When you want to eat out for a special occasion, you need to be sure the restaurant will not disappoint. We’ve picked some of the best options around the country where the food and setting will combine to elevate your experience.
51 Cornmarket
51 Cornmarket Street, Cork; 083-0102321, instagram.com/51cornmarket
This always-buzzing spot is run by people who truly love hospitality – chef David Devereaux in the kitchen and Anne Zagar out front. Dishes such as seafood lasagne, crispy confit pork belly and crab ravioli are playful takes on classic cooking. Full of local produce, they fly out in the compact diningroom. Don’t skip Zagar’s brown bread, and the sauces are plate-licking good. Read our full review here. AD
Capparelli at the Mill
231 Belfast Road, Belfast; +44 28 9013 3395, capparelli.co.uk
Just 20 minutes from central Belfast, the striking diningroom at Lucie and Carlos Capparelli’s restored mill is where to go with a group of friends for lunch or dinner. Brazilian-born Carlos spent nine years with Yotam Ottolenghi and brings an Italian-influence to his menu, from small plates and pasta to mains and notably good rotisserie chicken. Read our full review here. CH
[ Ottolenghi-backed restaurant outside Belfast is truly wonderfulOpens in new window ]
An Síbín
Lauragh, Co Kerry; 064-6683004, instagram.com/ansibinlauragh2024
This old coaching inn on the Beara Peninsula may look charmingly traditional from the outside, but owner Katherine Murphy has given the interior a complete glow-up, mixing the original pub interior with modern style, and it now operates as a restaurant and wine bar. Murphy and chef Callum Angelos source and forage for ingredients locally. Small plates and seafood fill the daytime menu, with heartier dishes added for evening time. JC
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Baba’de
The Mews, Baltimore, Co Cork; 028-48112, babade.ie
The clever thing about this 30-seat restaurant – which is the sibling of two-Michelin-star Dede nearby – is that there’s a good chance you’ll see some two-star dishes rubbing shoulders with the phenomenal Adana kebab on charred flatbread. Other Turkish dishes from Ahmet Dede could include haddock lakarde, langoustine spring rolls, potato dumpling and beef cag kebabi. Booking is advised. Read our full review here. CH
Mamó
Harbour Road, Howth, Dublin 13; 01-8397096, mamorestaurant.ie
If you’re looking for a celebratory Monday dining option in a scenic location, then Jess D’Arcy and Killian Durkin’s Howth restaurant might just be the spot. Durkin’s modern Irish cooking uses ingredients from all around north Dublin, including Dublin Bay scallops with roe butter and black garlic ricotta cappelletti made with Howth garlic. The wine list is stellar and on fine days, the refreshed outdoor seats will be in high demand. Read our full review here. JC
Beau
Unit 2 Warehouse Lane, Belfast; +44 28 90990330, beau.restaurant
The industrial vibes of the former warehouse building that houses Beau are softened by pleated curtains and sleek blond tables. Lottie Noren’s small-plates-style menu is easy to navigate, with several options each for snacks, meat, fish, vegetables and sides. Her style is modern European, beautifully presented on textured ceramic plates, epitomised by dishes such as langoustine ceviche with leek and fennel, or mussels in vin jaune sauce. Elegant cocktails pack a punch too. JC
Bigfan
16 Aungier Street, Dublin 2; 01-5388886, bigfan.ie
Recently awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand, this city centre restaurant remains riotously fun. Grab a pencil, tick the boxes on the little leaflet to select your dishes, and wait for the magic to emerge from the kitchen. Owners Rob Hayes and Alex Zhang fuse flavours from China, Taiwan and Hong Kong with the best Irish produce and serve them alongside a creative cocktail menu that always impresses. Read our full review here. JC
Borgo
162-165 Phibsborough Road, Dublin 7; 01-5477478, borgodublin.ie
The gambas at this buzzy, Italian-influenced restaurant stopped me in my tracks – half-submerged in lemon, garlic and chilli butter, darkened at the edges from the heat of the grill. And it seems the people from Michelin were equally impressed when they awarded it a Bib Gourmand earlier this year. The menu ranges from snacks, flatbreads and antipasti to pasta, wood-fired mains, sides and desserts. It works as well for two as it does for a crowd. Read our full review here. CH
Chubbys
Rear of 46 Clontarf Road, Clontarf, Dublin 3; chubbyskitchen.ie
Getting a table in this smart former warehouse is no easy feat, but if you manage it, it’s one of the best places for dinner with a group. Start with cocktails and work your way through a menu that puts the robata grill and smoker through their paces, from pork carnitas and mountain lamb flatbreads to the Buffalo chicken burger. Read our full review here. CH
Kai
22 Sea Road, Galway, Co Galway; 091-526003, kairestaurant.ie
Jess and Dave Murphy’s iconic Kai restaurant is the cornerstone of many trips to Galway. The charming rustic-style interior is cosy and welcoming, a backdrop to the micro-seasonal and sustainable ingredients that form the larder. Fish fingers are a lunchtime must-try, while the evening menu sees diners enjoying Inis Mór crab, Cloud Picker pork chop or black sole with fennel and lovage aioli. JC
Mister S
32 Lower Camden Street, Dublin 2; 01-6835555, misters.ie
Everything cooked over charcoal and wood means you always get subtle smoke-forward flavours, but the other star of the show here is their sourcing – rare breed beef, Andarl pork, Lambay crab and McNally’s Farm vegetables. Add skilled cooking, irresistible sauces and sides, and it all makes for a particularly enjoyable dining experience. Read our full review here. AD
Reggie’s Pizzeria
223 Rathmines Road Lower, Dublin 6; reggies.ie
Dublin is riding a pizza wave like never before with styles ranging from Detroit and New York slices to classic Roman. However, the light but chewy style of Neapolitan pizza with its characteristic leopard-spotted crust reigns supreme. And there’s none better than the 48-hours-fermented organic sourdough versions created by Reggie White in a baronial-style redbrick building. Bring friends or family, order generously and share widely. Read our full review here. JC
Rúibín
1-2 Dock Road, Galway; 091-563830, ruibin.ie
The contemporary Irish menu works for lunch, dinner or bar snacks, with standout plates such as tamarind-glazed beef skewers, Galway oysters and the cult favourite fried chicken bowl topped with honey butter sauce and kimchi. Sitting dockside overlooking the city’s harbour, window seats come with the best view. Drinks deliver too – seasonal cocktails, a wide-ranging wine list and genuinely good vibes all round. Read our full review here. AD
Savoir Fare
Bridge Street, Westport, Co Mayo; 098-60095, instagram.com/savoir_fare
Nabbing a seat at Alain Morice’s daytime deli, bistro and wine bar feels like a small win as you settle in beneath a large map of Ireland carved from lightly spalted Irish beech, with tags marking the artisan producers featured on the weekly changing menu. Pâté en croûte has been on this cuisine grand-mère menu since day one. Morice’s sister, Fiona, runs the kitchen during service and makes all the desserts and pastries. There are also a few outdoor tables, ideal for people-watching. Read our full review here. CH
Square
6 Market Square, Dundalk, Co Louth; 042-9337969, squarerestaurant.ie
Chef Conor Halpenny’s modern Irish cooking shines at Square, where local produce takes centre stage. Ballymakenny potatoes, Riverside Farm vegetables, Velvet Cloud dairy and Kilkeel crab become clever small plates and great-value midweek menus. Served in a bright, cosy and smart space, it’s exactly the kind of restaurant every town deserves. AD
The Cottage
Jamestown, Co Leitrim; 071-9625933, shamhanifa.ie
Located a short drive from Carrick-on-Shannon, The Cottage is TV chef Sham Hanifa’s flagship restaurant, offering modern Irish cuisine with unique Asian twists. Hanifa draws cleverly on his Malaysian roots with dishes such as rendang made with braised Irish beef and wild garlic aioli, chicken with intensely dark satay sauce or monkfish with oyster tempura. Service is impeccable and the outdoor area overlooking the Shannon is perfect for summer weekend evenings. JC
The Red Bank
St George’s Terrace, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim; 071-9671392, theredbankrestaurant.ie
The home of Jason and Sonata Horkan’s Red Bank restaurant must be one of the loveliest buildings on this list – the Victorian redbrick former Provincial Bank. The high-ceilinged main diningroom is full of chatter, while the bar turns out cocktails using local spirits. Sonata’s cooking is precisely delivered across dishes of Mulroy Bay scallops, grilled monkfish with saffron risotto and Gunpowder orange gin crème brûlée. JC
Vada
30 Brunswick Street North, Stoneybatter, Dublin 7; hellovada.com
With a listing in the Michelin Guide, Sarah Boland’s Stoneybatter restaurant offers a small, daily-changing lunch and brunch menu by day and a dinner service designed around the art of sharing. Karaage chicken, Etherson’s pork chop, and wild garlic and feta gnudi rank among the favourites on chef Hannah O’Donnell’s menu. Don’t miss the house-made kombuchas and water kefirs which stem from the zero waste philosophy here, with stems, skins, and trimmings transformed into ferments, oils, and garnishes. Read our full review here. CH
