BYOB is back: The restaurants around Ireland where you can bring your own booze

It can feel good to splash out on a nice bottle of wine in a fine restaurant. But is it really worth paying the big mark-up? Before you answer the question, consider these examples.

Restaurant prices:

1. “Hilltops” Shiraz, Clonakilla, 2021 – Hawksmoor (€98/bottle)
2. Santa Rita Reserva Medalla Chardonnay – Roly’s Bistro (€28.50/bottle)
3. Chateau Lyonnat, Lussac-St Emilion – Sophie’s, Dublin, Galway and Cork (€52/bottle)

Supermarket prices:

1. “Hilltops” Shiraz, Clonakilla, 2021 – Jus de Vine, Portmarnock (€33.99)
2. Santa Rita Reserva Medalla Chardonnay – Tesco (€12/bottle Clubcard price)
3. Chateau Lyonnat, Lussac-St Emilion – Baggot Street Wines (€26.95)

With the latest arrival to the Dublin restaurant scene, Hawksmoor, offering the chance to save money by bringing your own drink to go with your steak and oysters, is it time for a BYOB renaissance?

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Bring your own bottle (BYOB) is a neat way of cutting costs when eating out as you can pick up your favourite bottle of plonk at supermarket/off-licence prices, and pay only for your food. It’s typically a policy that has been offered more by restaurants that don’t have drink licences, such as those serving Middle Eastern food – after all, restaurants typically make more from selling booze than they do from food.

But there is now a growing number that will allow you to do this.

Some restaurants charge a corkage fee, typically about €5 or so for wine, or €1 for beer, while others allow you to open and drink your wine for free – and will even provide an ice bucket for white wine/beer.

So, this summer, save your money for your holidays by hitting Aldi and picking up a bottle of Châteauneuf Du Pape for just €14.99, or a bottle of rosé for less than a tenner in Dunnes Stores. Or how about going all out with a bottle of bubbles? Tesco has a bottle of Louis Delaunay champagne for just €32 with your Clubcard.

Here are some restaurants that will allow you to bring your own.

Upmarket

Hawksmoor

Since it opened recently in the former National Bank building on College Green, Hawksmoor has fast become a place to see and be seen in on the Dublin restaurant scene.

The British steakhouse is not cheap – a review in this paper said it’s more of a “special night out” kind of place – but on Mondays, the restaurant allows you to bring your own bottle of wine or champagne, and pay a corkage fee of just €5.

BYOB: Every Monday, €5 corkage

Middle Eastern

Keshk Café

Something of an institution along the canal in Dublin 4, Keshk Café focuses on Mediterranean cuisine, inspired by Lebanese, Greek and Turkish food. So you can expect falafel, moussaka and charcoaled kafta. All washed down with a bottle of your own choice at supermarket/off-licence prices.

Corkage: Free

Sultan Café

Fancy a French taco? Then this Cork restaurant, which offers Lebanese, Moroccan and Mediterranean cuisine, could be the spot for you. The peculiarly named taco is neither French nor Mexican, but comes with a choice of meat, including minced beef and merguez sausages, and is served with a choice of Algerian, Andalusian or Samurai sauce.

Corkage: Free

Asian

Aoshima Sushi & Grill

Suburban restaurant Aoshima in Stillorgan specialises in authentic Japanese tapas, such as yakitori, teppanyaki, & fresh sashimi.

Corkage: €6 for wine and €1 for bottles of beer

Anar Kali

This south Indian restaurant in Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, has a wide range of dishes on offer, including biryani and speciality spinach curries. You’ll pay from about €12 for a main course.

Corkage: Free

Wan Fu

This traditional Chinese restaurant in the historical Cork town of Cobh has everything you might expect, including won ton soup, crispy shredded chicken and the house special. You can order for takeaway, dine inside, or sit outside watching the sea on a sunny summer’s evening.

Corkage: Free

Michie Sushi

This casual Japanese restaurant has branches in Ranelagh, Sandyford and Dún Laoghaire and specialises in hand-rolled sushi made to order, as well as offering hot dishes such as ramen.

Corkage: Free

M&L Szechuan Chinese

This popular Szechuan style restaurant in Dublin’s Cathedral Street promises you a “true taste of China” when you visit. For an authentic offering, you can try its deep-fried sea bass (€16.80) or deep-fried pork in batter (€13.80).

Corkage: €6.50 per bottle of wine

Zakura

Another Japanese restaurant, Zakura has three branches in Dublin: in Ranelagh, Wexford Street and Baggot Street.

Corkage: €6 per bottle of wine

Pizza/Italian

Basil

Basil, in Dublin’s Ringsend, has been packing in the punters for some time now in this former home turned into a restaurant. It’s known for its wood-fired clay oven pizzas, so try a margherita or quattro formaggi with your own choice of beverage.

Corkage: €7.50 per bottle wine/€1.50 per bottle of beer

Monto

Serving steak, pasta, fresh fish and hand tossed wood fired pizza in Dublin’s Camden Street, prices are keen at this city centre establishment, starting at €13 for a margherita pizza.

Corkage: Free

La Strada

You can bring your own wine, or choose from the selection available at this restaurant in Ennis, Co Clare. It offers typical Italian dishes including chicken alfredo, a range of pizzas, and desserts such as tiramisu. Pizzas start at €9.99.

Corkage: €5

Sunshine Café

This family run restaurant in the heart of Dún Laoghaire is open from 12pm to 9.30pm every day. You can munch on pizzas, pasta dishes and burgers. The restaurant also has a “secret” garden out the back, where you can while away the last of the summer evenings.

Corkage: €3 per bottle of wine

Wine shops/bars

Fallon & Byrne

How about a wine shop that allows you to eat while you sup wine from its shelves? At Fallon & Byrne on Dublin’s Exchequer Street, head downstairs for the cellar where you can choose from more than 300 wines while eating pizza (from €14) or fish stew (€16).

Corkage: €1 Sunday to Tuesday/€10 Wednesday to Saturday

64

Another wine shop option is Glasthule’s 64 Wine Bar by the sea in south Dublin, which has an extensive selection of its own wines that can be served with food every Thursday through to Saturday from 5pm to 9pm. Enjoy the summer vibes with a semi-sparkling La Jara Rose Frizzante (€15) or a Spanish Albarino, Forjas del Salnes, Leirana (€27.50), drunk with a sharing board of charcuterie (€20.50).

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Corkage: €15

Green Man Wines

This Terenure wine bar has fast become a local favourite, offering small plates and sharing boards of charcuterie and cheese every evening from Thursday to Saturday. You can select your own bottle from the surrounding shelves. Keep prices keen with a bottle of Caminante Tempranillo (€14), or splurge with a bottle of Clos des Papes, Chateauneauf-Du-Pape (€115).

Corkage: €10