Dublin’s best fine dining restaurants

Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud is an internationally acclaimed fine dining restaurant in Dublin City Centre, located beside the 5 star Merrion Hotel. For 40 years the team has been dedicated to the pursuit of excellence and delivering impeccable dining experiences, a dedication that has awarded Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud not one, but two Michelin stars. The eight course tasting menu is available everyday, boasting contemporary Irish cuisine with French classical roots. This is a surprise menu, so you can’t find it online before your visit. Instead, take the restaurant’s word for it and use your imagination when it says that every course is designed to tantalise and prepared with only the finest seasonal ingredients. Curious? You know what to do!

Six By Nico is a fine dining restaurant chain with a simple yet unique concept: an affordable six course taster menu that refreshes every six weeks. The concept was born in Glasgow where the first Six By Nico restaurant still stands. Among the curated menus to hit the Dublin concept restaurant has been ‘The Chipper’, which is inspired by Chef Nico’s Scots family heritage and a nod to a long line of chip-shop owners. The menu reinvented the traditional chipper experience we all know and love, aiming to add a touch of finesse to all the old family favourites. Diners experienced a ‘Fish Supper’ like never before, with Shetland cod, pickled mussels, confit fennel, samphire and beer emulsion. The sixth course was a fine dining twist on the deep-fried Mars Bar and was served with an Irn-Bru Sorbet.

For a slightly more chilled fine dining experience that’s equally as special, visit Forest Avenue. A long chef’s table runs through the middle of the warm and inviting restaurant, offering an intimate experience in which you and your group are fully immersed. The food connoisseurs over at Forest Avenue like to keep the menu a secret, but it’s been known to include things like Hand-Dived Scallop, Cod in Crab Sauce, Swede Linguine, and Coffee & Dublin Oat Ice-Cream. These guys can also create a vegetarian and a pescatarian menu upon request, which can often be difficult to find in fine dining establishments. If you’re new to fine dining, or if you just fancy a change from the same old restaurants you usually frequent, Forest Avenue is the perfect place to start.

Brining a touch of French elegance to Dublin’s historic Georgian quarter is Dax Restaurant, an old favourite among the Dublin fine dining scene. This well established restaurant is located in the cellar of a Georgian Townhouse near Fitzwilliam Square, where you can find one of the best fine dining experiences in the city. Dax Restaurant is a Michelin Guide venue, loved by fine food critics for its modern take on classic cuisine. The menu is carefully curated and prepared with only the finest Irish produce, with a fresh infusion of the French cuisine that leads the way in fine dining. For impeccable service and world class dishes in a stunning dining room, look no further than Dax Restaurant.

For a peaceful and relaxing fine dining experience in Dublin we recommend Locks. Situated on the banks of the grand canal, Locks is a previous winner of “Best Emerging Irish Cuisine” at the RAI Awards. Locks serves up modern seasonal food in a relaxed setting. Enjoy your meal in the gorgeous dining room where it’s always bright, as light floods in from all sides. All you need to do is sit back with a glass of wine as you gaze out at the canal.

Located in Dublin 1 in the heart of the city, Mr Fox is an informal modern European bar and eatery serving a range of traditional and international dishes made from the very best local and seasonal ingredients. First opened in 2016, this place offers a monthly-changing menu of contemporary cuisine with a French influence that has been recognised in the Michelin Guide. So, you’re guaranteed a truly magnificent and flavourful dining experience should you choose to check out this spot. Previous dishes to have graced the menu include a fluffy Potato Brioche and Dover Sole with pomme dauphin, baby leek and cockle beurre blanc. 

A Michelin starred restaurant first opened in 2015, Bastible is the ideal place for a sumptuous tasting menu just outside of the city centre. Served from Wednesday to Saturday, Bastible boasts a modern interior complete with refurbed Scandi solid wood and artisanal pottery that adds to the relaxed vibe and laid back atmosphere of this unique and friendly neighbourhood restaurant. With a set menu based around the very best Irish produce available at the time, the kitchen can cater to pretty much any dietary requirements with full vegetarian menus always available on request. The set menu changes with the season with previous offerings including wild halibut and dry-aged beef.

Mae is a neighbourhood restaurant in the heart of Ballsbridge Village with a focus on seasonal food and interesting wines. Opened in August 2021, mae is the exciting venture by multi-award winning chef, Grainne O’Keefe. O’Keefe’s inventive menu includes air dried beef, confit potato and aged parmesan, and apple tart tatin, calvados and creme fraiche. The menu also highlights the restaurant’s suppliers, so diners know exactly where the produce has come from.