Best restaurants in Killucan

Chapter One by Mickael Viljanen

★★ Michelin€€€€Modern Cuisine

Mickael Viljanen’s restaurant is a stylish, elegant spot decorated with eye-catching art, where superb service complements truly top-drawer cooking. Prime luxury ingredients – like Donegal lobster or Limousin sweetbreads – are the bedrock of the menu, prepared using classic French techniques combined with subtle modern touches. The chef’s creativity and personality shine through in perfectly balanced, immaculately executed dishes with sublime natural flavours and beautiful presentation. The 'Irish Coffee' is made in the dining room and is, like everything else, an experience to remember.

The Morrison Room

★ Michelin€€€€Modern Cuisine

We all need a little luxury in our lives and this beautiful restaurant in the heart of the impressive Carton House mansion ticks all the boxes. The breathtaking room features a high curved ceiling, Greek Corinthian columns, ornate plaster cornicing and sweeping banquettes, while the menu matches it for opulence with an abundance of first-rate produce, be it Union Hall crab or Achill lamb. The cooking is rooted in the chefs’ strong classical technique, but some wildcard flavour combinations work wonders thanks to their fine judgement.

Ballyfin

★ Michelin€€€€Modern Cuisine

It takes some doing for a restaurant to stand out when it’s in a hotel as beautiful as this. Ballyfin Demesne is a spectacular, lovingly restored Regency-era manor house that screams luxury at every turn. The opulence continues into the dining room, where the chefs serve fittingly impressive dishes. Broths, purées and sauces are a real highlight and underline the technical skill of the kitchen team, be it a rich, glossy reduction or a roasted onion consommé with bags of flavour. Charming and attentive service completes the rather special picture.

Variety Jones

★ Michelin€€€€Modern Cuisine

You’ll find charming chef-owner Keelan Higgs working calmly in the open kitchen of this inviting corner restaurant. Terracotta tones, exposed brickwork and warm lighting add cosiness, while the relaxed atmosphere is helped along by brother Aaron and the laid-back service team. Highly original yet unfussy dishes burst with freshness and flavour, and many are cooked over the open fire; Keelan loves this concept, as no two dishes will ever be exactly the same. The "Chef’s Choice" menu is designed for sharing and the monthly changing, mostly organic wine list is passionately compiled.

Bastible

★ Michelin€€€€Modern Cuisine

This vibrant little restaurant with a lively spirit features an open kitchen in which you’ll find the chefs crafting their modern set menu around top-class Irish produce at the height of its season. This is cooking that comes from the heart, with the stripped-back dishes allowing each main ingredient to shine next to a few bold and beautifully judged accompaniments – such as butter-poached cod with an intense shellfish bisque or Anjou pigeon with a potent madeira jus. Start with an aperitif while you enjoy the delicate snacks.

🕐 We-Fr 18:00-21:30, Sa 12:30-14:45,18:00-21:30, Su 12:30-15:30

Thyme

Bib Gourmand€€Modern Cuisine

This long-standing restaurant is constantly evolving under the guidance of its proud and passionate chef-owner. Inside, the bright green décor adds a warm, stylish touch, while the atmosphere is regularly buzzing thanks to the restaurant's understandable popularity. The cooking is based around quality local produce, shown off in well-judged dishes that bring together harmonious flavours and textures. The menus mix new, seasonal creations with perennial favourites like the glazed ham hock with crispy hen's egg. The delightful service adds to the appeal and the early evening 'Value Menu' is a st

BORGO

Bib Gourmand€€Italian

Transplanting the Italian osteria to the Irish capital, this former bank has no trouble filling its large space with an almighty buzz from the many happy diners feasting on its simply delicious cooking. The enticing menu ranges from sourdough pizzette to homemade pastas and a wood-fired section showcasing prime fish and meat. The generous, well-priced plates have an honest simplicity to them, with recognisable dishes cooked with skill and packing in plenty of flavour. For dessert, consider the polenta cake with seasonal fruit.

Spitalfields

Bib Gourmand€€Traditional Cuisine

In a historic area of the capital, you'll find this fittingly traditional-looking Irish pub, where the charming staff offer a friendly welcome. It's an understandably popular spot, with drinkers welcome in the bar, but most people come here for the food. Go for a table on the ground floor near the open kitchen if you want a bit of buzz, while the upstairs has a more traditional feel with its wood parquet floor and panelled ceiling. The cooking mixes traditional dishes like 'cock-a-leekie' pie with more modern touches.

Uno Mas

Bib Gourmand€€Mediterranean Cuisine

The best seats in the house are at the counter in this buzzing, well-priced restaurant run by an enthusiastic, personable team. Start with some Spanish-inspired nibbles from the ‘para picar’ section – such as the signature creamy croquetas – before choosing one of the well-executed, unfussy main dishes which come with many layers of flavour and texture. The drinks list adds plenty to the experience, with a dedicated sherry offering and an expansive, all-Spanish wine selection that showcases the variety of the country's winegrowing regions.

BIGFAN

Bib Gourmand€€Asian, Chinese

With is colourful décor, bright lights and a loud, lively atmosphere, BIGFAN is Big Fun, so start with a cocktail, tick plenty of dishes on the list on your table, tuck in and enjoy. The authentic small plates take their influences from China and Taiwan; so expect dumplings, bao buns and xiao chi all delivering a wonderful freshness and generosity. The traditional 'Couples Beef', for instance, utilising overlooked offal ingredients, uses a brilliantly judged combination of condiments to elevate the produce. It's all excellent value for money and the efficient service team are a delight.

Amy Austin

Bib Gourmand€€Modern Cuisine

There is a palpable buzz to the atmosphere as soon as you set foot in this quirky restaurant in a lively area of the city. It’s not just the wine on tap that makes this such a popular spot – although it must help – but the superior small plates that offer detailed, precise cooking for a reasonable price tag. Grab a stool at one of the high-topped tables, or perhaps in front of the open kitchen, to enjoy globally influenced dishes like the vibrant Iberico pork with gooseberry, ajo blanco and salsa macha. Friendly service and signature cocktails help to keep the good vibes flowing.

Courthouse

Bib Gourmand€€Regional Cuisine

There's a wonderfully rustic feel to this relaxed restaurant where the buzz of contented diners bounces off the exposed brick walls and fills the room, right up to the vaulted ceiling. The cooking is unpretentious and accessible, with the chef excelling in taking less glamorous cuts and adding the right accompaniments to produce original dishes that are packed with flavour – like slow-cooked pork cheeks with smoked black pudding, creamed parsnip and apple ketchup. The friendly, infectiously joyful service really adds to the experience.

Alumni Kitchen Table

€€€€Modern Cuisine

There’s something charming about this personally run rural restaurant with a contemporary feel. Stay the night in one of their four rooms to make a proper occasion of your visit and dine either around the eight-seater communal table or at the small open kitchen island. The balanced tasting menu is quite an immersive experience, featuring a range of inventive, adventurous dishes using some prime Irish ingredients. Well-crafted artisan crockery, locally made leather items, fine cutlery and a well-chosen wine pairing all enhance the experience.

Neighbourhood

€€€Modern Cuisine

A pool of young but experienced talent came together to create this contemporary restaurant out of a former pub on the town's main street. The menu is so appealing you’ll have trouble choosing; all the dishes, which rely on superb produce, are comforting and satisfying, with some of the larger options designed for sharing. The bar upstairs offers a small plates menu as an alternative dining option. The service team are full of energy and really help to bring the room alive.

Brown Bear

€€Modern Cuisine

The village may seem appealingly sleepy, but this is an area renowned for the breeding and training of some top racehorses. The building sits on what was once part of the owner’s family dairy farm, with a lively locals’ bar on one side and a smart bistro on the other. The menu offers a mix of classical dishes and those displaying subtle international flavours, and there is a reassuring confidence to the service.

Grano

€€italian

To the northwest of the city, you’ll find this lovely little Italian restaurant specialising in homemade pasta. Unfussy dishes like spinach balanzoni or cavatelli with venison ragu are expertly cooked and deliver great flavours thanks to their quality ingredients. It’s a friendly and passionately run place, with an owner and chef who hail from Calabria and regularly import produce from their home town for an authentic touch. The all-Italian wine list features some organic and biodynamic options.

Vada

€€Modern Cuisine

You can’t help but fall for this rustic little restaurant and its warm, welcoming young team. Dark green walls and dried flowers are indicative of the nature-focused approach, with seasonal produce and a low-waste ethos key to its charms. In the day it’s a simple café serving particularly good coffee and viennoiserie, before the kitchen steps up a gear in the evening with cooking that is a feast for the eyes and the taste buds. Influences from across the globe are poured into the flavour-packed dishes, like an original venison fattoush salad with baba ganoush.

Matsukawa

€€€€Japanese, Sushi

With only eight seats around its counter, don’t be put off if you can’t secure a reservation at this sweetly run sushi restaurant at the first time of asking. The omakase menu is based around fine seafood produce, most of it Irish, with multiple servings of nigiri forming a large chunk of the experience – the hamachi and the salmon are particular highlights. The team are endearing and the service is not drawn-out, allowing you to enjoy a satisfying meal that doesn’t take all night. A good selection of sake and other Japanese spirits completes the offering.

Mr Fox

€€€Modern Cuisine

The basement of a red-brick Georgian townhouse plays host to this this welcoming restaurant, whose soft furnishings tie in with the colour scheme and the ornately patterned floor tiles. Cooking comes in the form of either an à la carte or a set chef's choice menu, with both of them containing fresh, flavoursome dishes. Prime Irish produce is a feature, such as wild venison with smoked blackberry, but so are global flavours and techniques in the likes of tempura langoustine with yuzu kosho. Service comes from a charming team.

HERA

€€International

Forming part of JUNO, a larger red-brick pub where you can enjoy a pre-dinner Guinness, this bustling gastropub comes with wood panelling, soft lighting and a subtle elegance. Its menu has a pub-cooking base but is given some enticing international twists. Take the classic Scotch egg, for instance, which might come in a lamb and harissa form, or perhaps a chorizo version with preserved lemon and basil aioli. High-quality Irish ingredients, from Carlingford oysters to Achill lamb, underpin the dishes’ success. To finish, the brown butter and miso tart is a real treat.

Kicky's

€€€Mediterranean Cuisine

A striking, pop art-style mural frames the kitchen pass at this casual, trendy and thoroughly lively restaurant. The airy interior features whitewashed brick walls, some counter seating and loud hip-hop. Start with ‘bites’ and small plates to share, before moving onto the concise selection of main courses cooked over charcoal. Fabulous produce like Wicklow venison and wild brill on the bone yields bold, satisfying flavours. Make sure you finish with the ‘Irish coffee’, their take on a tiramisu.

Lena

€€€Italian

There’s so much going for this neighbourhood Italian restaurant in the Portobello district of Dublin. For one, its immense popularity means there’s a brilliant buzz to the place; add to that its canalside setting and appealingly simple interior, and the stage is set for a terrific night out. Start with a glass from their well-chosen list of fine Italian wines, before diving into the roll-call of classic dishes. The ossobuco with risotto Milanese is a good choice, as is the light and well-balanced tiramisu. The friendly team manage the busy room with aplomb.

Pichet

€€€French

You can’t miss the neon red signs and striped canopies of this buzzy brasserie – and its checkerboard flooring makes the inside equally striking. Sit in one of two rooms, soaking up the buzz of either the bar or the kitchen as you enjoy the honest, full-flavoured cooking. The dishes may be inspired by France and other European cuisines, but there's a commitment to Irish produce throughout, such as beef from John Stone. The wine list stretches well beyond France’s borders, with many wines available to order by the glass or, more appropriately, by the pichet.

Kaldero

€€Filipino

Keep your eye out for this Filipino restaurant’s discrete entrance as you walk down King St South, because to miss its warm atmosphere and flavour-packed cooking would be a crying shame. Situated in a welcoming basement, its best seats are near the open kitchen, where you can feel the infectious buzz of the chefs. The menu is designed for sharing, so bring a few friends and try as many of the Filipino-Irish chef’s dishes as possible; look out for big, punchy flavours in the likes of ‘Dynamite Lumpia’ – chillis stuffed with pork mince.

La Gordita

€€Spanish

There’s a simple, cosy quality to La Gordita thanks to its narrow dining room with a wooden floor, brown leather upholstery and soft lighting. It’s got a lively atmosphere too, a great accompaniment to the authentic Spanish sharing plates, such as the 'arroz negro a la llauna' – fragrant, umami-packed squid ink rice with octopus and squid – whose extra cooking time is well worth the wait. Friendly service enhances the experience, and the extensive menu will have you rounding up friends so you can sample as much as possible.

Mister S

€€steak_house, grill

No one knows who Mister S is – or if he even exists – but no one really minds either, since they’re all here for the flavour-packed cooking over fire. Both charcoal and wood are used to help impart smoky aromas to the produce, but it's the natural flavours of the quality ingredients that really shine through, with the generous sirloin on the bone being a good example of what they're all about. Go with a group of friends, sit in one of the booths and order several dishes to share – perhaps including the signature burnt end rendang spring rolls.

🕐 Tu-Th 17:00-21:00, Fr 12:00-21:30, Sa 13:00-21:30

Delahunt

€€coffee_shop

Delahunt must surely be one of the most charming and characterful restaurants in Dublin. Exuding a sense of history throughout its quirky interiors, this old Victorian grocer's shop is mentioned in James Joyce’s ‘Ulysses’, and what was once the clerk’s snug is now a glass-enclosed private dining room. The cooking itself is a showcase for Irish produce, such as fine lamb from The Comeragh Mountains served with a punchy black olive ketchup. Either before or after dinner, 'The Sitting Room' makes a great place for a drink.

Pickle

€€€indian

The modest exterior of this restaurant belies the buzzing atmosphere within. It’s a busy spot and deservedly so, with fresh, vibrant dishes and a service team that do a great job of handling their huge popularity. With spices lined up on the kitchen counter, the chefs aim to marry Irish produce with Northern Indian techniques and flavours in what they sweetly call ‘pickle country’. There’s a good value midweek lunch menu on offer and a tasting menu at dinner alongside the à la carte.

Amai by Viktor

€€€Brazilian, Irish

Describing itself as ‘Brazilian Roots in Irish Soil’, this hidden-away restaurant offers something different to the Dublin dining scene. Set on the first floor of a former shoe shop, you ring the doorbell by the plain black door to enter, before being whisked up into the dining room. Foliage hangs from the ceiling, while a drawing of a favela pays homage to where Chef Viktor Silva grew up; the restaurant’s name, Amai, is a tribute to the women who raised him. The tasting menu fuses Irish produce with South American flavours in dishes that are packed with interesting flavours and textures.