Matt The Thresher

When I think of beef stew, I think of my mom's homemade version. So one of the things I was most…read morelooking forward to in Ireland was trying authentic Irish stew. Our first meal in Dublin was at The Old Mill Restaurant, right in the heart of Temple Bar. It's been serving traditional Irish fare since the 1980s and has become a favorite stop for both locals and visitors looking for classic comfort food. After about a 20-minute wait, we were seated in the warm, inviting dining room. Susan ordered the mussels, one of her favorites, while I went with the Traditional Irish Stew and my daughter chose the Braised Beef & Guinness Stew. Both were exactly what we hoped for: hearty, flavorful, and perfect after a day of sightseeing. I finally understood why the Guinness stew had such a rich, dark color, and I have to admit, I came home a big fan of Irish stew. We finished with the Homemade Bread & Butter Pudding topped with fresh cream and custard, a comforting dessert that was the perfect ending to the meal. Service, atmosphere, value, and food were all five out of five. We also enjoyed chatting with the floor manager, whose pride in the restaurant and his team was obvious. That kind of hospitality made a great meal even more memorable.

Hard to find as we passed it & realized it's upstairs! Small single room w/ a standard collection…read moreof wall art / signs. Asked to be re-sat & they were happy to let us choose. We asked about the soup flavor & they offered a taste and brought out a huge sample boat. Super cool. I got the cottage pie lunch portion, which is more than I could barely eat. It came with a boat of the sauce /and gravy and meat. Wife got the fish and chips... The fillet was longer than the plate and it came with a mountain of fries, both delicious. Daughter got the creamy vegetable soup and chips. She loved it but couldn't even finish half. All the portions were very generous, nobody finished their meal, too bad we couldn't have taken it back to our hotel. Server was great & funny. Love this place.

The scene!!!

Lamb Shank

See all

Fish Chips

Klaw

4.4(179 reviews)

Yelp review the best seafood, doesn't disappoint me. This place is in temple bar area just very…read moresmall place only have 4 tables and a bar along the way can sit 6. You will need to come at the right time to get seats or you just have to wait. Bigger than 4 people group will not be able to sit together. They have a really good selection of oysters and do come between 5-6pm to enjoy 1€ off all oysters happy hour. I'm not an oyster fan, but I tried their torched oyster, they taste amazing. The oysters were displayed on a bed of seaweed. And they brought to your table and explain to you all the ingredients then torch in front of you. I love all the combinations to max the flavor. I wanted to try the Dublin shrimp but unfortunately they ran out, I was told usually ran out at lunch. So I ordered crab on toast, really big size crab meat with cucumber on a yellow crab paste. Seafood linguine was do yummy. It came with a lot of local baby mussels and some shrimps. Cooked in wine and garlic sauce.

We stepped in for a quick round of oysters before dinner on Sunday, around 5:30pm, no wait. The…read morespace is small, maybe 10-15 seats, but it's got personality! And a wall of paper towels that customers from all around the world have written messages on -- love that. We got the oyster sampler, which is a perfect pre-dinner snack size for two. It comes with four different kinds of oysters, two each, eight total. The waitress explained the taste profiles of each type: one was salty, one was mineral-y, another creamy. I thought the creamy oysters took the cake. Pro tip: come during Happy Hour and get a euro off each oyster!

Oyster sampler

See all

Wall of Fame

Klaw The Seafood Café

4.1(64 reviews)

First things first - amazing service. The staff is so…read morelovely. I would recommend this place based on this alone, but luckily I don't have to, because the food is also wonderful! We ordered a few things, but our favorites were the oysters (tasted so fresh) and the prawns (so many and so delicious). The inside of the restaurant is small, but they do have patio seating on both sides of the entrance. Would I return on my next visit? Yes! And you should visit, too!

We never got to try the happy hour oysters because we gave up after 45 minutes. The people at the…read moretable next to us waited a full hour for their oysters to arrive. There were only 3 other customers but the waitress said there was only one shucker so it took a long time but even if the shucker shucked one oyster every 5 minutes it wouldn't have taken so long.

Inside

Fresh Baked Bread with Garlic Flavoring

See all

Hand Cut Fries

FishShack Cafe

4.3(50 reviews)

1.3 km•Temple Bar

Was excited to find and try this place! Wasn't until we tried to find it and couldn't that we…read morefigured out it has closed permanently. Disappointing!

Wow. Wow. Wow. Balanced, nuanced, fresh, and playful. Tight, on point menu with each selection…read moreoffering a different angle on all things pescetarian. From fresh lobster harvested by the owner from Northern Ireland, to the steamed mussels, or seafood chowder, you're in for a real treat. We ordered the platter for two at a reasonable €19, and a bowl of heaven (chowder) at €7.50. Everything was prepared and presented to perfection. Their only competitor I've found in my travels is 167 Raw in Charleston, SC, USA. So, I think they're safe. In the mood for casual seafood offered without pretense nor apology? Give this place a whirl. Go here.

See all

SOLE Seafood and Grill

4.2(68 reviews)

0.9 km•South Inner City

What an incredible find on our visit to Dublin from the US. We were looking for an amazing steak…read moreand seafood restaurant and Sole exceeded our expectations by a mile! The steaks were the best we've had in along time as well as the crab claws. I'm going to recommend it to all of our friends and business colleagues!

Elegant interior. Good seat spacing…read more Oysters seemed fresh. Recommend the mussels appetizer - many small but tasty mussels. Monk fish was so so- a bit tough. Sea bass was delicious. Food experience good however service was lacking. Waiter had too many tables. Would have expected for a restaurant like this to have better. I would not go back just based on the terrible service.

Sea bass

See all

Perfect martini

Catch-22

4.3(13 reviews)

0.9 km•South Inner City

Delicious fish and great cocktails! The outdoor seating is super cute and the indoor bar has some…read moregreat atmosphere. We got the smoked haddock salad and the sea bass entree and were blown away by how tasty both were. We also got complimentary chips for the table. The spring spritz cocktail was super refreshing, I would get it again!

They had a sole special for 28 euro the night I went. They were pleasant and had interesting ciders…read moreon tap and in bottle. They had a Swedish hard cider called Alska that was strawberry and lime. Some of the best cider I've had! They have half and full pints. The sole was some of the absolute best fish and polenta I have tasted in a while. They paired it with a creamy gravy that went well with the fresh salsa they garnished it with. It was a very large portion, but too good to leave behind. There was also live music and it was a calm environment with some really cool stuff on the wall. Met a cool Canadian while I was visiting also! Cheers!

See all

The Boxty House

4.3(1.3k reviews)

•€€€

Sometimes it's the food. Sometimes the setting. Today, it was Mike, our server, who made this a…read morefive star experience. He's worked there more than 20 years and had us thoroughly entranced with his personality and charms. Oh yes, there was food: a vegetarian boxtie and a corned beef boxtie. These were more like stews than a classic boxtie. We polished the plates off and finished with dessert. The toffee pudding was perfect; surprisingly the housemade ice cream sandwich had almost no flavor and was disappointing. The order of three Irish breads was a good appetizer and helped us understand the different styles in the country. The ambiance here is not classic Irish pub, which was good for dinner. !:)

Never had a boxy before and it turns out they come in different variants. One was creamy corned…read morebeef without a pancake, while the other had beef filet and mushroom sauce with a pancake. Both were excellent, as was the chowder. Service was incredibly kind and efficient, even as the place got very busy shortly after we arrived. Would visit again and appreciate a very solid intro to the boxy!

Bar area & kitchen

Sticky toffee pudding

See all

Strawberry Nohito

Darkey Kellys

4.6(327 reviews)

1.4 km•Wood Quay

We drifted in here about 5 pm and the place was hopping. Live music and a short wait for a table…read more Great, loud pub ambiance. We ate an early dinner, including lamb shank and beef stew. Both were good and exactly what you think of for Irish comfort food. Friendly, efficient staff. It's a tourist spot, but a fun one. Btw: the name is not racial. The original owner was Dorcas Kelley, nickname Darkie.

I'll start with the good: loved the vibes and look and feel and the fact that they do different…read morestyles of live music every night means I just might be back. The staff are also very nice and despite how busy it is, service was quick. Neutral: this place was smaller than I was expecting and could be cramped if you're trying to eat as well as drink Bad: the food left something to be desired. I tested bangers and mash and barely made it through one sausage as they seemed mushy and the texture through me off. Would return but not to eat

Easter lamb special with mashed potatoes, fried potatoes, broccoli, asparagus and Yorkshire puddings. Gram for scale.

See all

Fish Shop

4.6(75 reviews)

2.3 km•Smithfield

Hands down the best fish and chips I have ever had. More importantly, my meal opened a new world of…read morehouse made tartar sauce I never thought possible. I won't tell you what the ingredients list includes because you should try it first yourself but it will blow your mind. That's right. Tartar sauce has the ability to BLOW YOUR MIND. The smoked almonds are delightful and the 0% alc pale ale was a lovely companion to the F&C. My plate had a healthy portion of both fish and chips and I even left some chips behind but one person in my group took to soaking her chips in the amazing malt vinegar provided. I had to go double duty, first splashing chips and fish with vinegar AND then going in hard on the tartar. Why leave chips behind? I ran out of tartar sauce! Finishing up with the lemon posset which I also HIGHLY recommend but don't ignore the sticky toffee pudding. Our group got both desserts and shared which worked out well. Make sure to call ahead for a reservation but needless to say I'll be contacting the FS team as soon as I book my return flight to Dublin

Worth the two year wait! ... Let me explain…read more I was in Dublin two years ago, absolutely siked that there was a posh little chipper spot that could do gluten-free fish & chips. I made a reservation & arrived perfectly on time, just to find out ... I made the reservation for the wrong day. Fish Shop was fully booked out (& it's a small place!) so they could not accommodate me. I had to leave. I actually cried outside on the street. Gluten-free fish & chips is a big deal to me! So in 2026, I made a reservation for myself FAR in advance & made absolute certain that it was the CORRECT day. I did hold my breath just a little bit when I arrived, but I was good to go. The shop is tight - not a lot of room to move around. Unfortunately I was seated right by the door, so every time someone came in or out, I was blasted by cold air. I forgive. I ordered a skin contact Austrian wine & haddock fish & chips (gluten free, of course) & it all came out in a reasonable time. Everything was just spectacular. The fish was crispy, flaky, & perfectly done. The fries were thick & the malt vinegar was strong. The wine was weird & a perfect pairing. I really wish this spot wasn't across the ocean from me. I'll certainly be back every time I'm in the city.