Tasting menus are the best way to sample a whole restaurant in one fell swoop. You get a taste of everything, and they usually cost next-to-nothing, which makes it all the sweeter.
Dublin’s tasting menus are as expansive as they are good value – and we’ve done a round up of the best in the business.
Treat. Yo. Self.
1. Konkan
We’ve expressed our love for Konkan before…
Their tasting menus are around €25 a head, and they have a full vegetarian list for the herbivores of us. Oh, and their food is insanely good.
2. Brioche
Brioche in Ranelagh actually do a surprise tasting menu in which you simply inform the chef of your preferences, intolerances and tastes – and they whip you up a five course meal of dreams.
Vegetarian option comes to €45, the meat option is €55, and adding a selection of beautiful wines to your meal is an extra €39.
3. Richmond
A tasting menu for the ages, Richmond‘s gorgeous menu provides the best of Irish with incredible influences from all over the world.
And it’s a total bargain at just €33 per person. Look at all that food!
4. Chapter One
The holy grail of tasting menus.
This is an expensive one, but it’s sure to be a meal you’ll never forget. A whopping eight courses in total, with accompanying wines in each boasts ingredients like black truffle and mackerel vinaigrette.
The bill will come to €95, with wines at €50 or reserve wines at €75.
5. DAX Restaurant
DAX‘s Surprise Tasting Menu is a little bit different to the rest, and is only available for tables of five people or less.
In here you’ll find the best of Irish produce, from meat to fish to vegetables, even mentioning their suppliers on their website. Their seven-course surprise tasting menu will cost you €90, with the addition of wine bringing it up to €130.
6. l’Ecrivian
Yet another restaurant where you can order a different tasting menu for both lunch and dinner, l’Ecrivian is all about intimate details the chefs have poured into the food.
And, speaking of pouring, their wine list is top-notch – some of the most incredible tastes and flavours from all around the globe. Their tasting menu will set you back €90, and with complimenting wines comes in at €150.
7. The Greenhouse
The Greenhouse has on offer four-course, five-course and six-course tasting menus, with prices set at €76, €79 and €89 respectively.
On Friday and Saturday, the five-course surprise menu is available only.
The additional cheese course is highly recommended, and the staff are willing and able to ask any questions you may have about the menu. Their wine menu is truly extensive, and due to head chef Mickael Viljanen’s obsession with flavour distinction, this menu is for the adventurous at heart.
8. Bang
Bang has on offer tasting menus for groups of five, six, seven, eight or ten people, ranging from €69 per person upwards. Their portion sizes are bigger than what you would expect for a tasting menu, but don’t think for a second that that means they’ve scrimped on the flavour.
Distinctive and rich, every aspect of the food and its preparation feels perfectly judged. It’s neither fussy nor complicated, just simply prepped to perfection.
9. Restaurant Patrick Guilbard
A mecca for foodies in Ireland, Restaurant Patrick Guilbard is Ireland’s only two Michelin Star restaurant, situated beside the incredible 5* Merrion Hotel.
They have two types of tasting menus on offer: a four-course degustation menu, coming in at €98, and available from Tuesday to Thursday only, and an eight-course degustation menu for €185, available any day before 9pm. They also have wine pairing available, picked carefully by the in-house sommelier.
The menu is impressively thought out, widely expansive and the attention to detail is something that will send you away utterly astounded.
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