Guide to Visiting Dublin, Ireland

Feb 23, 2017 · 4 min read

Introduction

I really enjoy visiting Dublin, so I put together a list of places that I’ve been to and enjoyed. It’s not a full complete list, but has most of my favorites. I’ll continue to add to it when I have time.

Tips

MyTaxi is used more than Uber for ride-sharing.
For 20 euro a month, you can get unlimited data with the carrier, 3. They have a store on Grafton St. Once you have a 3 sim, you can top up 20 euro at the airport.
There’s an ATM at the airport on the right when you get out of the baggage claim (next to the convenience store where you can top up your sim)
I’ve found that the “best places” on Trip Advisor and Yelp aren’t necessarily the best places to go (at least for food).

Coffee & Tea

Most of these places have good pour over coffee and/or good mochas.

3FE: One my favorite places. A little out of the way from city center, but really good coffee.
Proper Order: Really good coffee in Smithfield. I really liked their mocha. Fun fact — co-owner was just named the best barista in Ireland.
Coffee Angel: Near Grafton Street and St Stephens Green.
Sasha House Petite: Little coffee shop next to a car park in city center.
Clement and Pekoe: Really nice tea and coffee. I recommend their ginger lemon tea. Two different locations, one on South William St (bigger location) and one Essex St (smaller location in the Indigo clothing store)
Industry: Nice little coffee shop in the Industry store. I had a nice mocha there.
Brother Hubbard: Good coffee and good food (also mentioned below for food). I had a nice mocha here too.

Breakfast and Lunch

Hatch and Sons (Breakfast, Lunch): Double Baked Eggs, Sausages, and Soda Bread plate is awesome! The orange juice is small, but really fresh. Right next to Grafton St and St. Stephen’s Green.
Fumbally (Breakfast, Lunch): Super hipster. Really good food. The daily specials are usually really good. For breakfast, their yogurt and granola is really good. For lunch, definitely get the Avocado dish!
Fish Shop (Lunch): Best fish and chips I’ve ever had. I’ve only been to the fish and chips shop and not the seafood restaurant. They only serve three items on the menu: fish and chips (you can add a side salad), fish sandwich, and mussels.
Brother Hubbard (Breakfast, Lunch): The couple things I’ve tried here for lunch I really like. Their breakfast is really good too. Definitely get their eggs sand toast. Personal preference — I don’t really care for the pulled pork here.
Blas Cafe (Lunch): Cool cafe with good food. Three salad plate is really good. Similar vibe to Fumbally, but more simple atmosphere.
Odessa (Brunch): Nice Sunday brunch. Good eggs benedict and french toast.
Camden Rotisserie (Lunch): Super simple, but best rotisserie chicken I’ve ever had.
Skinflint (Lunch): Really nice pizzas for lunch.

Dinner

For most of these places, you should call ahead and make a reservation- even if you are only calling an hour or couple hours before going.

Etto: One of my go to places every time I’m in Dublin. Everything is really good, but the seabream and Côte de bœuf are amazing.
Il Vicoletto: Really good Italian food at reasonable prices. My favorites here are the bruschetta, calamari, seafood pasta, and panocotta for dessert.
Featherblade: Simple menu with really good food. Featured item is their featherblade steak- only 13 euro and +5 for shrimp (but don’t let the price undersell you because it’s really good). Really good food and atmosphere.
Pichet: Nice French food
Ely Wine Bar: All their food and wine was really good in general.

Dessert & Snacks

Queen of Tarts: Definitely put Queen of Tarts on the list. Amazing pastries! There’s two locations, so make sure to go to the location on Cows Lane.

Shopping

Powerscourt: Good number of small shops with a food court in the middle. Really cool atmosphere.
Avoca: Urban Outfitters like store local to Dublin. Neat to walk around and see things.
Industry: Discovered this store recently. A lot of cool industrial looking things with a coffee shop inside of it.

Places to Visit (City Center)

Guiness Storehouse: Really cool and well done tour and a free Guiness at the end! Pro-tip- you save like 2 bucks if you buy the ticket online.
Dublin Castle: It’s right in the middle of the city center and it’s cool to check out and see. There’s two parts of it to check out: (1) the courtyard of the castle and (2) the grass lawn by the library. Both are cool to visit. I didn’t do nor think the tour is worth it.
Trinity College: At the end of Grafton Street. Architecture of the buildings is really cool.

Places to Visit (Day Trip)

Hoath: About a 30 minute train ride (via DART). Really scenic and a nice cliff walk.
Bray to Greystones Cliff Walk: Really pretty walk along the coast. Bray is accessible by the DART and you can take the DART back from Greystones. When you get to the end in Greystones, you should go to the https://thehappypear.ie/ for pretty amazing fresh vegetarian food.

Cocktails

Peruke & Periwig: Small place, but really good cocktails.
More to come here…

Pubs

A couple nice ones off the top of my head are: Grogans, Church, Exchequer, Toners, Cobblestone
More to come here…