The best deals for dining out in Dublin right now
If you have champagne taste and a sparkling water budget, here is how to eke out some lavish little luxuries so you can still be boujie while being conscious of the bill.
Note: prices pp (per person) accurate at the time of publishing, however due to a variety of factors and fluctuating costs, these are very much subject to change.
Michelin-starred lunch? Glover's Alley
It's no secret that lunch at a Michelin-starred restaurant is generally more affordable than dinner. Often restaurants serve a shorter menu at a reduced price, like Dublin's trio of two Michelin-starred restaurants — Chapter One, Liath, Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud — all do, sitting in or around the €90 - €110 mark per person.
However, some one-Michelin-starred restaurants in the city, like Bastible and D'Olier Street, don't differentiate their menu, instead serving the same multiple-course tasting menu during both lunch and dinner service to streamline the process.
Glover's Alley by Andy McFadden far and above offers the best value of a Michelin-starred lunch menu in the city, serving two courses for €49 or three for €69, with dishes featuring lavish ingredients like scallops, foie gras, Hereford beef and Valrhona chocolate.
Oysters on offer? The Seafood Cafe
The Seafood Cafe is the city's centrally located seafood bistro right in the heart of Temple Bar. If you're looking to splurge on oysters with a dash of value pop along between 4pm and 5pm daily for their lesser-known oyster happy hour, where all oysters, whatever way you order them — naked, dressed, torched — from their abundant ice counter come discounted €1/piece.
Where to eat on a Monday? Steak & Fine Wine at Hawksmoor
Monday is commonly the day many restaurants close to rest and recuperate after a busy weekend, so it does mean limited dining options in the city compared to a Thursday, Friday or Saturday. If you fancy a bit of a blow-out Monday meal with friends and have a bottle you've been saving for a special occasion, you have prime potential to take advantage of Hawksmoor's BYO Monday offer.
Every Monday, all day long, corkage is just €5 while — better yet — if you can prove you purchased your bottle from Corkscrew Wine Merchants, a five minute walk away on Harry Street, that €5 is waived and corkage is free! Set in the stunning former bank building on Dame Street, Hawksmoor also serves its pre/post-theatre set menu (three courses €27pp) Mondays between 5pm and 6:30pm and 8:30pm to close, so you're getting a great deal left, right and centre if you plan your times and play your cards right.
Afternoon Tea? The College Green Hotel
Consistently one of the most competitively priced afternoon tea services in a five-star hotel in Dublin city. Have you been to The College Green Hotel on Westmoreland Street since it evolved from The Westin? Worth a return to reacquaint yourself with the surroundings while sipping tea and indulging in savoury and sweet delicacies in the beautiful Atrium Hall, where a piano is softly played nearby to soundtrack.
Traditional afternoon tea starts at €59 per person (or €79 with a Glass of N.V Perrier-Jouët) while vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free can all be catered to. Service runs daily between 12pm and 5:30pm. thecollegegreenhotel.com
Mid-week lunch? Nomo
Nomo is a bit of a hidden contemporary ramen-ya, set on Charlotte Way between Harcourt and Camden streets. They offer a brilliant value lunchtime deal, which runs generously from 12pm to 5pm every weekday, where for €13.50 you get either a veggie or chicken katsu with a side of gyoza and salad.
Add in an unlimited filtered still or sparkling water plus a can of Kirin or Whiplash and you're still sitting around the €20 mark, quids in!
Mid-week date night? Row Wines, Orwell Road or Volpe Nera
The vibes are immaculate at Row Wines on Coppinger Row, from the music to the sleek style of the dining room, the natural wine line-up to the killer small plates. Between Tuesday and Thursday every week, they run a mid-week special offering two plates for €20, while adding on a glass of house wine costs just €5. So, for a stylish but cut-price date, two can enjoy four plates and a glass of wine each for just €50.
Also in the same stable from the Bereen brothers, Marc and Conor, Orwell Road in Rathgar offers unbeatable value for chef Leticia Miranda's mid-week neighbourhood menu, served from 5pm on Wednesdays and Thursdays offering two courses for €32 and three courses for €39. orwellroad.com
Beyond the city centre but well worth beating a path to, particularly for a mid-week early dinner, is Volpe Nera in Blackrock. Chef-owner Barry Sun's weekly-changing neighbourhood menu is seasonal, complex and sensational value at €38pp, while a cocktail (like a trendy Hugo Spritz) and a well-chosen weekly-changing white and red wine from manager-sommelier Darren Darcy's exceptional cellar complement the menu at just €10 each. Available Wednesdays and Thursdays for tables between 5pm and 6:45pm. volpenera.ie
Tasting Menu? Margadh
Sure, we all want to be the kind who swan into Chapter One or Patrick Guilbaud's with a recurring booking, but that ain't the life most of us lead. If you fancy the plush luxury of a several courses-long tasting menu without a sky-high price tag, look towards Margadh at the RHA.
Set steps from St. Stephen's Green, here classically-trained French chef Louis Wishart serves a popular and seasonally-changing six-course tasting menu for €56 per person, widely regarded as one of the best value of its kind in the city. It's available from 5pm Wednesday to Saturday weekly, while also served at lunchtime on Saturdays.
Dinner with Friends: Sister7/Fidelity
Gathering a group of pals for a night in town somewhere cool that won't break the bank? Look towards Smithfield and the two music-focused venues (brought to you in collaboration between The Big Romance and Whiplash) which share space: craft beer, cocktails and wine on-tap spot Fidelity and Asian small plates spot Sister7, which is the more grown-up sister site to BIGFAN on Aungier Street.
If you have a minimum of four diners you can access the group menu at Sister7 which is €40pp and offers a range of different bao (filled steamed buns), bites, jiaozi (dumplings), xiao chi (street food-inspired dishes like fried chicken, char siu and prawn toast) and sweet deep-fried mantou dumplings to finish, all for the table to share.
The kitchen runs Wednesday to Friday from 4pm to 9pm, while on weekends it runs even earlier from 1pm. DJs usually run the decks from 8pm daily.
Late weekend table? Glas
Inspired by London's late night tables, Glas, the acclaimed plant-based and gluten-free restaurant on Chatham Street in Dublin 2, now offers a 'Late Bird' menu, with the full à la Carte offering of creative and contemporary dishes from Head Chef Malte Half available at a discounted price (two courses for €32 or three for €36) for Friday and Saturday bookings between 9pm and 9:30pm.
Owner Paul Rooney says: "this is about giving people more flexibility… you don't have to rush in after work to get great value. Now, you can enjoy the same experience later in the evening — the perfect opportunity to bring some buzz back to late sittings".
Dinner and a show? Rooftop at Anatara The Marker
While the Bord Gais Energy Theatre has its own Circle Club membership, where exclusive dining and drinks spaces (including a terrace) warrants applications and yearly membership, if you're a regular show-goer and adore the glamour of a night (or matinee) at the theatre dovetail a show with a visit to the rooftop space at the nearby five-star hotel Anantara The Marker.
Boasting 360° views across the city and a menu of tempting small and sharing plates and cocktails, many with Thai influences and an Irish twist, this is a perfect spot for pre or post-show catch-ups, bookable 5pm to 11pm Wednesday and Thursday, 3pm to 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays and all-day from 1pm to 9pm on Sundays. anantara.com/en/the-marker-dublin
Sunday service? 777
A select number of dishes (and sometimes a cocktail special) are priced at €7.77 each every Sunday at vibe-y spot 777, the modern Mexican-inspired taqueria-bar on South Great George's Street. If your plans get pushed back to Monday another special kicks in: two for €20 on margaritas all night long — commonly held as one of the best-made margaritas in the city.
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