Latest news with #101GreatIrish
Business Post
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Post
101 Great Irish Restaurants: The Ulster eateries that made the cut this year
The 2025 edition of 101 Great Irish Restaurants, produced in partnership with Nespresso Professional, showcases the depth and breadth of Ireland's food scene, from casual bistros to Michelin-starred fine dining restaurants. Here are the venues in Ulster that feature in this year's guide. The Buck's Head, Dundrum, Co Down, The Buck's Head was always good - a proper inn on the road to Ulster's answer to the Cote d'Azur, the only south-facing bit of coastline in the north. It's now in the firm and confident hands of chef Alex Greene and manager Bronagh McCormick, both formerly of Eipic in Belfast, and oversee both the bar and the spacious and bright, garden-facing dining room. Expect the likes of beef bitterballen, those charming little crisped meatballs found in bars and cafes throughout the Netherlands, as well as deeply flavoured pork, crab and langoustine ravioli, and the most beautifully composed lettuce salad. Ox, Belfast, The cool, calm charm of Ox remains as fresh and exhilarating now as it did ten years ago when it opened. Staff are drilled to be confident, smiling and helpful while keeping their personalities, the secret to real hospitality. Instilled by the most charming of all managers, Alain Kerloc'h, the front of house mood is always gently humming with positivity. Beyond the pass, chef Stevie Toman orchestrates his team with quiet authority, producing memorable dishes made from very local ingredients. Look out for anything featuring Ballywalter figtree leaves, cocktails in Ox Cave and cheeses. The Muddlers Club, Belfast, There's a rebellious rock'n'roll mood and attitude about the dining room in the Muddler's Club, and it has the effect of relaxing any first time visitors who might be nervous about entering a Michelin-starred institution like this. Soon, Mourne lamb carpaccio, monkfish and sauce americaine, and whatever else chef patron Gareth McCaughey will think is a great idea will have you reaching for the wine list which usually features newbies from Greece and around eastern Europe. Roam, Belfast, For a man who roamed the streets of Belfast for some years with his pop-up concept, Ryan Jenkins has created one of the most solidly established and loved restaurants in the city. His dedication to detail and commitment to consistency result in an experience which is knocking on the door of much more expensive and vaunted restaurants. Langoustine and green chilli, gougeres of Mount Leinster cheddar with spalla (pork shoulder), roast quail and coley dishes provide the excitement, and the now famous crushed potatoes bring the comfort. MrDeanes, Belfast, At the corner of Howard Street, where where once stood Meat Locker, Love Fish and Eipic, Michael Deane has been doing some remodelling. Meat Locker still stands, but now instead of the other two eateries we have MrDeanes, a more buzzy brasserie-like joint which has great lighting, comfortable banquettes and good character. And it's super democratic: burgers, crab mayonnaise, crafted pork sausage, monkfish scampi, red curry and cordon blue chicken (breaded with ham and cheese) mean three generations of the same family will find something they love. Wine & Brine, Moira, Co Armagh, Much loved by a wide hinterland community of food lovers, Wine & Brine has been bullet proof since it opened ten years ago. Having left London's glamour for Moira's rural bliss, Chris and Davina McGowan run an establishment that is unfailingly exciting. Sunday lunch or business dinners sparkle and fizz thanks to imaginative dishes executed with supreme confidence. Legendary crispy olives, crubeens, pan roasted stone bass or glazed short rib - all Chris McGowan's classics reappear among frequent specials. Things never go wrong here. Noble, Holywood, Noble always reminds me of the olden days when you went round to your friend's house with a stack of albums under your arm to play on the record player. It's at the top of the stairs, has creaky floors, feels like a converted attic and is exactly the kind of place your parents would never find you. Add to this the youthful energy of manager Saul McConnell, all twinkle-eyes and gentle banter, and the bistro chairs and poppy art, and you're ready to escape reality for a couple of hours. Then there's the salted cod croquettes, the confit of duck, that barbecued hispi cabbage and fish dishes from the firm hand of chef Pearson Morris. Always a memorable and joyful place to visit. MacNean House, Blacklion, Co Cavan Neven Maguire and his team practice their unrehearsed hospitality in the hushed but happy and relaxed confines of the glorious MacNean House. If you're lucky enough to be able to book dinner, bed and breakfast, you're in for 18 hours of pure joy. Seared scallops with crab ravioli and Thai velouté, barbecue quail breasts with balsamic Beluga lentils and braised lamb shoulder with pearl barley, red pepper and rosemary jus are among the joy bringers, as are the staff. Olde Glen Bar, Carrickart, Co Donegal, You have to go to the Olde Glen when you're in Donegal, just as you have to do the Devonshire when in London, or Doheny & Nesbitts in Dublin. A visit to the county is incomplete if you miss Ciaran Sweeney's dishes in the fabulous big dining room at the back of the tiny pub, which has the buzz of a Parisian bouillon and the class of a very fine brasserie. Fermented potato bread with bacon and Gortahurk cabbage, baked Atlantic Cod with smoked Mulroy Bay mussels, black forest tartlette and more populate the menu is this off the beaten track spot that is worth the journey. Stock, Belfast, There's something very Belfast about Danny Miller's Stock Kitchen in St George's Market. It's friendly and charming with no flimflam. Miller is from the New Lodge, which is Belfast's Bronx, and he's very proud of it. but behind the hard man exterior lies an artist of great delicacy. He reaches downstairs to the market for his oysters, prawns, crab and fish (you should see him handling those big halibuts and turbots on his Instagram) to create classic French cooking where the fish is perfectly pearly and slippery white. The signature courgette fries are beautifully crispy, and the roast rump of venison with slow cooked venison shepherds pie, spring cabbage and porcini sauce could be the most satisfying dish in the city. Stove, Belfast, Simon Toye's Stove dominates the Ormeau Road, one of the smartest boho districts in Belfast, the place where everyone wants to live. Invisible to the walkers-by because it's upstairs above a charity shop, it has become very cultish, one for those in the know. And there's good reason: Toye's twice-baked cheese soufflé made with Comté and backed by creamed leeks and watercress gives you an idea of what is to come. Do not go past the rare breed pork belly served with garlic and olive oil mash, black pudding and onion gravy. Umi, Derry, Chefs Sean Lafferty and Gary Moran have made Umi a Derry city institution. There are good restaurants in the city, including Artis and Brown's, but Umi has captured the moment with its Asian fusion/street food/bearded chic thing where you will find remarkably well constructed and fresh sushi not far from the pan-fried cod and duck confit. Dumplings are made with pork and the accompanying chilli rayu and soy add zing and bring a little tear to the eye, in a pleasant way. Being Derry, you can bring your parents and teenagers who will enjoy the sirloin with duck fat potato gratin, Thai green curry (chicken or prawn) or a vegan Korean kimchi bao bun. The bitter sweet salad is a stand-out. Home, Belfast, Easily overlooked despite its repeated appearance in Michelin with a Bib Gourmand, Home has everything: excellent cocktails and an irresistible prix fixe menu (two courses for £24.50 or three for £28.50). The prix fixe features prawn and nduja arancini with saffron mayo and rocket, slow cooked brisket with soft polenta and wild garlic pesto, or smoked salmon and cod cannelloni with creamed celeriac spinach and herb butter sauce and cheese or dessert. And just in case the first bit drew you in: the cocktail special right now for only £8.50 is a Finlandia vodka, green apple and grapefruit spritz. Slainte. Waterman, Belfast, The Waterman complex is an unusual fixture in the Cathedral Quarter of Belfast. The former government building houses a cookery school, a number of small, mid-sized and large function rooms and the restaurant, which is so popular you should book for a later sitting so as to avoid the crowds. The dining room is high-ceilinged and austere but elegant and comfortable, the rear wall softened by a cluster of canvases by Colin Davidson depicting Belfast as seen from Divis mountain. The food, produced by chef Aaron McNeice under the watchful eye of chef patron Niall McKenna, is thoughtful, entertaining and generous. Jerusalem artichoke soup, steak tartare, crab and chilli spaghetti, chateaubriand for two with chimichurri and red wine sauce…and then the honey madeleines with chantilly. Don't leave without them. Lir, Coleraine, Co Derry, You'd be forgiven for thinking there's chaos and unpredictable forces at work in Lir because chef Stevie McCarry's tattoos say as much. Yet instead there is calm and the smooth hum of a successful restaurant. Somehow McCarry's energy is pointed in the right direction by partner Rebekah, who exudes saintly serenity. Then there's the deft management hand of Clare Smyth who knows how to inject happiness and a good bit of style into the operation. Lir is housed in an unlikely home, a former sailing club at the back of the council offices. Its conventional appearance belies the creativity though, because here you will find all sorts of fishy innovations - the monkfish sausage roll with chilli ketchup, the charred cod belly stew, smoked dogfish tortellini. This is super sourced, local, waste-managed, ecologically sound and culinarily fabulous eating. No wonder Lir is winning awards. 28 At The Hollow, Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, One of the most atmospheric destinations in Enniskillen, 28 is the subterranean business of Glen Wheeler and Zara McHugh, who turned the former Café Merlot beneath the historic Blakes of the Hollow bar into their own restaurant. It's at 6 Church Street but don't be confused: the 28 refers to the restaurant's former address in nearby Darling Street. The seafood ravioli with buttered leeks and lobster sauce, ham hock with crispy egg, port gel and pickles and the seared scallop with Doherty's black pudding and glazed apple are classic starters which open to an evening of reassurance and familiarity. Slow-cooked beef cheek, Manor Farm chicken and other mains are as voluminous as their quality. And night caps in Blakes upstairs? You'll be made up. Edo, Belfast, Spanish bar food and tapas served in a plush dining room may seem counter intuitive at first but it's funny how quickly you acclimatise when the food is this good. Edo is cosy, posh and a teeny bit louche, especially at lunch time, its darkness prompting all sorts of fancy. Rustic pan con tomate and Bertha smoked sardines meet refined langoustine ceviche and beef cheek with pressed potato and parmesan. Lovely snacks of nduja chicken wings and calamari and romesco are not to be missed. Mourne Seafood Bar, Belfast, As buzzy and energetic as it ever was, this is the restaurant that made Belfast fall in love, at last, with les fruits de mer. There is an old, shiver-me-timbers, creaking 19th century schooner feel about the dark and atmospheric interior which once belonged to a bank. The fish counter at the front is where the action is and where you can see oysters being shucked at record speed. Classics include Kilkeel crab and celeriac remoulade on toasted sourdough, Goan curried prawns, langoustine wonton and the amazing Dundrum (County Down) mussels. Frae, Holywood, Co Down, The tiny two up two down in the heart of one of the north's wealthiest towns houses just enough tables to call it a restaurant. But not letting shortage of space stem the ambition, Frae is also a wine bar. Wines are always a discovery here but it's Shaun Tinman's cooking which draws the locals. There will be fish of the day, Achill Island oyster Kilpatrick, Ozzie style with bacon and Worcestershire sauce, a jambon made with Iberico ham, venison haunch, chicken Marbella, and date pudding with beer caramel and ice cream. Be patient, though - running up and down those stairs can mean service at a stately place. Keep that wine handy.
Business Post
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Post
101 Great Irish Restaurants - The capital choices in Dublin
The 2025 edition of 101 Great Irish Restaurants, produced in partnership with Nespresso Professional, showcases the depth and breadth of Ireland's food scene, from casual bistros to Michelin-starred fine dining restaurants. Here are the venues in the capital that made the cut this year. La Gordita, Montague Street, Vanessa Murphy and Anna Cabrera's La Gordita is an elegant Spanish bodega serving the kind of simple yet explosively delicious food that would quickly make you forget that you're within spitting distance of Camden Street. For familiar flavours, you'll find much loved classics like croquettas and jamon Iberico, but dive deeper into the menu and you'll find true delight. The anchoas de Santona - fat, glistening anchovies with Valdeón blue cheese - will leave you breathless and smiling, while the morcilla de Burgos, served with caramelised piquillo peppers, is a bloody treat for the ages. Top the whole experience with the world class service that the Hermanas Lola family are known for, and it's easy to love this little fat one. Big nights out don't come much better ones that involve a table at this stylish steakhouse in the lavishly restored former home of the National Bank. The best seats in the house are the see-and-be-seen leather upholstered booths at the back of this glorious space, but there really isn't a bad table here. Start with a cocktail in the bar; these guys really know their shaken from their stirred, and the martinis are among the best in the city. The Hawksmoor team go to great lengths to source their beef, always ensuring that it is ethically produced, and properly aged. Constant innovation brings fun additions to the menu, such as the current Big Matt Burger, and the much missed Tayto ham and cheese toastie bar snack. The early dinner special (5pm-6pm), three courses for €36, is a good way to dip in, and if it's a Monday, a €5 corkage offer offer also applies. Achara, Aston Quay, Northern Thai food grilled over charcoal finally made it to Dublin last summer, landing on busy Aston Quay, where a custom-designed Smokin' Soul rig is doing its bit to bring fire and smoke to the table. It is a happy coincidence that Achara is located in the building next to the former USIT offices, where generations of students planned their escapes to far flung places, and where another generation can now relive a part of their Asian experience through dishes such as chilli beef krapao and panang curry. Key team members at Achara, including chef and co-owner Graeme Reynolds travelled to Thailand on a food research trip earlier this year and the menu has grown to incorporate some of their findings. The pre-theatre menu (4pm to 6pm, Monday to Thursday) is a steal, with three courses and side dishes served family style for €25. Bike Mike's, Blackrock, Once there were three - Michael's, Little Mike's and Big Mike's - but now there is just the bigger, brasher latter, a lavishly appointed dining room, cocktail bar and terrace in the heart of Blackrock. Big Mike's is big in every sense, from its proprietor Gaz Smith's exuberant personality, to the expansive dining and drinking spaces, and the caveman sized cuts of carefully selected meat. The surf and turf platters are the thing to have here, with a couple of cuts of beef, a generous selection of the catch of the day, and a panoply of locally caught shellfish, all swimming in butter, with sauces on the side and a bucket of homemade chips too. The cocktails are innovative and fun, and the wine list is extensive. Come hungry and thirsty. The lunch specials, keenly priced, are always worth checking out. Kicky's, Georges Street, The food, indeed the entire experience at Kicky's, is exuberant, generous and occasionally playful, much like its co-owner and chef Eric Matthews. The menu reads like a list of what the chefs themselves would like to eat, and that's no bad thing. It changes regularly but the 72-hour potato focaccia with carbonara butter and a snowy mountain of Permesan and pecorino; the rabbit Bolognese with pangrattato, and the unashamedly assertive cacio e pepe are staples. You'll also usually find a whole grilled fish, with glorious blistered skin, on the main course offering. There would be an outcry if the Irish coffee dessert, a modern classic consisting of butterscotch whiskey sauce with a crunchy macaron topped by coffee ice cream, softly whipped mascarpone and a dusting of chocolate and nutmeg, were to disappear from the menu. Order a glass of co-owner Richie Barrett's famous home made limoncello to finish. The Saddle Room at The Shelbourne, St Stephen's Green, Slide into a properly comfortable and well considered dining chair and admire the snowy starched table linens, order a glass or two from the swanky new Champagne trolley, and it won't just be the collection of Martyn Turner cartoons on the walls that brings a smile to your face. A meal at the Saddle Room at the Shelbourne is undoubtedly an indulgence, but it needn't cost the earth. Three courses at lunch or pre-theatre is €47, and they don't hold back on the opulent extra little touches. Executive chef Garry Hughes and Saddle Room head chef Phily Roe have simplified some elements of the menu here, bringing flawless ingredients front and centre. At dinner, the incredibly tender and flavoursome Black Angus beef from Cork is carved tableside for added drama. Nightmarket, Ranelagh, If it's authentic Thai food you are looking for, you'll find it here at this smart suburban spot, where Jutarat Suwankeeree, known to all as R, puts a spotlight on the spicy seafood dishes from her coastal home town of Hua Hin, as well as the dishes she learned to cook with her grandmother in Chiang Mai. The extensive menu is a roll call of Thai favourites, prepared and served just as they should be. Front of house, and stewardship of a wonderful wine list with an entire page devoted to riesling, is in the hands of R's partner in business and in life, Limerick man Conor Sexton. Chapter One by Mickael Viljanen, Parnell Square, Eating in Chapter One is like watching the Russian State Ballet do Swan Lake - it's pacey, perfectly executed and exciting. This long-established bastion of Irish hospitality found a new iteration under Mickael Viljanen a few years back, securing a second Michelin star in the process. The restaurant is situated in a building which once accommodated the Jameson family, though the cosiness of this basement room would make you forget you were in Dublin. Expect classics like foie gras royale with smoked eel and green apple, sensational takes on seasonal cooking and service that would stand out anywhere in the world. Skip the Irish coffee trolley at your own peril. Lena, Portobello, You could almost feel the T-Rex sized footsteps quaking the glasses of water on the desks of every Irish food writer when news broke that the team behind Uno Mas would be taking over Lock's on Windsor Terrace, and reopening it as Lena. This level of hype can harm a restaurant more than help it, but Lena is a restaurant that exudes a calm, cool composure, and is putting out some of the best food in the city. Start with a simple fritti of anchovy and sage, an aromatic face punch that will leave you thanking the pugilist, in this case, Paul McNamara, for blessing your cheek before turning the other for an ethereal osso bucco on a bone marrow rich Milanese risotto. Cap it off with a rum baba for a picture perfect landing. Eating food like this while watching swans glide down the canal is close to the peak of Dublin existence as it gets. Bastible, South Circular Road, There are rooms and restaurants in this world that you can't help but feel good in, and Bastible is among them. Located on the South Circular Road, it serves up the kind of clean, seasonally driven and delicious food in a manner that would make you think they can do it in their sleep. Chef Killian Walsh has a way of balancing flavours that is rare and wonderful, knowing when to put the foot on the gas or hit piano piano on the score, and the results speak, whisper and shout for themselves. This neighbourhood restaurant has evolved into a well deserved destination that is well worth the journey, no matter the start point. Grano, Stoneybatter, Grano is a love letter to the dry soils and hot pork specialities of Calabria, all tucked away in a little room off Manor Street in Stoneybatter. The brainchild of chef Roberto Mungo, Grano is one of Dublin's most in demand restaurants for very good reason. The pasta, made fresh every day, and often within sight of where you're sitting, is as close to perfect as you can get this side of the strait of Messina, and the cacio e pepe suppli are a Dublin staple at this point, but scratch deeper and you'll see what makes Grano truly spectacular. Almost everything on the menu, right down to the wheat in the pasta, is brought over from Calabria. Don't miss the scaldanduja, a fiery spreadable pork sausage, cooked over candle flame, and the house wine, senza dubbio, a gaglioppo/greco nero blend made specifically for Grano, and another reason to ever doubt what it, and Calabria are about. Variety Jones, Thomas Street, After a fire ravaged its new home on 79 Thomas St just days after opening, there was a collective intake of breath from the hungry crowds of Dublin eaters at the thought of Variety Jones being no more. But you can't keep a good thing down, and Variety Jones is very high up the list of good things. A family run and owned restaurant through and through, it's one of the most exciting places you can hold a knife and fork in the city. The tasting menu is always uncompromising on flavour, and unafraid to either push the boat out or plunge you into pure nostalgia via the by now legendary spaghetti Alfredo. Anyone who has an image of professional kitchens as dark, shouty, flame-filled pits of aggressive tension should be prescribed a meal in D'Olier Street. The kitchen team, led by head chef and co-owner James Moore, exude a level of coordination and calm that is seldom seen anywhere. This, of course, is reflected in the food - paced perfectly, generous, clean and delicious, and served n a room that is exquisitely lit and appointed. The menu changes regularly and continues to evolve and get better, and although D'Olier Street is a relative newcomer in the Irish restaurant landscape, it's already secured its status and has rightly won over the hearts and bellies of its diners. Coppinger, Coppinger Row, In one of the greatest gastro-phoenix moves of the last decade, the Bereen brothers reopened Coppinger restaurant in the same site that it had originally inhabited as Coppinger Row, much to the joy of all. The new project feels familiar, but with chef Dan Hannigan stepping up at the helm, the new Coppinger has stepped up a level. A glistening tranch of turbot with Basque vinaigrette remains among the best things we have eaten in some time, while the ever changing menu del dia, offering a three course midweek lunch for €20, remains unquestionably the best value in town. As good for a 12 person celebration as it is for a solo lunch with a cold martini, Coppinger remains as cool as ever and is only getting better. Spitalfields, The Coombe, What could be more perfect than a restaurant in a pub? We're not talking about a pub serving sad shepherds pies or buckets of buffalo wings with bottled blue cheese. Spitalfields is something very different and quite wonderful. A refuge nestled in The Coombe, Dublin's historical silk weaving quarter, it serves excellent modern Irish food backed up with some of the finest service in the city from veteran manager Declan Maxwell. If you're of a sharing disposition, try the cock-a-leekie Pie, but honestly, you'll rarely put a foot wrong in Spitalfields. And the best thing about it? A perfect pint downstairs after dinner. You are in a pub after all. Richmond, Portobello, The definition of a gem, Richmond is a small restaurant serving brilliant plates of food close to the Grand Canal. We could wax lyrical about the a la carte menu, which always delivers excellent value and quality, but what makes Richmond stand out is the Tuesday tasting, a five course menu priced at €72 offering a new selection every single time. This is a restaurant that's not afraid to put the work in, and that is obvious on the plate. Impeccable cooking and balanced flavours, with the kind of technical prowess that doesn't lean into smoke and mirrors. The early evening menu, meanwhile, is some of the best money you can spend on food in the city, and the Sunday brunch is as good as you'd expect. If every neighbourhood had a Richmond, the city would be richer for it. Bar Pez, Kevin Street, Pass the threshold of this small but perfectly formed Kevin Street canteen and you could think yourself in San Sebastián or Santander. With rich wood panelling offering a golden hue, Bar Pez is a warm and inviting room staffed by people who truly love the product, and the small kitchen, located behind a counter, churning out brilliant bites. The crab sandwich, made with No Messin' bakery milk bread, will stay with you for weeks after. The fish a la plancha - turbot on our last visit - is a reminder that often less is more, and that there are other worlds with quiet confident cooking behind steamy windows in the city centre. If you think back to the idea of chipper dinners through the rose tinted lens of nostalgia, the current reality of that vision might be getting served in Fish Shop on Banburb Street, albeit with a few more feet of white marble counter and a wine list which reads like a Beano annual for Burgundy lovers. It would be really easy to look at the chalkboard fish and chips menu and the friendly, easy service and think that Fish Shop don't take what it does too seriously. But sit down, have some perfectly seasoned dressed crab on toast with a glass of something cold and dry, and follow it with a fish (choose between hake, plaice or haddock) and some perfect chips, and you'll see that this is more shark than minnow. Etto, Merrion Row, You will never forget the first time you eat the prunes in this tiny place on Merrion Row, and you may well find yourself gazing lovingly at these glistening stone fruits, poached in red wine and spices, with an almost impossibly architectural swirl of vanilla mascarpone on their flank. Even after all these years, Etto continues to bring the same levels of happiness, not just through prunes, but the whole menu. The mussels with nduja and sweetcorn are the stuff of legend, and the approach to simple yet elevated food results in a restaurant that is incredibly consistent and delicious. Be prepared to talk to your neighbours if you're sitting in the cosy dining room and once again, don't skip the prunes. Uno Mas, Aungier Street, An ode to the delicious offerings of the Iberian peninsula by restaurateurs Liz Matthews and Simon Barret and chef Paul McNamara, Uno Mas is undoubtedly one of Dublin's most loved restaurants. The feeling of anticipation and sharp intake of breath before your knife breaks the surface of the tortilla is something that everyone should experience at least once. But it doesn't stop there - toothsome, tender rice with rabbit, shiitake and aged Manchego cheese or perhaps a delicious plate of Porchetta tonnato, guindilla peppers and crispy pig's ears? We could go on, but suffice to say you will seldom put a foot wrong in Uno Mas. A special mention has to go to the hospitality and service, which is amongst the finest in Dublin. Library Street, If you've eaten in Library Street, you may have had chef Kevin Burke serve you a fish head, and had it bring tears to your eyes. You won't have been said, though; instead you'd have been bowled over by one of the most delicious things you'll have ever eaten. Looking down at the business end of a turbot that's been thickly coated in a phenomenal layer of a preserved lemon and miso condiment, plucking out the sticky cheeks and peeling delicate flakes of fish from the frame, will bring out something primal in you. But there is so much more than fish heads on the menu in Library Street. The cooking is smart, precise and democratic, and the atmosphere is second to none. Pickle, Camden Street, The depth of flavour that chef Sunil Ghai manages to cram into his cooking has to be tasted to be believed. Originally hailing from Gwalior, Ghai has ascended to the top of the food chain when it comes to Indian food in Ireland, with Pickle being the crown jewel of his restaurants. Bejewelled curries, incredibly profound and complex flavours and a unique take on food from all over India, married with a love for Irish produce, makes any meal in Pickle one to truly remember. Don't miss the goat keema pao - deeply aromatic goat mince on bread, rich with cinnamon, cardamom and cloves - and the pork champ vindaloo, a fiery take on the Indo-portugese classic. For groups, the Raan feast of a slow cooked leg of Irish lamb is one of the most impressive centrepieces in the country, and as good as it looks. Foret, Sussex Terrace, The French have given a lot to this world - Peugeot pepper mills, pinot noir and the song Ca Plane Pour Moi by Plastic Bertrand to name a few. For years, however, Dublin has been screaming out for a good French bistro, and it finally has it in the form of Foret. Our advice is to book in for a long, leisurely lunch with the following game plan. Start with some home made saucisson, oeuf mayo, leek vinaigrette and some anchovies with ratte potatoes and fresh cheese. Move onto the pig's head ballotine with a glass of Gamay or some rich, beefy, onion soup. Follow with a rare wagyu beef rump au poivre with a nice syrah is the logical next step, and the warm chocolate mousse is the perfect way to ride out a truly indulgent meal. Finish with a pint in the wonderful O'Briens downstairs to bring you back to earth and go home knowing that you've dipped a little piggy in the brand of joie de vivre and savoir faire that Foret is serving by the plate load. Volpe Nera in Blackrock is a shining example of what a good neighbourhood restaurant should be. The service makes you feel at home, the room is comfortable and unassuming, but as soon as plates hit the table, it's clear that Volpe Nera is all about the food. Barry Sun's cooking is incredibly precise, clean and visually stunning, from perfectly dressed Flaggy Shore oysters on the half shell, mushroom dumplings in a soy broth that are almost too pretty to eat, and mains like wild John Dory or delicate mezzalune pasta filled with lemon and ricotta. There are elements of Sun's Chinese roots, and nods to his time spent as head chef at the equally special Etto, but Volpe Nera is fast becoming a destination restaurant known for all the right reasons. Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud, Merrion Steet, The tagline on the website of Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud reads 'forty years of excellence', but it could easily have been 'forty years of changing the landscape of Ireland's restaurant scene and training some of the country's best chefs, therefore creating a legacy that continues to create ripples'. It might not look great on a website, but it is undoubtedly true. The vibrant Irish dining scene of today has only been possible because of venues like Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud and Ross Lewis' original iteration of Chapter One - ambitious, forward-thinking establishments whose owners didn't see why Ireland shouldn't have world-class places to eat. Some of the dishes here are by now legendary - the ravioli of blue lobster, the suckling pig croquette, the squab pigeon from Anjou - and they always deliver. But there are also newer additions like a 30-month comté soufflé with creamed morels and soy, a and spiced lamb with potato croissant. Don't even think about leaving without dessert. Mamo, Howth, The Business Post's most recent review of Mamó remarked that good restaurants 'help you park your worries at the door, then pick them up again in smaller packages once you've been well fed and watered'. But to call Mamó a good restaurant, it went on, 'does it a disservice; it is one of the best around'. Every word of that remains true, because what Jess D'Arcy and Killian Durkin have created with this restaurant in Howth which they opened in 2019 is truly special. The food - including the famed 'cod chip' - is full of flavour and unpretentious, but also elegant and fresh. A wonderful wine list and some of the warmest service in the city makes this the complete package. Reggie's, Rathmines, reggie' You don't expect to find one of the best salads around in a pizza place. But one taste of the pumpkin salad at Reggie's - earthy, roasted chunks of the stuff, with crispy cavolo nero and a pumpkin seed dressing - leaves you in no doubt about the commitment to quality you'll find here. Reggie White worked in Pi, Bambino and Little Forest among others before opening his own place in Rathmines late last year. It's a bright, modern space where you'll find gorgeous 48-hour fermented sourdough pizzas, but also cacio e pepe arancini, superb chicken wings and - if you can find room for it - a good old fashioned ice-cream sundae for dessert. Toon's Bridge Dairy, Andarl Farm, McNally's and Dermot Carey are just some of the top drawer Irish producers White has populated his menu with. Big Fan, Aungier Street, Is Big Fan the most fun place to eat in Ireland? It's certainly up there. But we're not using the word 'fun' as it's normally used to talk about restaurants - 'the food's crap, but it's good fun' - because the food here is about as far away from that as it's possible to get. Rob Hayes and Alex Zhang's bright, brash and exuberant Aungier Street venue is a delight, a place where you can head with a group, eat things like scamorza wontons and deep-fried duck wings, and drink cocktails like the Ho Lee Fook and the Spoilt Brat. And if all that doesn't sound like a great night out, we don't know what does. Liath, Blackrock Market, It is still a thing of wonder, even after all these years, that you can find a two Michelin-starred restaurant down a lane off the main street in Blackrock in south Co Dublin. But that is where Aussie chef Damien Grey and his small but perfectly-formed team serve up some of the most delicate, smile-inducing food you'll find anywhere on this island. The communal nature of the experience, with all guests arriving at the same time to this tiny dining room with the open kitchen at one end, only adds to the warm, welcoming and fun nature of a visit to Liath. FX Buckley, Pembroke Street, Devilled kidneys or oysters to start? A ribeye, striploin or t-bone for mains? What about sides - beef dripping chips, creamed spinach, onion rings - all three perhaps? And would adding a truffle-fried egg be out of the question? These are the delicious questions you must answer before starting a meal in this temple to Irish beef, but even before that, you'll need to decide on a cocktail to have in the wonderfully cosy Xavier's Bar of this superb steakhouse a few minutes walk from St Stephen's Green. Forget there's a world outside, and cocoon yourself away for a few hours of pure indulgence. 3 Leaves, Blackrock, Santosh Thomas and Milie Matthew are the husband and wife dream team behind 3 Leaves, an unassuming space in the Blackrock Market - yes, the same one that houses the two Michelin-starred Liath - where you can eat the Indian food of your dreams. First time visitor? Try the thali, the pan puri, the chicken biryani, though really you won't go far wrong whatever you choose. Dax, Pembroke Street, There is an argument, and it's a good one, that you haven't really experienced the essence of Irish fine dining until you've had a meal cooked for you by Graham Neville. His food - precise, refined, delicious - is perfectly suited to Dax, the basement restaurant that Oliver Meisonnave opened in 2004, and that even during the Celtic Tiger years managed to retain a sense of sophistication. Expect French classics made with the best of ingredients, among them smoked salmon from Port Oriel, Wicklow Gap venison, Dinish Island scallops and lots more. Let Meisonnave guide you on your wine choices, and you are set for a truly magnifique Hiberno-French experience
