Great Dublin Dining Slideshow
Chapter One
The one essential restaurant for elegant dining, a handsome, comfortable space located in the basement of the Dublin Writers Museum. The cooking of Cork-born chef Ross Lewis has French sophistication but draws heavily on Irish foodstuffs. The Irish charcuterie trolley (including smoked venison and West Cork salami) is a must, fish is always in optimum condition, and there are irresistible wild game dishes in season.
Eden Restaurant
A light and airy but gastronomically serious eating place in the middle of Temple Bar (Dublin's Latin Quarter or Greenwich Village), Eden serves house-baked breads, good soups, Irish cornfed chicken, a great version of the inevitable (even in Ireland) braised pork belly, rack of Irish lamb accompanied by a little shepherd's pie made with braised lamb neck, and (left) scallops with mint pea risotto.
Ely Winebar
Try this friendly, family-owned place for the fairly priced and slightly offbeat wine list, the steaks and burgers made from the family's own organically raised cattle, and the spot-on Irish-anchored specialties like potted Irish duck with charred focaccia, organic lambs' kidneys with spinach and grilled Morbier cheese, and supreme of Fermanagh chicken with macaroni–cauliflower gratin. (There are two other Ely-owned restaurants in Dublin, with similar menus and wine lists.)
Locks Brasserie
In a pretty, quiet corner of Dublin, on a canal lined with residential buildings, Locks offers straightforward Irish-French fare, ranging from house-cured salmon or game terrine with apple balsamic dressing to pan-fried hake with eggplant and crab mayonnaise or aged Irish rib eye with bone marrow and pommes frites.
The Lord Edward
The Lord Edward is a resolutely untrendy dining room on the third floor of a house in the middle of Dublin (the first floor houses a boisterous pub, the second a calmer lounge bar). The point of the place is very fresh locally-caught fish (sole, plaice, turbot, etc.) cooked in many different ways.
Mermaid Café
The dining room is spare, the menu is short, and the food at this casual Irish bistro is simple but satisfying. Smoked fish and shellfish chowder and grilled mackerel on toast with gooseberry compote, typical starters, are well-made pub fare. The chargrilled chicken with broad bean (i.e., fava) and asparagus risotto recalls good old "California cuisine." The desserts, like pecan pie with maple ice cream or "Eton mess" (strawberries, meringue, and cream), are just plain indulgent.
Patrick Guillbaud
Ireland's only Michelin two-star, this beautifully designed restaurant — sometimes called "Paddy Giblets" by locals — occupies a semi-basement space beneath the superb Merrion Hotel. The food is fancy modern French (using a lot of Irish ingredients). Menu descriptions can sound daunting — "Light Soup of Jersualem Artichoke, Madeira Glazed Chestnuts,Truffle Arancini," "Atlantic Cod 'Demi-Sel', Cracked Wheat with Pear and Almond, Salted Lemon Emulsion" — but what's on the plate is skillfully crafted and not at all overwrought. Pictured, Dorade Royale.
The Winding Stair
You might think you're in the East Village or even Berkeley when you enter this super-casual restaurant, with its creaking floors and mismatched furnishings, above a famous bookshop of the same name on the banks or the Liffey — but the menu is about as Irish-locavore/artisanal as you can get. Sample Ted Browne's Kerry prawns on toast, O'Doherty's black pudding with Gubbeen chorizo and Wexford baby potatoes, Nicholson's hand-smoked haddock poached in milk with cheddar mash, or the impeccable Irish cheese board, and you'll taste the true flavors of the best of Ireland. Pictured, Dublin Bay prawns.