoca Handweavers craft store, serves hearty soups, home-baked breads, imaginative salads, freshly squeezed juices, tea, coffee and gorgeous cream cakes to weary shoppers.

11-13 Suffolk Street, Dublin 2
Tel: (01) 672 6019. Fax: (01) 672 6021.
E-mail: info@avoca.ie
Website: www.avoca.ie
Price: 20. Wine: 15.

Chief O’Neill’s Bar
This modern bar, north of the River Liffey, combines wholesome favourites, such as Irish stew or beef and Guinness pie, with more refined new Irish cuisine, such as roast salmon steak in a garlic and chive sauce with spring onion mash or Bailey’s cheesecake. It also features occasional live traditional music.

Smithfield Village, Dublin 7
Tel: (01) 817 3838. Fax: (01) 817 3839.
Website: www.chiefoneills.com
Price: 25. Wine: 18.

Elephant and Castle
This cheerful caf-restaurant, with simple decor and large wooden tables, is located at the heart of Temple Bar. It is renowned for its baskets of spicy chicken wings, its homemade burgers and its gigantic bowls of salad, served all day. It is also a popular venue for American-style Sunday brunch.

18 Temple Bar, Dublin 2
Tel: (01) 679 3121. Fax: (01) 679 1399.
Website: www.elephantandcastle.com
Price: 25. Wine: 5 (for wine served by the glass).

Ely
This lively wine bar, occupying the ground floor and basement of a splendid Georgian townhouse near St Stephen’s Green, serves tasty Irish fare (including Irish stew and genuine Dublin coddle, which consists of bacon, bangers and spuds) and around 80 different wines by the glass.

22 Ely Place, Dublin 2
Tel: (01) 676 8986. Fax: (01) 661 7288.
Price: 25. Wine: 26.

Gallagher’s Boxty House
This popular, traditional Irish restaurant, in upbeat Temple Bar, has a simple, homely decor of pine dressers and bookcases. It specialises in boxties (griddled potato cakes containing savoury fillings, such as beef and Beamish stout, smoked fish or bacon and cabbage) and other tasty Irish fare.

20 Temple Bar, Dublin 2
Tel: (01) 677 2762. Fax: (01) 677 9723.
E-mail: info@boxtyhouse.ie
Website: www.boxtyhouse.ie
Price: 25. Wine: 18.50.

Personal Recommendations

Il Baccaro
Hidden in a dark, intimate 17th-century cellar at the heart of Temple Bar, this busy Italian taverna serves tasty regional dishes including Florentine-style steaks, spaghetti bolognese and all the usual favourites, as well as delicious antipasti, platters of cold cuts and cheeses. House wine is poured straight from the barrel to a young and lively crowd.

Diceman’s Corner, Meeting House Square, Dublin 2
Tel: (01) 671 4597.
Price: 25. Wine: 19.

Kelly & Ping
East meets West with Kelly & Ping’s unique blend of Asian cuisine, served in modern Irish surroundings at the centre of Smithfield, north of the River Liffey. The five-spiced barbecue ribs are particularly tasty, as is the wok-fried ginger chicken with prawns, spring onions and bamboo shoots, cooked with coconut and chilli pepper. Portions are generous, yet artistically presented, and the menus are helpfully colour-coded for spiciness.

Duck Lane, Smithfield, Dublin 7
Tel: (01) 817 3840. Fax: (01) 817 3841.
Website: www.kellyandping.ie
Price: 35. Wine: 17.

The Mermaid Caf
The Mermaid Caf is a small, popular bistro near Dublin Castle, serving homemade American-inspired dishes. Food is served in a relaxed, uncluttered dining room of simple wooden furniture with nautical touches. The speciality giant Atlantic seafood casserole is particularly delicious.

69-70 Dame Street, Dublin 2
Tel: (01) 670 8236. Fax: (01) 670 8205.
E-mail: info@mermaid.ie
Website: www.mermaid.ie
Price: 42. Wine: 17.50.

Oliver St John Gogarty
This is a lively pub in Temple Bar offering above-average pub food, including Irish stew, Galway prawns and other Irish favourites, accompanied by daily live, traditional Irish music.

58-59 Fleet Street, Dublin 2
Tel: (01) 671 1822. Fax: (01) 671 7637.
E-mail: info@gogartys.ie
Website: www.gogartys.ie
Price: 20 (bar), 45 (restaurant). Wine: 15.

Roly’s Bistro
This large, lively bistro serving French, Irish and international classics is rated among the top venues in town. The Kerry lamb pie, the Clonakilty black pudding encased in brioche, or the Dublin Bay prawns served with mushrooms, leeks and a brandy and tarragon cream butter, are all recommended.

7 Ballsbridge Terrace, Dublin 4
Tel: (01) 668 2611. Fax: (01) 660 8535.
Price: 45.