Dublin: local food and drink guide

Pi

Opened in 2018 by John Savage and Reggie White, a former auctioneer who trained at Ballymaloe Cookery School, Pi is widely regarded as serving the best wood-fired pizzas in the Irish capital.

Using ‘00’ flour from Naples and fermenting the dough for 72 hours, the toppings include cheese and charcuterie from artisanal Irish producers such as Fingal Ferguson’s Gubbeen Smokehouse. Pi’s crushed tomato, fresh basil, scamorza, ’nduja, honey, parmigiano reggiano and garlic pizza was voted the best in Dublin this year. pipizzas.ie

Bastible

Detour off Dublin's tourist trail to find Bastible. Chef Barry Fitzgerald manned the stoves at London’s Arbutus and The Harwood Arms before answering the call of home and setting up this neighbourhood bistro.

Homemade butter and sourdough bread set the tone, and his three-course menu is predominantly locally sourced; think sika deer faggots, or black pudding with apple, onion broth and lardo. Two courses €32, three courses €38, and he also offers a chef’s menu for €34. bastible.com

Heron & Grey

The Michelin inspectors recently gave a well-deserved star to diminutive restaurant Heron & Grey located in Blackrock, a seaside suburb of Dublin. Its nine-course tasting menus – courtesy of co-owners Andrew Heron and Damien Grey – feature elegant plates of seasonally driven food, but the surroundings are unapologetically relaxed. It’s only open three nights a week and, as a result, you need to book early. heronandgrey.com

Eatyard

Dublin has a burgeoning street-food scene. Set next to the hip Bernard Shaw pub, the Eatyard is a rotating roster of some of the city’s best purveyors, including Box Burger, barbecue specialist Pitt Bros and toastie makers, Cheesus. It opens Thursday to Sunday for lunch and dinner. the-eatyard.com

The Stag's Head

A cherry-picked but ever-changing medley of established and emerging hot spots and artisanal producers feature on Fab Food Trails’ three-hour strolls through the city centre. Sheridan’s Cheesemongers on South Anne Street is one of its perennial favourites. fabfoodtrails.ie

Pickle

One of a number of places reinventing Dublin’s dining scene, Pickle has much in common with London’s new-wave Indian restaurants such as Dishoom and Gymkhana. Northern Indian-inspired dishes with an emphasis on game are served here – standouts include the slow-braised kid goat mince served with maska pao bread and wild boar vindaloo. picklerestaurant.com

Fish Shop

Wild Irish seafood gets star billing in the small, no-fuss dining room of Fish Shop, set just off the north bank of the River Liffey, near Smithfield. The four-course, no-choice menu changes daily and features whatever spankingly fresh fish and shellfish is available that day. It also has a little sister just around the corner, serving fish and chips, and a long list of biodynamic wines. fish-shop.ie

Bibis

On a quiet residential street, and only open during the day, Bibis was the first of a new breed of cafés that have since proliferated in the city offering inventive food and great coffee. It serves a short menu for breakfast and lunch – the Turkish eggs are a cult menu item and the peanut butter brownies are irresistible. bibis.ie

Forest Avenue

Named after a street in New York, where one half of the husband and wife team behind it grew up, Forest Avenue is one of the city’s must-visits. Seasonality and simple ingredients are the mantra here, combined to stunning effect in its range of tasting menus and plates like lamb, artichoke, smoked aubergine and black kale. forestavenuerestaurant.ie

Coffeeangel

Until the iconic Bewley’s Oriental Café re-opens this autumn on Grafton Street, head round the corner to South Anne Street to seek out a superior brew at Coffeeangel. Its choice of drip or espresso-based coffees are made with beans sourced from small co-operatives and single-estate producers. coffeeangel.com

How to do it

Return fares from a range of UK airports to Dublin cost from £30 return with Aer Lingus and Ryanair.

Double rooms at Number 31 start from €220 per night, b&b.

More info: visitdublin.com.

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Aoife O’Riordain is a food and travel writer (and regular olive contributor) who has been based in Dublin for many years.

Words | Aoife O’Riordain and Mark Taylor

Photographs | Bodytonic, David Conn