Ireland's Restaurant Scene Has Never Been Better — And the World Is Taking Notice
From Michelin stars in Dublin to a two-star gem in a Baltimore fishing village, Ireland's restaurants are delivering food experiences that rank among the finest in Europe. Here is your guide to what makes Irish dining so extraordinary right now.
Something remarkable has happened to Irish food over the past two decades. The country that was once gently mocked for its cuisine now holds 25 Michelin-starred restaurants, produces some of Europe's most celebrated chefs and draws food tourists from across the world specifically to eat.
The 2026 Michelin Guide Great Britain & Ireland — presented at a ceremony held in Dublin for the first time in February, at the Convention Centre on the banks of the Liffey — confirmed that Ireland's culinary ascent is not slowing down.
The Stars of 2026
Two Irish restaurants received their first Michelin stars at this year's ceremony.
Forest Avenue in Dublin — a husband-and-wife-run restaurant with airy, glass-fronted premises on Sussex Road in Ranelagh — earned its star through Chef John Wyer's produce-led approach, where pared-back modern cooking allows superb seasonal ingredients to speak for themselves. The Michelin inspectors described it as a neighbourhood restaurant with warmth, precision and a clear point of view. It is the kind of place that earns loyalty — and stars — through consistency rather than spectacle.
The Pullman at Glenlo Abbey, on the outskirts of Galway city on the Moycullen road, earned its first star for high-quality, creative cuisine with a focus on local flavours in a historic and refined setting. A restaurant inside a converted Pullman railway carriage overlooking the waters of Lough Corrib, it represents exactly the kind of distinctive, place-specific dining that Ireland does better than almost anywhere.
The Established Icons
Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud at The Merrion Hotel in Dublin was named best restaurant in Ireland at the Irish Restaurant Awards in May — receiving more than 150,000 public nominations across the awards, the largest ever received. Guilbaud has held two Michelin stars since 1996, making it one of the most enduring fine dining institutions in the country.
Chef Ahmet Dede of Dede at The Customs House in Baltimore, West Cork, was named best chef in Ireland. Dede — a Turkish-born chef who brought a quietly revolutionary approach to Irish seafood and seasonal produce when he opened in Baltimore in 2020 during the pandemic — now holds two Michelin stars. The restaurant has become a destination in itself, drawing diners to a remote West Cork fishing village specifically for the experience of eating there.
Beyond the Stars
Ireland's food story extends well beyond Michelin recognition. The country's exceptional natural larder — grass-fed beef and lamb, wild Atlantic seafood, farmhouse cheeses, heritage vegetables — provides the raw material for a food culture that runs from celebrated fine dining establishments down to the oyster festivals of Clarinbridge, the fish and chip shops of Howth and the farmers' markets of Midleton and Dingle.
The Farmgate Café in Cork's English Market remains one of the most compelling food experiences in Ireland — a bustling upstairs restaurant serving lunch above one of the world's great covered markets, where the produce on your plate was purchased downstairs that morning. It captures something essential about Irish food: the connection between place, producer and plate.
Aniar in Galway — the Michelin-starred restaurant that pioneered the Irish wild food movement — continues to produce a menu that changes entirely with the seasons, built on foraged, fished and farmed ingredients from the west of Ireland. It remains one of the most intellectually coherent and emotionally satisfying restaurants in the country.
The Green Star — Sustainability in the Kitchen
Seven restaurants across Great Britain and Ireland received Michelin Green Stars in 2026 — an award given for outstanding commitment to sustainable gastronomy. The Green Star reflects a growing recognition that the most forward-thinking restaurants are those thinking as carefully about where their ingredients come from as about how they are cooked.
Irish restaurants have been consistently recognised in this category, reflecting a food culture that has always maintained a close connection to the land and sea from which it draws.
Where to Eat in Ireland in 2026
The honest answer is: almost anywhere, if you choose well.
Ireland's restaurant scene in 2026 spans Michelin-starred fine dining and casual excellence with equal confidence. Whether you are sitting down to a tasting menu at Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud in Dublin, ordering oysters at a roadside stall on the Wild Atlantic Way, or pulling up a stool at a pub in Doolin for a bowl of chowder made that morning — the quality and authenticity of Irish food in 2026 is something to seek out, celebrate and return for.