Best Restaurants in Dublin: The 2026 MICHELIN Stars, the Pubs That Cook and Where to Skip
The best restaurants in Dublin are not in Temple Bar. They are a fifteen-minute walk from it in every direction: south to the Georgian squares, west to Thomas Street and the Liberties, north across the river to Parnell Square and Stoneybatter. Go to Temple Bar for one pint. Eat somewhere else.
The short answer. For a special occasion, book one of Dublin's three two-MICHELIN-star restaurants: Chapter One on Parnell Square, Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud in the Merrion Hotel, or Liath in Blackrock. For the best value serious meal in the city, Variety Jones on Thomas Street. For pub food, L. Mulligan Grocer in Stoneybatter. For Indian food, Pickle on Camden Street. The rest of this guide is where to find everything in between.
MICHELIN-starred restaurants in Dublin, 2026
The 2026 MICHELIN Guide Great Britain & Ireland was presented on 9 February 2026 at the Convention Centre in Dublin, the first time the ceremony had been held in Ireland. Dublin had a good night. As The Irish Times reported, every Irish restaurant that held a star kept it, and Forest Avenue was promoted to one star. Ireland still has no three-star restaurant.
| Restaurant | Stars | Area |
|---|---|---|
| Chapter One | 2 | Parnell Square, Dublin 1 |
| Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud | 2 | Merrion Hotel, Dublin 2 |
| Liath | 2 | Blackrock Market, south County Dublin |
| Variety Jones | 1 | Thomas Street, Dublin 8 |
| Glovers Alley | 1 | St Stephen's Green, Dublin 2 |
| D'Olier Street | 1 | D'Olier Street, Dublin 2 |
| Bastible | 1 | South Circular Road, Dublin 8 |
| Forest Avenue | 1 (new in 2026) | Dublin 4 |
The full list is on TheTaste's 2026 roundup. Eight starred restaurants is a small number for a capital, which makes the choice easier than it looks. Here is how to choose.
- Chapter One, if you book one. Mickael Viljanen's basement dining room on Parnell Square was named in 2026 as a realistic contender to become Ireland's first three-star restaurant. It is the most ambitious cooking in the city and it is priced accordingly.
- Patrick Guilbaud, for the classic version. French haute cuisine in the Merrion Hotel. Formal, polished and the closest thing Dublin has to an institution. Go at lunch, which is the better value by a distance.
- Liath, if you can get a seat. Damien Grey's room inside Blackrock Market is tiny and serves a single tasting menu with no choices. It is a short DART ride south of the city center. Booking is the hard part.
- Variety Jones, for value. One star, cooking over an open fire, and a tasting menu that costs well under the two-star rooms. If you only have budget for one starred meal, this is the one that feels least like a ceremony.
- Forest Avenue, the newcomer. John Wyer's restaurant took its first star in 2026 for plain, ingredient-led cooking. Book it before the new star makes that harder.
For how Dublin compares with other cities on star count, see which city has the most MICHELIN stars.
Where to eat in Dublin, by neighborhood
Dublin is small enough to walk across in forty minutes, and its restaurants cluster in a handful of streets. Pick the area, then the restaurant.
- Around St Stephen's Green (Dublin 2). The Georgian core, and the densest concentration of good restaurants in the city. Etto on Merrion Row is a narrow Italian-leaning wine bar that does small plates better than anywhere else in town. Glovers Alley and Patrick Guilbaud are within a few minutes' walk.
- Camden Street and South Great George's Street. The casual strip, busy every night of the week. Pickle is on Camden Street; 777, a loud Mexican room with a long mezcal and tequila list, is on South Great George's Street.
- The Liberties and Thomas Street (Dublin 8). West of Christ Church, around the Guinness Storehouse. Variety Jones is here, and the area is where much of the city's newer cooking has moved as rents in Dublin 2 have climbed.
- The north quays and Parnell Square (Dublin 1). Chapter One is at the top of O'Connell Street. The Winding Stair, on Ormond Quay above the bookshop of the same name, serves modern Irish cooking with a view of the Ha'penny Bridge.
- Stoneybatter (Dublin 7). A residential village north of the river, a short walk past the Four Courts. Worth the trip for L. Mulligan Grocer alone.
Temple Bar. The cobbled streets between Dame Street and the river are where most visitors start, and the pubs are worth a look. The restaurants mostly are not. The one exception with a real reason to exist is covered below.
The best pub food in Dublin
Dublin pubs were built for drinking, and many still only serve crisps. The ones that cook properly are called gastropubs locally, and the best of them are better value than most restaurants in the city.
- L. Mulligan Grocer, Stoneybatter. The best pub food in Dublin. It opened in 2010 in an old pub and helped start the city's gastropub wave. The menu changes with the season and runs to Irish seafood chowder and proper fish and chips. It is also one of the very few pubs in Ireland that does not serve Guinness: the bar pours Irish craft beer and more than 150 whiskeys instead.
- The Old Spot, Bath Avenue (Dublin 4). A south-side gastropub near the Aviva Stadium, known for its Sunday roast. Book on match days or avoid them.
- Any pub, for a toastie. A ham and cheese toasted sandwich with a pint is not a meal anyone writes guides about, and it is the most Dublin lunch there is.
The rule for pub food in Dublin: if the menu is short and changes, the kitchen cares. If it is laminated and runs to four pages, have a pint and eat somewhere else.
Where to eat traditional Irish food in Dublin
Traditional Irish food is plain cooking: stews, potatoes, brown bread, smoked fish and very good dairy. Dublin's better restaurants use those ingredients constantly, but few serve the dishes themselves.
The one place that does, and the Temple Bar exception, is Gallagher's Boxty House. Boxty is the potato pancake of the border counties of Leitrim, Cavan and Fermanagh, and this family-run restaurant has been making it in Temple Bar for more than thirty years. It serves all three regional styles, and its owner, Pádraic Óg Gallagher, developed the Leitrim pan boxty the restaurant is known for in 1988. Order the boxty, not the steak.
| Dish | What it is |
|---|---|
| Boxty | A potato pancake made with grated raw and mashed potato |
| Irish stew | Lamb or mutton slow-cooked with potato, onion and carrot |
| Seafood chowder | A creamy fish and shellfish soup, served with brown bread |
| Soda bread | Bread raised with baking soda and buttermilk instead of yeast |
| Full Irish breakfast | Bacon, sausages, eggs, black and white pudding, tomato and toast |
Cool restaurants and the best Indian food in Dublin
The most interesting cooking in Dublin below the starred level is not Irish at all.
- Pickle, Camden Street. The best Indian food in Dublin. Chef Sunil Ghai, who made his name at Ananda in Dundrum, opened Pickle in 2016 with North Indian cooking: small plates, tandoor grills, curries and biryani. It has been in the MICHELIN Guide since 2022.
- Etto and Uno Mas. The same owners run both. Etto on Merrion Row is Italian-leaning; Uno Mas is Spanish-leaning and holds a Bib Gourmand, the MICHELIN award for good cooking at moderate prices. Either is the answer to "where do we eat tonight without booking a month ahead", though you should still book.
- 777, South Great George's Street. The coolest room in Dublin for a group: tacos, tostadas and a mezcal list long enough to be a problem.
How to book and eat out in Dublin
- Book the two-star restaurants weeks ahead. Liath especially, because it has very few seats.
- Eat the expensive meal at lunch. Lunch menus at the top end are usually much cheaper than dinner for similar cooking.
- Book Friday and Saturday everywhere. Even the casual places on Camden Street fill at weekends.
- Tipping. Around 10 to 12.5 percent is normal for table service. Check the bill first, because many restaurants add a service charge for larger groups.
- Use the DART for Liath. Blackrock is on the coastal line south of the city, and the market is a short walk from the station.
If your trip continues to London, see the best restaurants in Soho. Other cities are on the destinations page.
Searching for Dublin restaurants? Add Ireland
A search for restaurants in Dublin can return results in the United States, because there is a Dublin in Ohio with a busy restaurant district of its own.
Of 78 common search phrases combining Dublin with restaurants, accounting for about 75,000 monthly searches, at least eight, and roughly a quarter of the volume, are about somewhere other than the Irish capital. Most point to Dublin, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus, whose Bridge Park development is full of restaurants. Others are a restaurant in Patchogue, New York, and a chain of American Irish pubs called the Dubliner.
If your results look wrong, add Ireland to the search, or search for a restaurant or street by name.
Best restaurants in Dublin: common questions
What are the best restaurants in Dublin? For fine dining, the three two-MICHELIN-star restaurants: Chapter One, Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud and Liath. For value, one-star Variety Jones. For pub food, L. Mulligan Grocer. For Indian food, Pickle.
How many MICHELIN-starred restaurants are in Dublin? Eight in the 2026 guide, counting Liath in Blackrock: three with two stars and five with one. Forest Avenue was the new star in 2026.
Does Ireland have a three-MICHELIN-star restaurant? No. Ireland had none after the 2026 guide. Chapter One is widely named as the most likely first.
Where can I eat traditional Irish food in Dublin? Gallagher's Boxty House in Temple Bar for boxty and stew, and a good gastropub such as L. Mulligan Grocer for chowder and fish and chips.
Is Temple Bar a good place to eat? Mostly no. It is a good place for a pint. The better restaurants are around St Stephen's Green, Camden Street, Thomas Street and north of the river.
Book Chapter One or Liath early, have your pint in Temple Bar and your dinner anywhere else, and let the map do the remembering: here is the Dublin list.
Best restaurants in Dublin: common questions
- What are the best restaurants in Dublin?
- For fine dining, the three two-MICHELIN-star restaurants in the 2026 guide: Chapter One on Parnell Square, Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud in the Merrion Hotel and Liath in Blackrock. For value, one-star Variety Jones on Thomas Street. For pub food, L. Mulligan Grocer in Stoneybatter. For Indian food, Pickle on Camden Street.
- How many Michelin star restaurants are in Dublin?
- Eight in the MICHELIN Guide Great Britain & Ireland 2026, counting Liath in Blackrock: three with two stars (Chapter One, Patrick Guilbaud, Liath) and five with one (Variety Jones, Glovers Alley, D'Olier Street, Bastible and Forest Avenue, which was new in 2026).
- Does Ireland have a three-Michelin-star restaurant?
- No. After the 2026 guide, presented in Dublin on 9 February 2026, Ireland still had no three-star restaurant. Chapter One is widely named as the most likely first.
- Where can I eat traditional Irish food in Dublin?
- Gallagher's Boxty House in Temple Bar, a family-run restaurant that has served boxty, the potato pancake of Leitrim, Cavan and Fermanagh, for more than thirty years. For chowder and fish and chips, a good gastropub such as L. Mulligan Grocer.
- Is Temple Bar a good place to eat in Dublin?
- Mostly no. It is a good place for a pint. The better restaurants are around St Stephen's Green, Camden Street, Thomas Street and north of the river in Dublin 1 and Stoneybatter.