Country dossier
Restaurants, hotels, bars and wineries across Ireland in the En Primeur Club guide.
Accolades in Ireland
Dublin has 318 of the 591 venues in our Ireland guide, including restaurants, bars, hotels, and wineries.
Chapter One by Mickael Viljanen in Rotunda B holds two Michelin stars in 2026. It serves tasting menus, prix fixe, and a la carte dishes, with an extensive wine list and sommelier-led service. Irish coffee is prepared tableside. The kitchen applies classical French technique to prime Irish and European ingredients.
D'Olier Street in Mansion House A is a Michelin-starred restaurant serving a seasonal surprise tasting menu, with counter seats facing the kitchen. Star Wine List recognised the wine programme five times, including first-place awards in 2023 and 2024. Pairings are wine or non-alcoholic cocktails, with sommelier-led service.
Uno Mas in Royal Exchange B holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand and serves modern Spanish tapas as small plates, a la carte, and family style. The wine programme received consecutive first-place Star Wine List awards. Drinks include natural wine, a dedicated sherry list, and vermouth cocktails.
Royal Exchange A is where Bar Pez sits, with Star Wine List recognition every year from 2023 through 2026. The list leans into seafood and terroir themes, and the room keeps the focus on wine with simple fish-led plates.
Cork and Galway offer tighter but highly specific scenes, with seafood cooking, wine bars, and tasting menus leading the conversation.
Goldie in Centre A holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand. The Sunday Times Ireland’s 100 Best Restaurants ranked it first in 2025. The kitchen takes a whole-fish, fin-to-gill approach to West Cork seafood, served as small plates and a la carte dishes, with craft cocktails and a beer programme.
MacCurtain Wine Cellar in St. PATRICK'S A is a family-run wine shop and bar. It holds Star Wine List recognition from 2024 through 2026. The wall selection includes organic, biodynamic, and natural wines, with knowledgeable sommelier service at the bar.
Aniar in West End holds a Michelin star in 2026 and serves a tasting menu using hyper-local West of Ireland produce from local producers. Chefs serve many of the courses themselves. The wine programme has an extensive list with sommelier-led service.
daróg in Lower Dominick Street holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand and Star Wine List recognition. The Sunday Times Ireland’s 100 Best Restaurants placed it third in 2025. Its list centres on artisan biodynamic, organic, and natural wines, served with seasonal small plates and local produce.
Outside the main cities, Ireland’s starred dining often sits inside manor houses, coastal rooms, and destination hotels with serious wine programmes.
Ardmore places House inside the Cliff House Hotel, where a Michelin star sits alongside a Wine Spectator Grand Award. The tasting menu and prix fixe formats are matched to a list, with local sourcing shaping the kitchen.
The Bishop's Buttery in Cashel occupies Cashel Palace’s vaulted stone cellars and holds a Michelin star in 2026. It serves tasting menus and prix fixe meals, with an extensive wine list and sommelier-led service. Seasonal menus use local produce.
The Morrison Room in Carton Demesne is a Michelin-starred tasting menu restaurant in an ornate Georgian mansion room. The Sunday Times Ireland’s 100 Best Restaurants included it in 2025, and Star Wine List recognised it in 2026. Its wine list is extensive, and the kitchen uses local Irish produce.
The Oak Room in Adare is a Michelin-starred restaurant inside Adare Manor’s wood-panelled dining room. Its wine programme holds a World's Best Wine Lists three-star award from 2025. Tasting menus and a la carte dishes use seasonal Irish produce, and the dining room has a cheese trolley.
The Merrion, Ballyfin Demesne, and The K Club are hotels in the guide with a starred restaurant, Michelin Keys, or Star Wine List recognition. Jameson (Bow St.) is a whiskey experience in North City Centre, with hands-on blending and cocktail-making classes.
The Merrion in Mansion House B occupies restored Georgian townhouses and has a two-Michelin-star restaurant. The hotel holds two Michelin Keys in 2026. Its classical gardens were designed by Jim Reynolds, and it holds Ireland’s largest private art collection, with works by Irish artists.
Ballyfin Demesne in Ballyfin is a restored Georgian country house hotel with three Michelin Keys in 2026. The property has a Michelin-starred dining room and walled gardens. The hotel holds a Relais Chateaux award and has Star Wine List recognition.
The K Club in Straffan occupies a restored Georgian manor house, with championship golf courses and a full-service spa. It holds Star Wine List recognition in 2026 and World Luxury Hotel Awards titles for Luxury Golf Resort and Luxury Country Hotel. Seven dining and drinking spaces operate across the estate.
North City Centre holds Jameson (Bow St.), a whiskey experience. It occupies the original 1780 distillery building that produced Jameson for over two centuries and includes John Jameson’s original office, a live maturation warehouse, and hands-on blending and cocktail-making classes.
Wine venues are in Dublin’s Royal Exchange A, Royal Exchange B, Mansion House A, and Mansion House B, Cork’s St. PATRICK'S A, and Galway’s Lower Dominick Street. These include Bar Pez and Piglet Wine Bar in Royal Exchange A, Uno Mas and Loose Canon in Royal Exchange B, D'Olier Street in Mansion House A, Ely Wine Bar in Mansion House B, MacCurtain Wine Cellar in St. PATRICK'S A, and daróg in Lower Dominick Street.
Our Ireland guide’s Michelin counts cover the cities included in the guide, counting both the restaurants awarded Michelin stars and the combined number of stars those restaurants hold: 16 Michelin-starred restaurants and 19 Michelin stars in total.
Tasting menus cluster in Dublin, Galway, and the country-house hotels and destination restaurants outside the cities. Chapter One by Mickael Viljanen, Liath, Aniar, The Oak Room, The Bishop's Buttery, The Morrison Room, House, and Homestead Cottage all use tasting menu formats.
House in Ardmore, the fine-dining restaurant within the Cliff House Hotel, holds a Wine Spectator Grand Award from 2025, the only Wine Spectator award among the venues in our Ireland guide.
By Emmett Haley · Updated October 8, 2026 · Editorial standards
City atlas
Ireland
Selected entries from the current guide for Ireland.
Blackrock, Ireland
Two-Michelin-starred Liath Blackrock delivers chef Damien Grey's seasonal surprise tasting menus to just 22 guests, where innovative Irish cuisine built around the five fundamental tastes creates an intimate, living-room atmosphere that has redefined fine dining in Dublin's culinary landscape.
Baltimore, Ireland
Two Michelin stars in a West Cork fishing village: dede occupies the ground floor of the Customs House in Baltimore, where chef Ahmet Dede draws on Turkish heritage and the produce of the surrounding coastline and farmland. La Liste ranked it among the world's top restaurants in 2026, and a wine list that has held multiple Star Wine List positions makes the case for a full evening here.
Dublin, Ireland
Chapter One by Mickael Viljanen holds two Michelin stars and a La Liste score of 89 points, placing it at the summit of Dublin's fine dining tier. Located on Parnell Square North, the restaurant builds its menu around prime Irish and European ingredients treated through classical French technique. Booking well in advance is standard practice for tables here.
Dublin, Ireland
Dublin's longest-standing two-Michelin-star restaurant has occupied its Georgian townhouse on Merrion Street since 1981, anchoring Ireland's fine dining conversation across four decades. The cooking is French at its core, shaped by premium Irish produce and a restrained modernity that the La Liste rankings, 93 points in 2026, consistently validate. Opinionated About Dining placed it 21st among Classical European restaurants in 2025.
Galway, Ireland
Aniar on Dominick Street holds a Michelin star and La Liste recognition, operating as one of the clearest expressions of west-of-Ireland cooking in any fine-dining room. JP McMahon's 20-plus-course tasting menu is built around what arrives from local producers that day, with micro-seasonal precision and a redesigned interior that makes the dining room itself part of the experience.
Castlemartyr, Ireland
Two-Michelin-starred Terre + Castlemartyr transforms fine dining within a 17th-century Manor House, where Chef Vincent Crepel's French-Asian fusion cuisine unfolds across three locations during an immersive three-and-a-half-hour tasting menu experience featuring tableside finishing and zero-waste innovation.
Adare, Ireland
The Oak Room holds a Michelin star (2024) and a place in The Sunday Times Ireland's 100 Best Restaurants (2025), operating inside Adare Manor's wood-panelled dining room with views across 850 acres of Co. Limerick estate. The tasting menu anchors the experience, with seasonal Irish produce meeting formal classical technique. Dinner runs Wednesday through Sunday, 6–9:30 PM, at the €€€€ price point.
Dublin, Ireland
Variety Jones occupies a narrow room on Thomas Street in the Liberties, serving a six-course chef's choice menu cooked largely over open fire. The kitchen holds a Michelin star (2024) and a Star Wine List White Star, backed by a monthly-changing organic wine list. Booking windows are short and tables scarce, so planning ahead is non-negotiable.
Dublin, Ireland
A Michelin-starred modern Irish restaurant on Dublin's South Circular Road, Bastible has spent a decade refining an ingredient-led, set-menu format that draws comparison with Cork's Paradiso and Ballymaloe House. The open kitchen runs Wednesday through Saturday, with cooking built tightly around seasonal Irish produce and a wine list with genuine character. Ranked 373rd in Europe by Opinionated About Dining in 2024.
Bullaun, Ireland
A Michelin-starred barn conversion in rural Co. Galway, LIGИUM sits at number five on The Sunday Times Ireland's 100 Best Restaurants list (2025). Chef Danny Africano fires a surprise tasting menu over open wood flames, threading Irish produce through an Italian lens in a setting with large windows, minimalist Scandinavian lines, and throws on the chairs.
Doolin, Ireland
A Michelin-starred restaurant inside a 200-year-old Atlantic-facing cottage on the Clare coast, Homestead Cottage applies clean, modern technique to some of Ireland's most traceable produce: Burren Shorthorn beef, wild John Dory from local waters, and ingredients shaped by the Burren's limestone-filtered terroir. Named in The Sunday Times Ireland's 100 Best Restaurants 2025, it is among the more compelling cases for rural fine dining on the island.
Maynooth, Ireland
Inside one of Ireland's grandest Georgian mansion rooms, The Morrison Room at Carton House holds a Michelin star earned in 2024. The kitchen draws on named Irish producers, Union Hall crab, Achill lamb, and combines classical technique with inventive flavour pairings. Open Thursday through Sunday evenings, with a Sunday lunch sitting, it occupies the upper tier of County Kildare dining.
Ballydehob, Ireland
Chestnut holds a Michelin star in Ballydehob, a village of a few hundred people on the west Cork coast, which tells you something about how seriously this corner of Ireland takes its food. The tasting menu is anchored in County Cork produce, from Skeaghanore duck to smaller regional growers, with house-made juices and cordials rounding out the non-alcoholic pairing. Open Thursday through Saturday from 5pm.
Dublin, Ireland
Husband-and-wife team John and Sandy Wyer run a tasting menu operation recognised by Michelin in both 2024 and 2025, with a focused wine list and a kitchen that pushes contemporary Irish cooking into genuinely experimental territory.
Galway, Ireland
On Dominick Street Lower, daróg has accumulated a Michelin Bib Gourmand for two consecutive years and three consecutive Star Wine List rankings, positioning it as one of Ireland's most-watched small wine bars. Sommelier Zsolt Lukács curates a list weighted toward organic and biodynamic producers, paired with a short menu of precisely executed sharing plates. The artwork on the walls, selected by co-owner Edel Lukács, changes regularly and is available to purchase.
Ardmore, Ireland
Set within the Cliff House Hotel on the Waterford coast, House holds a Michelin star and an 81.5-point La Liste ranking for 2025. The kitchen anchors its classical French-informed menu in local sourcing, Lismore lamb and seasonal Munster produce feature prominently, with dinner served Wednesday through Sunday. At €€€€ pricing, it sits at the serious end of Ireland's destination-dining circuit.
Thomastown, Ireland
Set within the storied Mount Juliet Estate, Lady Helen marries Georgian splendor with modern culinary artistry. In high-ceilinged rooms adorned with original stuccowork and hand-carved marble fireplaces, Chef John Kelly crafts boldly flavored, visually striking plates that celebrate the bounty of the estate, county, and coast. Expect a poised progression of refined dishes and a memorable finale—a shimmering hazelnut and chocolate confection—delivered with gracious precision in one of Ireland’s most elegant dining rooms.
Ballyfin, Ireland
A Regency-era manor in County Laois, Ballyfin Demesne carries its Michelin recognition into a dining room shaped by eight acres of kitchen gardens and a kitchen that draws maximum discipline from what the estate produces season by season. Dinner is open to non-residents, with the set menu priced at €105 and the tasting menu at €145.
Dublin, Ireland
Among Dublin's Michelin-starred restaurants, D'Olier Street operates at the intersection of architectural heritage and technically driven modern cuisine. A surprise menu format, counter seating overlooking the kitchen, and a wine program recognized five times by Star Wine List, including the number-one ranking in 2023 and 2024, place it firmly in the city's upper tier of contemporary dining.
Cork, Ireland
Goldie on Oliver Plunkett Street is Cork's most-decorated seafood restaurant, holding a Michelin Bib Gourmand in both 2024 and 2025 and ranked number one in The Sunday Times Ireland's 100 Best Restaurants for 2025. Chef Caitlin McMillan runs an accessible, fish-forward kitchen at mid-range prices, making it a reliable reference point for understanding what the south Cork coast has to offer on a plate.
Cashel, Ireland
Occupying the vaulted stone cellars of Cashel Palace, a Palladian manor house that once served as the Archbishop's residence, The Bishop's Buttery holds a Michelin star for cooking that keeps local suppliers at its centre. Chef Stefan McEnteer draws on Tipperary's farming tradition, letting primary ingredients carry the menu rather than obscuring them. Dinner service runs Tuesday through Sunday, with lunch available Thursday to Sunday.
Kinsale, Ireland
Bastion holds a Michelin star and an OAD ranking among Ireland's most closely watched small-town restaurants, operating Thursday through Sunday from a tight room on Kinsale's main junction. Chef-owner Paul McDonald builds around local seafood and Irish produce, working in a modern style that balances technical precision with playful flavour combinations. Booking ahead is strongly advised.
Dublin, Ireland
Uno Mas on Aungier Street holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand (2025) and back-to-back Star Wine List #1 rankings, making it one of Dublin's most decorated mid-range Spanish restaurants. The counter seats are the place to be: a front-row view of a kitchen producing Spanish-inflected dishes with real depth, backed by a dedicated sherry list and vermouth cocktails. Sister restaurant to Etto, it draws a loyal local crowd and books out quickly.
Dublin, Ireland
An eight-seat kaiseki counter in Smithfield, Matsukawa holds a Michelin Plate and has ranked among the leading ten restaurants in Japan on Opinionated About Dining for three consecutive years. Chef Tadayoshi Matsukawa builds the omakase around Irish seafood, with nigiri forming the structural core of the meal. Seats are scarce, service runs efficiently, and sake completes the format.
Ireland
Selected entries from the current guide for Ireland.
Adare, Ireland
Adare Manor is the Irish country-house hotel for travellers who care as much about architecture as amenities. In Adare, the neo-Gothic estate folds golf, spa, field sports, formal gardens, and serious dining into a tightly controlled resort world, with recognition from Michelin, Forbes, Condé Nast Traveler, La Liste, and The Leading Hotels of the World.
Ballyfin, Ireland
Ballyfin Demesne is the Irish country-house hotel for travellers who care about architecture as much as service. The late Georgian mansion, 614-acre estate, walled gardens, Michelin-starred dining and Star Wine List recognition place it in a rarefied rural tier, quieter and more residential in feel than Ireland’s larger resort estates.
Dublin, Ireland
Four restored Georgian townhouses on Merrion Street Upper form one of Dublin 2's most architecturally coherent luxury hotels. The Merrion holds 145 rooms and carries Leading Hotels of the World membership alongside a 94.5-point La Liste Top Hotels score for 2026. Its collection of 90 works by 19th- and 20th-century Irish artists, paired with classical gardens by Jim Reynolds, positions it firmly in Dublin's upper tier of heritage accommodation.
Cong, Ireland
An 800-year-old castle on the shores of Lough Corrib, Ashford Castle operates at the upper tier of Irish castle hotels, with 83 rooms set across 350 acres of Connemara woodland. The only Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star spa in Ireland sits on site, alongside Ireland's oldest falconry school, a nine-hole golf course, and a wine cellar holding 3,000 bottles from more than 12 countries. Rated 96 points by La Liste Top Hotels 2026.
Newmarket On Fergus, Ireland
Dromoland Castle in County Clare traces its ownership to the O'Brien clan, Gaelic Irish royalty from the tenth century, making it one of a small number of Irish castle hotels with that depth of lineage. The present Gothic revival structure dates to the nineteenth century and sits eight miles from Shannon Airport, with 75 rooms across a wooded lakeside estate. It holds the World Luxury Hotel Award for Global Winner in the Luxury Historical Hotel category.
Cashel, Ireland
A Palladian manor dating to 1732 on Cashel's main street, Cashel Palace earns 91 points from La Liste (2026). After a thorough renovation, its 42 rooms span the original manor, a Garden Wing, and outlying buildings, all within walking distance of the Rock of Cashel.
Kenmare, Ireland
Operating since 1897 and set above Kenmare Bay in County Kerry, Park Hotel Kenmare is a Relais & Châteaux member with 46 rooms and suites renovated by designer Bryan O'Sullivan to sit between Victorian heritage and contemporary comfort. The SÁMAS Spa, Landline restaurant, and one of Europe's larger whiskey collections give it a depth that few Irish country-house hotels can match at this scale.
Kenmare, Ireland
Sheen Falls Lodge sits on a 300-acre estate above Kenmare Bay, where the Sheen River spills toward the sea. A five-star Relais & Châteaux member rated 4.7 across nearly 700 reviews, the property combines fine dining at The Falls Restaurant, a championship golf course, and a full activity programme with five private cottages offering self-contained accommodation. Rates start from US$327 per night.
Dublin, Ireland
A Victorian-era nurses' boardinghouse converted into Dublin's only five-star boutique hotel, the Dylan occupies a quiet residential address just off Baggot Street in Ballsbridge. With 72 rooms, Italian marble interiors, Murano glass chandeliers, and a La Liste 2026 score of 90.5 points, it occupies a specific niche in the city's luxury tier: intimate in scale, character-driven in design, and within walking distance of the Georgian core.
Cork, Ireland
A family-owned five-star manor set on Perrott Avenue in Cork, Hayfield Manor earned 91.5 points in the La Liste Top Hotels 2026 ranking and won Country Winner for Best Presidential Suite. Its 88 individually styled rooms, signature Orchids restaurant, and the first Elemis spa in Ireland place it in a distinct tier among Cork's hotel options, closer in character to a country house than a city property.
Dublin, Ireland
A 42-room Victorian townhouse on Adelaide Road, The Wilder Townhouse sits in the residential calm south of St. Stephen's Green, close enough to walk to the city centre but insulated from it. Starting at $245 per night, it occupies a well-defined niche between the large five-star properties on Grafton Street and the smaller guesthouses of the Georgian core, with a Gin and Tea Rooms bar and period interior details intact.
Cork, Ireland
Set on 220 acres of East Cork parkland, Castlemartyr Resort pairs an 18th-century manor house with the ruins of a 13th-century Templar castle. The property holds a two-Michelin-star restaurant, an ESPA spa, and a Ron Kirby-designed golf course, placing it among a small cohort of Irish country-house resorts where serious dining and serious wellness occupy the same address.
Straffan, Ireland
Set on 550 acres of County Kildare countryside, The K Club occupies Straffan House, a restored Georgian manor that anchors one of Ireland's most-awarded resort properties. A Global Winner for Luxury Golf Resort and Continent Winner for Luxury Country Hotel, it holds a 2026 Star Wine List recognition and runs seven distinct dining and drinking spaces across the estate. Dublin Airport sits roughly 30 minutes by car.
Ballyvaughan, Ireland
A 250-year-old manor house on the edge of the Burren, Ireland's limestone karst national park, Gregans Castle Hotel has operated as a country house hotel since the 1940s. Its 20 rooms range from traditional bedrooms to contemporary suites, and the dining room draws on Burren beef, lamb, and Atlantic seafood. The property sits roughly an hour from Shannon Airport and closes seasonally between December and mid-February.
Dublin, Ireland
On the north side of St. Stephen's Green, at the summit of Grafton Street, The Fitzwilliam Hotel Dublin occupies one of the city's most walkable addresses.
Dublin, Ireland
On Balfe Street in Dublin 2, The Westbury occupies one of the Irish capital's most strategically placed addresses, with Grafton Street at the front and the Creative Quarter behind. A Forbes Recommended property and Leading Hotels of the World member since at least 2025, it has spent four decades building a reputation as a social and cultural hub. The Gallery's afternoon tea has become a Dublin institution in its own right.
Wexford, Ireland
A Relais & Châteaux member set on the Courtown Road outside Gorey, Marlfield House occupies a Regency-era country house with walled gardens and a reputation for formal dining in County Wexford.
Limerick, Ireland
A meticulously restored 1830 Georgian townhouse on Limerick's Pery Square, No. 1 Pery Square occupies a different register from the city's larger hotel stock. Twenty rooms divide between period-faithful Georgian suites and a more contemporary clubhouse style, with the Long Room restaurant, a bespoke cocktail bar, afternoon tea in the drawing room, and a candlelit basement spa completing the picture. Rates from $205 per night.
Killarney, Ireland
On the lakeshore edge of Killarney National Park, The Europe Hotel & Resort positions itself among Ireland's larger resort properties, with 180 rooms, a two-storey ESPA spa, four distinct dining venues, and wall-to-wall lake views that define the stay from check-in to departure.
Killarney, Ireland
Among Ireland's independent five-star properties, The Killarney Park occupies a distinct position: town-centre address, 69 individually decorated rooms, private gardens, and direct walking access to Killarney National Park. A Leading Hotels of the World member, it runs its own fine dining restaurant, spa with 20-metre pool, and a gin-focused garden bar without the scale or anonymity of a resort footprint.
Killarney, Ireland
A 33-room boutique hotel on Muckross Road, The Victoria sits at the edge of Killarney National Park with direct access to walking and cycling trails. Country-house details meet a lighter contemporary hand in the décor, while The Courtyard restaurant functions as a genuine local draw. Rooms from $200 per night place it in the accessible end of Killarney's boutique tier.
Galway, Ireland
A five-star estate hotel set on 138 acres beside Lough Corrib, ten minutes from Galway City, Glenlo Abbey earns its La Liste Top Hotels 2026 recognition through a combination of Georgian architecture, two restored Orient Express carriages converted into a dining destination, and a spa and estate activities programme that extends well beyond a standard country house stay.
Ardmore, Ireland
On the southern edge of Ardmore Bay in County Waterford, Cliff House Hotel positions itself firmly in the boutique, destination-led tier of Irish coastal hospitality. Its terraces open directly onto craggy Atlantic-facing rock formations, placing the sea at the centre of the stay rather than the periphery. Recognised in the 2026 La Liste Top Hotels ranking with a score of 93.5 points, it competes on atmosphere and specificity rather than scale.
Dublin, Ireland
On the edge of Merrion Square in the heart of Georgian Dublin, The Leinster occupies a setting where art galleries, design studios, and museums define the immediate neighbourhood. The hotel positions itself around considered hospitality and the slower rhythms of a city that still values the art of lingering, placing it in a distinct tier among Dublin 2's character-led properties.
Ireland
Selected entries from the current guide for Ireland.
Baltimore, Ireland
Baba'de sits a short walk from its Michelin-starred sibling Dede in the seaside village of Baltimore, County Cork, bringing Turkish flavours rooted in Irish produce to a more relaxed, wallet-friendly format. The Bib Gourmand-recognised sharing plates, from menemen at breakfast to the signature içli köfte, translate the same culinary rigour as the flagship into an all-day, come-as-you-are setting.
Dublin, Ireland
Bar 1661 on Green Street is Dublin's foremost poitín bar, ranked among the leading 500 Bars in the world (#201, 2025) and widely credited with repositioning Ireland's native spirit as a serious cocktail ingredient. The programme goes deeper than novelty: poitín appears across the menu as a genuine technical foundation, placing this address at the centre of a broader conversation about Irish drinks identity.
Dublin, Ireland
Ranked #392 in the Top 500 Bars list for 2025, Vintage Cocktail Club occupies a Crown Alley address in the heart of Temple Bar and operates at a level that separates it from the district's more tourist-facing options. The bar takes a sourcing-led approach to its drinks program, with a focus on heritage spirits and considered production provenance that places it firmly in Dublin's serious cocktail tier.
Glasthule, Ireland
64 Wine on Glasthule Road has earned consecutive Star Wine List recognition from 2023 through 2026, placing it among Ireland's most consistently rated wine-focused venues. Sitting in the coastal village of Glasthule, just south of Dún Laoghaire, it operates in a tier where the list does the talking and the room earns its reputation through depth rather than spectacle.
Dublin, Ireland
A Fianco brings Calabrian cooking and a serious Italian wine program to Stoneybatter, one of Dublin's more character-rich residential neighbourhoods. Roberto's menu and list draw directly from southern Italy, with a breadth across Italian regions that places it in a different category from the city's more generic Italian dining options. The welcome is warm, the wine knowledge deep.
Dublin, Ireland
Bar Pez on Kevin Street Lower has held a Star Wine List award every year from 2023 through 2026, placing it among a small group of Dublin bars where the wine list is the primary draw rather than an afterthought. Situated in Portobello, it operates at the more considered end of the neighbourhood's drinking scene, where format and bottle selection matter as much as atmosphere.
Dublin, Ireland
Dublin, Ireland
Ely Wine Bar on Ely Place has held Star Wine List recognition in 2023, 2024, and 2026, placing it among Dublin's most consistently acknowledged wine venues. Set in a Georgian townhouse in Dublin 2, it operates in a tier of wine-led spaces that prioritise list depth over cocktail-forward formats. For anyone planning a wine-focused evening in the city, it represents one of the more considered options south of the Liffey.
Dublin, Ireland
Frank's on Camden Street Lower has earned back-to-back Star Wine List recognition in 2023 and 2026, placing it among a select tier of Dublin venues where the drinks list is taken as seriously as the room itself. On a stretch defined by casual bars and late-night traffic, Frank's operates at a different register, a reference point for wine-led drinking in the city's south inner city.
Dublin, Ireland
A Star Wine List 2026-recognised wine shop and bar in Terenure, south Dublin, Green Man Wines operates in the specialist tier of Ireland's independent wine retail scene.
Dublin, Ireland
On Drury Street in the heart of Dublin's creative quarter, Loose Canon has become the city's reference point for natural, orange, and off-the-beaten-track wine. The window seat is prime real estate for watching the street below while working through something skin-contact and unconventional. A toastie and a glass of something unexpected: that's the offer, and it lands consistently.
Cork, Ireland
MacCurtain Street's wine cellar has earned Star Wine List recognition three consecutive years running, from 2024 through 2026, placing it among Ireland's most consistently awarded wine destinations. Located in Cork's Victorian Quarter, it occupies the kind of address where serious drinkers return not out of novelty but out of habit. The list is the draw; the neighbourhood is the reason it works.
Dublin, Ireland
Housed inside the RHA Gallery on Ely Place, Margadh operates as a daytime café before shifting into a wine bar with a tasting menu format each evening. The concept places Irish produce at the centre of both the food and drinks program, making it one of the more considered dual-format venues in Dublin 2. The name translates from Irish as 'market', a signal of intent rather than decoration.
Dublin, Ireland
Ranked #360 in the World's Top 500 Bars for 2025, Peruke & Periwig on Dawson Street occupies a corner of Dublin's social fabric that predates the city's current cocktail renaissance. The bar draws on the neighbourhood's Georgian character and a regulars-first atmosphere that puts it closer to the serious Dublin pub tradition than to the trend-chasing end of the city's bar scene.
Killarney, Ireland
Pig's Lane occupies a subterranean space on College Street in Killarney, where myth-inspired cocktails meet reclaimed design and a serious whisky parlour. The bar sits at the intersection of Irish storytelling tradition and contemporary drink-making, drawing visitors and locals who arrive for the programme and stay for the atmosphere. It is one of the more purposefully conceived bars in the Kerry region.
Dublin, Ireland
Piglet Wine Bar occupies a compact space on Cow's Lane in Temple Bar, holding three consecutive Star Wine List awards (2023, 2024, 2026). The bar operates squarely within Dublin's shift toward specialist, wine-first drinking venues, where the food programme is built to complement the glass rather than compete with it. A precise, low-fuss address for anyone who treats wine as the main event.
Kinsale, Ireland
A bookshop on Kinsale's Main Street by day, Prim's transforms after dark into one of Ireland's most quietly committed sherry bars, drawing comparisons to the dim-lit bodegas of Jerez. The sherry list is the point here, paired with bar snacks that hold their own against the wine. It is the kind of place that rewards those who find it.
Kinsale, Ireland
The Black Pig has held Star Wine List recognition in both 2024 and 2026, placing it among a small tier of Irish venues where the wine and spirits programme carries as much weight as the food. Located on Lower O'Connell Street in Kinsale, it operates within one of Ireland's most serious small-town dining and drinking scenes, drawing visitors who come specifically for depth of list rather than novelty.
Galway, Ireland
The Universal on William Street West holds a 2026 Star Wine List award, placing it among the more seriously curated drinking destinations in Galway. The bar operates within a city where craft cocktail culture and considered wine programmes increasingly define the premium bar scene. For those tracking Ireland's western drinking circuit, it registers as a reference point worth knowing.
Waterford, Ireland
UNioN Wine, Bar & Kitchen on Waterford's The Mall has earned Star Wine List recognition three consecutive times, 2023, 2024, and 2026, placing it among Ireland's most consistently awarded wine-focused bars. The format blends a thoughtful wine list with a kitchen and bar programme in a city that has historically been underserved by that kind of specialist attention.
Dublin, Ireland
The Collins Club at The Leinster suits Dublin drinkers who want cocktail technique made legible rather than hidden behind bartender mystique. Its programme explains each serve through photography, alcohol content, flavour markers and ingredient detail, with the Butter Old Fashioned setting the tone for a bar that treats clarity as part of the pleasure.
Dublin, Ireland
Situated inside The Westbury on Balfe Street, The Sidecar occupies the quieter, more considered end of Dublin's hotel bar scene. Where many hotel bars default to generic programming, this one trades in a more deliberate drinks format, positioning it alongside the city's serious cocktail addresses rather than its lobby lounges.
Cork, Ireland
Cork, Ireland
Arthur Mayne's Pharmacy occupies a converted Victorian chemist's shop on Pembroke Street in Cork city centre, where the original apothecary fittings set the physical backdrop for a cocktail programme that draws on heritage aesthetics without being defined by them. The bar sits within Cork's growing premium drinking scene, alongside destinations like Cask and MacCurtain Wine Cellar, and rewards visitors who prioritise atmosphere alongside technical craft.
Ireland
Selected entries from the current guide for Ireland.
Midleton, Ireland
Located on Distillery Walk within the historic Midleton complex, it sits at the premium end of Irish whiskey tourism, where provenance, production heritage, and single pot still tradition converge. Visitors to Midleton's distillery quarter will find it an anchor point for understanding how Irish whiskey earned its current international standing.
Dublin, Ireland
The Jameson Distillery on Bow Street in Dublin's Smithfield quarter is one of Ireland's most visited whiskey experiences, housed in the original 1780 distillery building that produced Jameson for over two centuries. Tours run throughout the day across multiple formats, from standard walkthroughs to blending masterclasses.
Dublin, Ireland
The tasting room format moves through single malt, small batch, and experimental cask releases in a setting that grounds Irish whiskey's urban revival in its original geography. It is one of the more considered whiskey experiences in the city.
Tullamore, Ireland
Tullamore D.E.W. The visitor experience connects the town's distilling heritage directly to the grain-forward character that defines this style of triple-distilled Irish whiskey. For anyone tracing Ireland's whiskey geography beyond Dublin, Tullamore is where the inland story begins.
Midleton, Ireland
Powers John's Lane (Midleton) sits within one of Ireland's most storied whiskey-making addresses, bringing the historic John's Lane distilling tradition into the Midleton complex in County Cork.
Dublin, Ireland
Occupying a site steeped in the city's distilling heritage, it sits within the same Liberties corridor as several of Dublin's other active distilleries, making it a reference point in the current Irish whiskey revival.
Midleton, Ireland
Powers John's Lane sits in the heavier, more textural lane of Irish whiskey: 12-year-old single pot still, bottled at 46% ABV, built on malted and unmalted barley with ex-bourbon maturation and an Oloroso sherry-cask component. Its appeal is not novelty but structure, spice, oiliness and a clear link between historic Dublin whiskey identity and modern Midleton production.
