Quirky restaurants in Dublin

If you haven’t seen these guys’ gorgeous dishes on Instagram, do you even Instagram? This super cool restaurant on Parnell Street has been the darling of the Dublin food scene for a while now. With a smart logo, a full menu for vegetarians, and desserts like “Mr Fox PB&J” on the menu, diners flock here in their droves. Even better, if you head along between 5-6pm (not in December, sadly) you get two courses for just £22.95.

A vegan butcher you say? If you’re looking for quirky restaurants in Dublin, it doesn’t get much better than this. Sova Vegan Butcher are all about promoting a healthy lifestyle, taking great care to prepare delicious vegan dishes that put meaty menus to shame. Plates include a seitan donor kebab, pulled porc bap, and spinach and mushroom tagliatelle. They do a fine line in GF dishes too if flour isn’t your friend. Check out their instagram for the pictures of owner Barto Sova and his dalmatian. 

If you mention quirky restaurants in Dublin right now, people are bound to mention Hang Dai. From the outside, it’s like any other Chinese restaurant, but venture in and you find yourself in what can only be described as a train carriage. The long, neon-lit room is a big talking point, but the food by chef Karl Whelan is what keeps people coming back. Turning Chinese food pre-conceptions on their head, they serve dishes like crispy roast duck dumplings, scallop ceviche, and squid ink noodles, all designed to have you returning time and again.

Just the entrance to Hugo’s tells you that you’re in for a unique dining experience. Painted bright turquoise, with quaint shutters and gold writing, Hugo’s looks like something from Alice in Wonderland. The inside is luxurious, all gilt framed pictures, comfy seats, and gorgeous chandeliers. And the food follows this trend. Try out pan fried sea bass, Brittany rabbit, and crispy pork belly: the perfect fine dining comfort food. All cooked under the watchful eye of head chef Margaret Roche who claims an impressive CV, working with people like Alan Roux and Heston Blumenthal.

This Japanese restaurant is one of our favourites in the city. Mixing small plates with big nibbles, the Yamamori Noodles menu suits all appetites. They serve up dishes that you’ll be hard-pressed to find anywhere else in the city; eel and shiitake mushrooms, mango and crab, spicy kimchi tuna, and crispy oyster with spicy mayonnaise. After dinner, sit back, relax, and enjoy some drinks at their Yamamori Izakaya sake bar, just down the street.