Dublin’s best healthy restaurants

This guide kicks off with arguably Ireland’s most renowned healthy eating institution. The Happy Pear has been endorsed by health gurus and top chefs across Europe, such as Jamie Oliver and Joe Wicks. With products across Irish stores and volumes of cookbooks, as well as a number of sustainable healthy eating courses available, The Happy Pear truly embodies the spirit of healthy eating.
But enough about the healthy eating empire, let’s get down to business. Located in the town of Greystones, the world’s most liveable community in 2021, The Happy Pear café is a huge attraction on the main street, and is 30 minutes on the Dart from Dublin City. You’ll be greeted to an Irish-style café which is always brimming with diners. The menu is seasonal, and hosts a selection of starters, salads, and mains. The homemade soup of the day is always a winner, with the likes of tomato and pepper or butternut and pumpkin soups at €4.95
Moving onto mains, and The Happy Pear features a Four Grain or Super Green Salad, for €4.95-9.50, depending on your serving size preference. The best work comes in the form of the Halloumi Burger, featuring locally sourced potatoes, pickled red onion, vegan garlic mayo, and a zesty homemade ketchup. If you’re looking for a big feed minus the calories, the Pad Thai is authentic and excellent, with roasted cashews, oyster mushrooms, and a brilliant lime and chilli sauce. All the mains are €9.50, and all dishes are vegan friendly, ideal for the body and the wallet!

Nut Butter is ideal for a lunchtime break from the office, given its location and the sheer quality of the food. Set up by Paddy Hogan in 2018, who experienced much of the healthy-eating buzz originating in California in years previous, he aimed to create a sustainable, affordable, and healthy restaurant in Dublin’s busiest district. All with a Californian twist.
The tacos bring all of the spice and sauce without the guilt. The Brisket Taco features slow cooked grass fed Irish brisket, blue corn tortilla, kimchi, and house made peanut rayu for €10.50 and is some of the best brisket around in Dublin. If you’re in for one of the famous burrito bowls, we’d recommend the forbidden rice, which balances black rice and grilled Irish pak choi with Hoisin-tamarind sauce.
Nut Butter is never short of seasonal options too, with winter warmers available. However, the homemade broth is something to behold, and an ideal comfort food option for a dreary day in Dublin. It’s vegetable based and features the stellar lime and chilli seasonings for €3.95.

KC Peaches is self-described by founder and owner Katie Cantwell as a restaurant which aims to “change the way Dubliners think about food by serving a wide variety of simple yet sophisticated all-natural dishes.” KC Peaches has been around since 2006 and is an iconic part of Dublin’s interior now. It’s one of the first restaurant’s you’ll see as you drive towards St Stephens Green, and hosts a menu derived from French, American, and Irish cuisine, with ingredients sourced “as close to Pearse Street as possible”
One of KC Peaches’ latest additions is its range of smoothies and juices. They come in boost-shot or full cup forms and are guaranteed to give you a lift! We’d definitely pair this up with any of the meals, be it breakfast or lunch, and the ‘Tropic Thunder ’smoothie with pineapple, passion fruit, and apple is a staple for €4.95.
Onto the food, and KC Peaches has a huge variety of dishes available. The Breakfast Burrito comes in at a generous €7.95. Scrambled free range eggs, kidney beans, avocado, cheddar cheese, Pico de Gallo, and spicy mayonnaise in a wrap will give you a perfect start to the day. Among a plethora of sandwiches and snacks available, there’s a couple of standout sambos at KC Peaches as well. ‘The Dubliner’ puts pulled ham, three cheese sauce, spinach, caramelised red onion, and mustard mayonnaise between a Bretzel baguette for €6.50. We love it.

This guide closes with one of Dublin’s most celebrated healthy-eating restaurants. Awarded a Michelin plate in 2021, Craft hosts ‘modern Irish’ cuisine over two-three courses, ultimately providing an exquisite dining experience without the deluge of calories or the triple figure bill.
Craft’s menu is a two-course dinner for €45, or three courses for €55. We’d recommend you go for three, trust us. Start out with the Clare Island salmon, served with smoked yoghurt and dill. Moving onto the mains, sticking with Craft’s fish is a great choice. It’s both fresh and flavoursome. The Castletownbere hake is some of the best available in Ireland, coming from Ireland’s south coast and the Atlantic. It’s served with Maitake and vin juane.
If you’ve somehow made room for dessert, finish off with the Ballyisk Comte cheese and house chutney crackers. All of Craft’s ingredients are well sourced for both quality and sustainability. The options are not overbearing, and the atmosphere is minimal and modern ultimately creating a wholesome, healthy dining experience.