International restaurants in Ireland
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A
Sixty6
This swanky New York–style brasserie is one of the most popular party-dinner spots in town – the kind of place at which you’d want to celebrate your birthday with friends. It does a mean rotisserie chicken, four different ways at any given time. Besides its signature dish, the meat-heavy menu features things like lamb shank and a particularly good bit of liver. For that special occasion, there’s a whole roast pig, but you need to order seven days in advance and be in a group of eight.
reviewed
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B
Currans
A retirement home for Cork's unwanted fixtures and fittings, Currans' interior is entirely made up of artefacts salvaged from the city's demolished buildings. The wood panelling comes from the GPO, the radiators from Linville Hospital, even the lift is reclaimed from the tax office. The menu is a similar hotch-potch of reliable favourites - pizzas, burgers, seafood and steaks - and there's a delightful rooftop terrace if you ever tire of the interior.
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C
Market Lane
It's always hopping at this bright corner bistro with an open kitchen. Service is quick and attentive, but you may want to pause at the long wooden bar anyway. The menu is broad, and changes often to reflect what's fresh: how about braised ox cheekstew to challenge the palate? Steaks come with awesome aioli. The €10 lunch menu, with half a sandwich, soup and tea or coffee, is a steal. Lots of wines by the glass.
reviewed
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Scoffs Wine Bar & Restaurant
This busy restaurant has a modern vibe with shades of chocolate-brown and burgundy, dark wood and dim candlelight, and an international menu that includes braised lamb shank with creamy mash and redcurrant and rosemary gravy, and spicy vegetable and sunflower seed tortillas with tomato sauce and créme fraiche. The downstairs wine bar offers lighter meals. Three-course Sunday lunch costs £18.
reviewed
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D
Mash
This tiny, eclectic place is run by Bobby and Jerome, possibly the friendliest hosts in the capital. It is well regarded for its tasty, homemade dishes and cosy atmosphere, and the small menu features daily specials such as Thai chicken curry, roast red snapper, organic steaks or the popular range of Mash potato cakes, all made with TLC and served with a smile.
reviewed
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Grant's Of Omagh
Grant's – as in US president Ulysses S Grant – bathes in a golden glow of Irish emigrant nostalgia, from the fiddle and bodhrán (hand-held goatskin drum) on the wall above the smoke-blackened fireplace in the front bar to the American-themed restaurant in the back, with a menu that ranges from steak, burgers and lasagne to rack of ribs and Cajun chicken.
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E
Restaurant David Norris
Norris' modern façade is uninspiring, but inside the décor is stylish and the menu exciting. Starters such as crisp-fried calamari are terrific. The emphasis is on steaks and shanks, but vegetarians and fish fanciers have delicious options too. A four-course early bird special is available until 19:00 Monday to Friday.
reviewed
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F
Stage Bar & Bistro
This stylish little place is a chilled-out haven of coffee- and cream- coloured sofas and chairs in the theatre lobby, with a menu that offers some tasty vegetarian dishes – try the brie, red onion and spinach tart – as well as the steak sandwich with caramelised onions, and baked sea bass with curried mango dressing.
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G
Vintage Restaurant
The décor may be a little fusty these days but the Vintage is one of the reasons that Kinsale deserves its gourmet label, with prices that are truly justifiable. Unbeatable dishes range from oyster starters to mains of lobster in brandy or sea bass in white port crème; fish that demand a magic touch - and get it.
reviewed
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Kalbo's Bistro
This local favourite recently downsized to give the owners a slight break for their well-deserved popularity. But the simply prepared classic meals continue. Locally sourced produce and a deft hand in the kitchen mean that pancakes in the morning and bacon sandwiches at lunch are tops. Dinners are creative.
reviewed
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Windrose
This stylish, modern bar-bistro, with a more formal restaurant upstairs (mains £15 to £25, dinner only), serves a range of dishes from fisherman's pie and mussels to steaks and stir-fries. The outdoor terrace overlooking the forest of yacht masts in the marina is a real sun-trap on a summer afternoon.
reviewed
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H
Epicurean Food Hall
Need to refuel? Then this busy arcade with 20-odd food stalls is just the ticket. Quality is hit and miss, but you won’t go wrong with a hot bagel with the works from Itsabagel or a finger-licking kebab from Istanbul House, rounded off with an espresso from the excellent El Corte.
reviewed
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Scoozi's
There's lots of exposed brickwork and burnished wood inside this hugely popular café-restaurant. Snug alcoves add intimacy as the fast and friendly young staff dish up breakfasts, pizzas, pastas, grills and a fair selection of wine. It's a great place for families too.
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J
Nash 19
A sensational bistro with a small market inside; local foods are honoured from breakfast to lunch and on to tea. Fresh scones draw in the crowds early; daily fresh specials (soups, salads, desserts, etc) and an incredible burger keep them coming through the rest of the day.
reviewed
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K
Encore Brasserie
Set in the lobby of the city's main cultural venue, the Encore is a stylish little place with friendly, efficient service and a crowd-pleasing menu of perennial favourites from home-made lasagne to slow-braised lamb shanks served with honey-glazed carrots.
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Vista Wine Bar
This shiny modern bar has spectacular views over the marina, and diners can enjoy the rhythmic clank, clank, clank of rigging banging on boats. Come for quiches and the baking at lunch, tapas in the evening (from 6pm) and wine and coffee any time of day.
reviewed
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Jack Patrick's
Run by one of the top local butchers – the shop is next door – this simple restaurant is just the choice if you want to get out of your shell and have some meat. Steaks and chops and other meaty mains, like bacon and cabbage, are on offer here.
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Heavens Above
For those wanting an eat-out treat without too much formality, the atmosphere is just right at this dark-wood-and-candles restaurant. The large portions will appeal to fans of fine meat, seafood and vegetarian dishes.
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Woulfe’s Horseshoe Bar
Enjoy the cosiness of the downstairs bar or the upstairs restaurant at this long-established place, which features window gnomes. The menu offers a full range of pub standards including an array of daily roasts.
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Fléva
There’s a postmodern sense of experimentation at this art-filled restaurant. Locally sourced produce is complemented by flavoursome accompaniments like wholegrain mustard, minted peas and celeriac purée.
reviewed
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Spaniard Bar & Restaurant
This is a classic pub on Scilly, with low ceilings and a peat fire, so why not crack open some crab claws or settle for a sandwich at the bar. Prices for most dishes at the bar are around €10; there's a pricier restaurant upstairs, which serves more or less the same food as downstairs but doesn't have half the atmosphere.
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Franzini O'Brien's
Buzzing local favourite, with a casual atmosphere and an eclectic menu spanning nachos to teriyaki chicken with noodles, and duck wontons.
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Mozart's
Not content with composing Don Giovanni, he's inspired a bistro in Tralee. Mozart's is great for a daytime bite, serving burritos and baps, focaccias and croissants.
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Mai Fitz's
A pleasant, small pub serving chowder, breaded mushrooms and the like. After 15:00, solider dishes like Dingle Bay scampi are available.
reviewed
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Sale e Pepe
Despite the name, there's only a handful of Italian dishes on a menu that emphasises well-prepared steaks, fish and chips, and homemade organic burgers.
reviewed
