It’s not easy trying to decide what were my top meals of 2024, considering the quality of Ireland’s food scene is consistently getting better and better. Since returning back to Dublin in June of 2024 after six months in Florida, I’ve had some incredible lunches, dinners and everything in between.

From wine bar snacks to tasting menu blow-outs, here’s the meals I find myself thinking about most when looking back at what has been a very tasty year…

Chapter One

Chapter One needs no introductions at this stage – one of Ireland’s best restaurants since opened in 1994 by Ross Lewis, it entered a new era in 2021 with Finnish chef Mickael Viljanen taking the helm in the kitchen and Chapter One now has two Michelin stars.

I was lucky enough to eat here twice in 2024, once in July and again in December. Both times I went for lunch, with each course a masterclass in how to balance innovation in both ingredient pairing and plating with incredible flavour that has you oohing and aahing over every last bite.

Highlights on my December visit were the famous chilled borscht ‘pill’ canapés; fois gras starter with apple, walnut and smoked eel, and the Wicklow Sika deer saddle with offal tart.

It’s my favourite restaurant in Ireland for a long, leisurely lunch, complemented with several bottles of wine (the Riedel glassware has yet to fall victim to my clumsy hands), and the best Irish coffees you’ll ever have, made tableside.

Baba’de

Baba’de (meaning ‘Baby Dede’), is the little sibling of Two Michelin-starred Dede in Baltimore, Cork, with a more casual – yet just as excellent – offering 

A roaring stove and exposed shingle brick create a warm and cosy atmosphere amplified by co-owner (of Dede also) Maria Archer’s passion and knowledge. 

Dishes on my visit included Flaggy Shore oysters with a Turkish-fusion dressing; whole West Cork blue lobster; Lahmacun, which is a BBQ flatbread with beef, lamb, garlic yoghurt and isot mint, as well as ‘Babe’de’-style fried chicken with a brown butter dip.

I’m already looking forward to coming back here in 2025, and I plan to come in for their weekend brunch menu too.

Two Faced

For the times when all I want to eat is what I like to call ‘snacky snacks’, Two Faced on Montague Lane is my go-to.

It’s a cosy little wine bar with excellent options by the glass and bottle (plus a regularly changing Chilled Red). The food menu consists of nibbles, sharing plates and no less than 11 options of premium tinned Spanish fish.

The crisps with jamón Serrano and the mackerel in a spicy curry sauce with mixed pickles and crackers are the perfect bite.

Grab the seat by the window counter, keep the wine flowing and people watch for an hour or two. 

Bar Pez

The sister restaurant to another favourite of mine, Fish Shop in Smithfield, Bar Pez is a tapas-style wine bar with an old-school wooden interior and bar that reminds me of the tapas bars in Madrid.

The chalkboard menu hanging above the bar changes regularly and consists mainly of smaller dishes, with a few larger plates to share or have as a main, such as turbot with caper butter. 

The crab sandwich is a must-order, with dressed crab on soft toasted bread with pickles. I love that they have cockles on the menu, too, something I wish more restaurants in Ireland would feature. 

The wine list here is deservedly award-winning, with 16 bottles available by the glass and a full list grouped into ‘rivers’, ‘oceans’, ‘mountains’, ‘hills and plains’, ‘Burgundy’ and ‘grower Champagne’. 

Organic and funky prevail here, and I was thrilled to see a Trebbiolo by La Stoppa winery in Emilia Romagna, Italy – La Stoppa is at the forefront of Northern Italy’s natural wine scene and on a recent visit to the region I had the pleasure of trying several of their bottles.

The staff here will help you hunt down the perfect wine to go with your meal and mood, and their expertise (particularly with a wine list that will be unfamiliar to many) is the cherry on top of a great all-around tapas spot.

Note

Low-key yet home to some of the best cooking in Dublin, Note on Fenian Street is a frontrunner amongst Ireland’s wine bar-slash-bistro vibes. The restaurant design merges sleek raw concrete, wood and retro floral tableware for an atmosphere that is both modern yet homey.

This is a place to come with people who like to share food (the only people I want to eat with, to be honest), as each dish on the menu is too tempting to pass up. The menu changes regularly (including a weekly changing lunch menu which at €32 for three courses is excellent value for the quality of the food).

Expect consistent offerings such as Connemara oysters, crispy garlic and rosemary roast potatoes and – depending on availability – the signature crab crumpet with a sea urchin espuma that will have you mopping up every last drop of the creamy foam. 

Other standout dishes include the vitello tonnato – if this is on the menu when you visit, order it without hesitation. There’s snacks, small plates (such as a comte quiche with shimeji mushrooms) and larger plates to share, always a meat, a fish and a vegetarian pasta or risotto. 

Wine is mainly natural and organic, the cocktails are amazing, and the dessert offerings usually have an unexpected element, such as an EVOO drizzled on top of a salted milk ice cream or plum with bay leaf and brown butter.

Note regularly collaborates with guest chefs and pop-ups, so there’s always something new to discover here. 

Nan Chinese

Owned by the duo behind Little Dumpling and Hakkahan, Nan Chinese is my top pick for authentic Chinese food in Dublin. It focuses on Huaiyang cuisine, one of the four main Chinese cuisine styles.

This has probably been one of my most visited restaurants in recent months, whether it’s popping in for a solo lunch of a steaming bowl of chicken and Chinese mushroom congee, or coming with friends for a full feast.

Xiao long bao (soup dumplings) are filled with a flavoursome broth and juicy pork that you slurp off a spoon – order a portion each because you won’t want to share these. Other Dim Sum delights include the steamed custard buns and – for the more adventurous – steamed spicy chicken claws and beef tripe with ​​ShaCha sauce.

My go-to mains are the spicy Sichuan chicken & scallions stir-fry and the whole steamed sea bass with fresh chopped chilli & pepper. The wine list here is excellent too – the organic Pinot Noir from Germany goes perfectly with the food here.

I’m looking forward to the team’s new venture in Monkstown – a fine-dining Cantonese restaurant opening early this year.

Bethlehem

I ashamedly had never been to Bethlehem (named for the hometown of owner Ihab Salah and his family) in Rathmines before this year; a Palestinian restaurant that makes you feel right at home as soon as you enter the warm and cosy space.

Again, it’s best to come here with a few people so that you can fill the table with as many delicious dishes as you can manage. The hummus is silky and creamy and the babaghanoush is nicely smokey, both perfect accompaniments for the hot out of the oven flatbread.

I loved the mix grill here, which comes with spiced minced kofta, grilled chicken and lamb on long metal skewers and lamb chop. The grilled seabass is crispy and flavoursome, while the tabbouleh is fresh and zesty. 

Steaming cups of fresh mint tea end every meal here on a high note

Woodcock Smokery

Lunch in The Keep at Woodcock Smokery during a recent trip down to West Cork to do the one-day fish smoking workshop with the legendary Sally Barnes was a food highlight of the year if not the decade.

In between learning all about hot and cold smoking fish (we smoked monkfish tails and halibut), a feast was served at the long table in The Keep. Piping hot bowls of celery and veg broth with smoked monkfish and a hearty dollop of crème fraiche warmed us all up from the November cold outside. 

A plate of smoked tuna and a selection of West Cork cheese, fruits and a thick slab of fruit cake from Field’s Supervalue in Skibbereen with a mug of Barry’s finished it off to perfection.

The sheer simplicity yet excellence of this meal hammered home that sometimes less really is more. With local ingredients this good, you don’t need much else. 

Paulie’s

I’ve eaten more Paulie’s pizza than I care to admit this year, but when it’s that good it’s impossible to resist. 

Whether it’s scoffed straight from the box at Slattery’s pub next door or dining in, Paulie’s never fails and I’m going to make the bold statement that it’s one of, if not the best pizza places in Dublin.

I’m incredibly predictable with my order here: the Roxy, which has tomato sauce, chilli, bacon, garlic, oregano, parmesan & basil (there’s no mozzarella on this) and a side of garlic dip. The flavours of the crispy, melty pancetta bubbling on the dough have forced me out of the house on a cold evening to walk down the canal more than once.

Other menu favourites include the crispy deep-fried mozzarella bocconcini (be warned, eat in one bite as they tend to burst mozzarella liquid!) and the truffle arancini.

Service is friendly and efficient, and even if you have to wait for a table you can just pop across the road for a pint and wait – it never takes too long. 

Big Mike’s

I’ve been a huge fan of what Gaz Smith and team do ever since the OG Michael’s in Mount Merrion, and their move to Blackrock has elevated both food and drinks even further. 

Serving some of the best seafood and steaks in Dublin, this is the place to go big or go home. Think surf and turf platters dripping with butter, crunchy onion rings, Bernaise sauce and proper chunky chips for dipping in all that goodness.

The menu changes depending on what is caught from the fishing boats each day, so there could be anything from Dublin Bay or Clogherhead prawns, Lambay crab or lobster if you’re lucky.

The Guinness is creamy with perfect ‘domage’, cocktails are excellent and there’s always an interesting staff wine pick on the menu. The outdoor terrace hosts regular DJ evenings and live jazz on Sundays, while the jukebox in the women’s toilets adds to the fun, frivolous atmosphere.

This place is where I go both when I want to celebrate special occasions, or just make a normal weekday a little more memorable.

Sarah Clayton-Lea is the Editor of TheTaste, where she writes about all things food, drink and travel. Sarah previously founded Big 7 Travel, a travel and hospitality media company.

Sarah is also the former Editor of Food&Wine Ireland, with extensive experience reporting on the hospitality industry in Ireland and abroad. Prior to her digital media career, Sarah worked in the hospitality industry in Dublin and New York.

Follow her at @sazzyclay on Instagram .