15 Best Restaurants in St. Stephen's Green and Around, Dublin

The unpretentious brilliance of this husband-and-wife restaurant and deli just off Nassau Street is what makes the classy little Italian joint so popular. The menu is extensive but simple: panini, a horde of antipasti, a few choice pasta specials, and some evening meat dishes and desserts. The all-Italian kitchen staff work wonders with high-quality imported ingredients. The gnocchi with a slow-cooked ragù of Gilligan's Hereford Irish beef makes a great lunch. A couple of long tables are perfect for groups, and the hundreds of bottles of wine on shelves cover every inch of the walls. 

This fresh, one-stop shop for everything organic and delicious in Dublin combines a huge deli with a cozy cellar wine bar and expansive second-floor French brasserie. Located on the top floor of a beautiful old telephone exchange building, the high-ceiling, light-filled dining room is always bustling. The menu covers everything from burgers to loin of rabbit, but the Wicklow pork belly, celeriac, and Savoy cabbage are typical. Leave room for the lemon-ricotta cheesecake. You can pick up a bottle of wine in the wine cellar and enjoy it for a small corkage fee.

Located upstairs at the wonderful French Paradox wine shop, this cozy new restaurant sees celebrated local chef Grainne O'Keefe work her magic on the best of Irish produce. The fixed-price tasting menu changes with the seasons, moving from starters like aubergine tart with goat cheese and pickled walnut to meat courses like Iberico pork, with anchovy, dates, and confit potato. 

"Street food" is a painfully abused term in the dining world, but this downstairs Thai joint in the heart of Ranelagh has the authentic flavors and spice of a Bangkok noodle stall. The narrow dining area is beautifully tiled in simple colors and packs out quickly with locals and visitors. The Capmoo (pork scratchings with green chili relish) is a stunning starter, and the Hor Mok Talay (red seafood curry with coconut milk, prawn, egg, and Thai sweet basil) a favorite main. Finish with the zesty lychee cheesecake with fresh mint.

Chef-owner Eamonn O'Reilly cuts quite a dash, but it's his sophisticated, daring, contemporary cuisine that tends to seduce visitors to his little restaurant tucked away in a quiet lane only a few minutes from Stephen's Green. As is usual with Dublin's luxe eateries, the fixed-price lunch and pre-theater menus offer great value. Try the incredible scallop ceviche to start. Dishes such as pigeon with chicory, salsify, and baked celeriac puree demonstrate the mix of traditional and cutting-edge cuisine. 

Head chef Alex Zhang has brought his own brand of daring Northern Chinese cuisine to this cool, new, city-center spot. The menu changes regularly, but the deep-fried duck wings tossed in secret seasoning and the fresh Irish lobster with tofu egg custard are typically thrilling dishes.

Former Michelin-star celebrity chef Dylan McGrath has another hit on his hands with Fade Street Social, a cavernous tapas bar, restaurant, and pub all rolled into one. At 8,000 square feet, the place can seem a bit overwhelming, but if you want a busy, fun, all-in-one dining-and-drinking experience, this place is ideal. Try a seat at the bar, where you can watch the kitchen staff work their magic as they turn out exquisite tapas and hearty but inventive meat dishes, all with a modern Irish twist. The whole poached pigeon is an original tapas offering, while the braised rabbit leg is already a favorite main.

Its name is the Gaelic word for green, and all things local and natural are at the heart of Dublin's first high-end vegetarian restaurant. The brash, luxurious interior matches the daring menu, which includes barbecue celeriac with roast potato puree, cucumber, mint, and potato paper. Try the carrot sponge with spiced cream and pear and hay sorbet for dessert. 

Foodie and fashionista couple Chloe Kearney and Niall McDermott returned from London to open this standout addition to the flourishing Ranelagh dining scene. Behind the minimalist white exterior lies a small but buzzing ambience and some inventive food with a Mediterranean twist. The menu is short but very adventurous: the lobster, crab, and kohlrabi is a stylish starter and the shiitake mushroom tagliolini a favorite main. Add delicious sides like broccoli with pomegranate and yogurt then finish with a dessert of ricotta cheesecake with black currant.

This exceptional eatery just off George's Street lost a little of its intimacy when it expanded, but the crowds still come for authentic French food at a fair price. Start with 12 snails, fresh herbs, garlic, and pastis butter. For a main course, the slow-roasted pork belly with black pudding manages to be hearty and adventurous at the same time. Desserts have a devilishly childish touch to them—passion-fruit cake with white chocolate sauce is a typical example. Pop next door to Hogan's bar while you're waiting.

This Breton-inspired, unpretentious eatery has one of the most inviting and good-value menus in the city. The look is very much casual bistro, a satisfying backdrop for starters like the beet risotto with winter truffles, and such mouthwatering mains as the loin of venison with red cabbage and celeriac paste. 

Glowing with gilded chandeliers and graced with a few marble fireplaces, this American-style steak house in a restored Georgian town house offers a sleekly elegant setting in which to chow down on some of the most tender Irish Angus beef this side of the Atlantic (they cook it in a special high-temperature oven, searing the outside to keep the inside good and juicy). If steak doesn't float your boat, they also do a mean baked turbot with mussels, clams, and creamed fennel and leek. Oreo-cookie-crust cheesecake is the perfect way to finish off the feast, but many will consider the decor—think sash windows, gilt mirrors, and plush carpets—rich enough.

When Dublin's growing Chinese population wants a big, uptown night out, they come here. The surroundings are modest, with large round tables (ideal for groups) in a somewhat dark but comfortable room. The food is authentic and inspired—ask for the black-cover Chinese menu, not the standard, dumbed-down one. The dim sum selection is nonpareil in Ireland, the scallop dumplings are a standout, and the chili-salt squid melts in the mouth. It's the perfect spot to order a load of dishes to be shared by an adventurous group. 

It can be hard to re-create that classic bistro feel outside France, but this intimate spot at the heart of busy Dublin has managed to get the mix of bustle and tranquility just right. A quick glance at the gilt-framed, mirrored menu reveals that this kitchen is all about rich, evocative French fare—two winners are the rib eye and the panfried bass. The Earl Grey cheesecake is an original, tangy take of a classic dessert. A mix of warm brick walls dotted with black-and-white snaps of French film stars from the 1950s and wood paneling with tongue-in-cheek French movie posters keeps the vibe informal. Lunch is a great value, and keep an eye out for adventurous plats du jour and lively wine list.

The open plan and family-style tables have kept Yamamori popular with noodle addicts and the younger, hipster crowd. The meals-in-a-bowl are a splendid slurping experience, and although you'll be supplied with a small Chinese-style soup spoon, the best approach is with chopsticks. The bento box combo meal is the best value in town. The seafood yaki soba, stir-fried egg noodles with a combination of fresh seafood and seasonal vegetables with wakame (an edible seaweed), is a favorite example. You can also get sushi and sashimi, delicious chicken teriyaki, or house specials like baked lobster.