100 of the best restaurants, cafes and places to eat in Ireland, 2020

AuthorCorinna Hardgrave, Lisa Cope, Ali Dunworth
Published date04 December 2020
The restaurant industry in Ireland has been going through a bleak period. Why have a list of restaurants, cafes and other places to eat, when some remain closed and none is at full capacity? Well, we see this list as a guide, to be held on to and referred to over the coming weeks and months and into next year. It is also a tribute to the courage and determination of everyone in the hospitality sector.

Things will continue to change, so check details with the restaurants when ordering or booking. Please support your local restaurants and cafes, be that through eating there, or ordering takeaway or home dinner kits. Our restaurants and cafes are wonderful bastions of pleasure and hospitality, but they are also businesses, and we need to support them now if we want to continue to enjoy them in the future. Corinna Hardgrave

Jump to:

Fifteen great places to eat with outdoor seating

Nine great places to eat with spacious dining rooms

Eight great places to eat with private dining rooms

Twelve great places to eat that offer globe-trotting escapes

Twelve great destination-dining venues

Sixteen great places to eat on a special occasion

Eighteen great places for a casual meal

Ten great places to eat with outstanding wine lists

FIFTEEN GREAT PLACES TO EAT WITH OUTDOOR SEATING

Andchips

3 Castle House, The Quay, Dungarvan, Co Waterford; 058-24498, andchips.ie

Eunice Power is affectionately known as The Powerhouse because she clearly has 10 times more energy than the rest of us, using the excess to fuel brilliant ideas, one of which is Andchips, a fish and chip shop which she opened a year and a half ago. Her Covid-19 response was to negotiate a sizeable outside dining area and add even more to the menu, including the hugely popular fish tacos and fish pie. Everything is under €15, even the wine at €14.50 a bottle. Corinna Hardgrave

Covid precautions: Staff temperature checks, masks/visors, screen in front of service counter, outdoor tables

Baste BBQ

39 Clanbrassil Street Upper, Portobello, Dublin 8; 01-9081955, bastebbq.com

The outdoors is, of course, the only proper home for a serious barbecue set-up, and it's not just for summer. With a mix of tent cover and dining pods, Andy Noonan has transformed the base for his two Argentinian wood-burning parrillas and Pitmaker wood and charcoal-fired smoker into a cosy winter space with fire pits and blankets. Cool sounds, grilled flatbreads, babaganoush, charred, slow-cooked smoky joints of meat, and BYOB, what's not to like? CH

Covid precautions: Masks, outdoor tables

Dede at The Customs' House

The Customs House, Baltimore, Co Cork; 028-48248, customshousebaltimore.com

Ahmet Dede, the chef who landed a Michelin star at the now shuttered Mews restaurant, has taken Baltimore to his heart, bringing a taste of Turkey to the yachties and second-homers. A team of Turkish chefs with an outdoor kitchen, barbecue and wood-fired oven conjure up manti – little dumplings with lamb, and monkfish a la Turka from pristine local produce. There is an impressive covered outside area and a back gate allows diners to enter and exit without walking through the restaurant. Set menus are €60 for dinner and €40 for Sunday lunch. CH

Covid precautions: Staff and diner temperature checks, masks, filtration, outdoor tables

Eatyard

Crossguns Bridge, Glasnevin, Dublin 9; 01-9060218, the-eatyard.com

Already geared up for the great outdoors before the event of the abominable Covid, Eatyard now has six vendors at its new home across the city, offering a choice of burgers, La Cocina Cuevas' tacos and birrieras, pizza, dumplings, vegan comfort food from The Saucy Cow, and great coffee from 3fe. You can grab a table by booking ahead on the Eatyard website, and order pints, cocktails and natural wines from The Bernard Shaw bar to have with your food. Open Thu-Sun, closed Jan-Feb. CH

Covid precautions: Masks, outdoor tables

Fisk Seafood Bar

The Harbour Bar, Downings, Co Donegal; fiskseafoodbar.com

Sitting outside the tiny seafood haven Fisk, in Downings, looking out over Sheephaven Bay, it's hard not to wonder if you've dreamed it up. From the crispy squid with lemon aioli, to the local crab claws with dulse butter, to the crab on Scarpello toasted sourdough, everything is spanking fresh and simply delivered. This year they're staying open right through winter, with a new weather-proofed beer garden out the back complete with stove, so even on the chilliest of nights outdoor dining is an option. Lisa Cope

Covid precautions: Masks, one-way system

Good Day Deli

Nano Nagle Place, Douglas Street, Cork; 021-4322107, gooddaydeli.ie

The menu at Good Day Deli, in Cork city centre oasis Nano Nagle Place, is so vibrant and inviting you might not even notice it's predominantly vegetarian. They prefer to focus on their ethos of local, organic and sustainable – like the lightly battered Irish hake in their Kai Moana tacos. Owners Kristin Makirere (originally from Cook Island) and Clare Condon (a Cork native) have varied backgrounds, including hospitality, gardening and environmental economics, and Good Day Deli, complete with its extensive, covered outdoor dining area, feels like a model for the future. LC

Covid precautions: Staff temperature checks, masks

Grangecon Kitchen

Grangecon, Dunlavin, Co Wicklow; 086-0862812, grangeconkitchen.ie

Laura McEvoy and Stephanie Myerscough opened their utterly divine cafe in this beautiful Wicklow village in July 2019, rising early to make three different types of sourdough for their BLTs and sandwiches, ricotta buttermilk pancakes, shakshouka, an array of stunning cakes and the country's best doughnuts. Dining is alfresco in the garden to the side of the cottage which is covered with a large canopy and has heater lamps. CH

Covid precautions: Masks, outdoor tables

Grow HQ

Farronshoneen, Dunmore Road, Waterford; 051-584422, giy.ie/grow-hq

"Grow, Cook, Eat" is the ethos at Waterford's Grow HQ, and it really is that simple. The land surrounding the cafe is filled with everything from golden raspberries to greenhouse-grown lemons, carrots to courgettes, and each week the "hero plate" takes what's in abundance and serves it five different ways. They added an outdoor food truck at the start of the summer for anyone wanting to avoid eating in, and have a partly covered terrace for more than 40 people. LC

Covid precautions: Masks, outdoor tables

L'Gueuleton

Fadebrook House, 1 Fade Street, Dublin 2; 087-9393608, lgueuleton.com

Who knows what we're going to have to spend to get a drink with our food in the following months, but if it's €9, and outside, the new small plates at L'Gueuleton are a great way to have a casual bite with friends. A few of our €8.90 favourites include onion and Gruyère tart, confit duck croquettes, and pan-fried mackerel with fennel and horseradish cream. And their wonderful French onion soup is back on the menu. CH

Covid precautions: Masks, tables 1m+ apart, outdoors

Locks

1 Windsor Terrace, Dublin 8; 01-4163655, locksrestaurant.ie

Without doubt, this is one of Dublin's best lunch spots, and with a new covered seating area that stretches the length of the building, and heaters and rugs to keep things cosy, this canalside restaurant is likely to become one of the hottest bookings in town. The €39 three-course lunch and €55 dinner menus offer a changing selection of terrines, fish, meat and vegetarian dishes, and tasty desserts, all pulled together skilfully using top-quality produce. CH

Covid precautions: Masks, tables 1m+ apart, outdoors

MacNean House and Restaurant

Main Street, Blacklion, Co Cavan; 071-9853022, nevenmaguire.com

Normally booked out well in advance, this year, with plans constantly changing, cancellations are opening up on an adhoc basis, so it's well worth sticking your name on the waiting list. Neven Maguire and his team have put huge work into developing a comfortable and magical outdoor area with awnings, heaters and lights for pre- and post-dinner drinks. Dining is inside and, regulations permitting, there is private dining at the chef's table for 10 to 20 guests. CH

Covid precautions: Staff temperature checks, masks, tables 2m apart

Misunderstood Heron

Derrynacleigh, Leenaun, Co Galway; 083-0244203, misunderstoodheron.com

At the side of a car park in Connemara, overlooking the magnificent Killary Fjord, locals and hungry travellers queue for up to 45 minutes to experience food truck Misunderstood Heron's pork belly rice bowls, lamb chops with lentils and homemade pasties. Husband and wife Reinaldo Seco and Kim Young first met in this corner of Ireland, and after travelling the world together decided there was nowhere else they'd rather be. As lunch views go, this one is hard to top. LC

Covid precautions: Masks, queue markers

Salty Buoy

Avon Ri, Blessington, Co Wicklow; and Baste, 39 Clanbrassil Street Upper, Dublin 8; saltybuoy.ie and instagram.com/saltybuoytruck

On the move, so you'll need to check Insta to see where and when Niall Sabongi's vintage Citroen van is parked. With a menu limited to fish, done a few great but simple ways, the lobster roll is every bit as good as you will get in Maine – yes, that means the proper roll – and the hake Kiev was one of the summer hits, although in many cases, it was the lesser-spotted Kiev, so if it's on the menu, jump on it immediately. CH

Covid precautions: Masks, tables 1-2m apart, outdoors

Shells

Shore Road, Strandhill, Co Sligo; 071-9122938, shellscafe.com

This quintessential coastal cafe and bakery is enviably located on Sligo's sweeping Strandhill Beach where owners Jane and Myles Lambeth have honed their nautical style just right. Their stellar brunch-led food offering considers local produce foremost, as well as producing everything they can in house. Fresh breads, homemade jams, granola and beans, much of which can be bought to take home in the divine adjoining Little Shop. Ali Dunworth

Covid precautions: Masks, one-way system, outdoor tables

Shouk

40 Drumcondra Road Lower, Drumcondra, Dublin 9...

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