When traveling around Ireland, many food travelers are curious about the Michelin Star restaurants in Ireland. Of course, there are several Dublin Michelin Star restaurants. But true to form, the restaurants are sprinkled around the country, and many are worth the drive.
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Fine Dining In Ireland
Unfortunately, the food in Ireland finds itself on the receiving end of many jokes. Unimaginative. Bland. And everything is simply boiled.
While there might some truth to this, you can’t say this about the 21 Michelin Star restaurants in Ireland. In this post, we look at the Michelin Star restaurants we’ve dined in and how they are rewriting fine dining in Ireland.
To give a more complete picture, we include restaurants in the Republic of Ireland as well as in Northern Ireland, giving all travelers to Ireland plenty to choose from.
Michelin Star Restaurants In Ireland – Updated March 2023
There are a total of 21 restaurants in Ireland (Republic and Northern Ireland) with at least one Michelin Star. 16 restaurants have one Michelin Star and 5 restaurants with two Michelin Stars. Currently, there are no 3 Michelin Star restaurants in Ireland.
Sadly in January 2023, the One Michelin Star restaurant Loam announced its closing. Citing increasing costs and staff shortages as the reason, Loam had been a One Michelin Star restaurant since 2015. Unfortunately, we never had the opportunity to experience Loam. We heard amazing things about their food and regret not getting up there.
When it comes to what Ireland is famous for, it often doesn’t include fine dining. But, this list means that could change.
| 🍽 Restaurant | ⭐️ Michelin Star Rating | 🏙 City |
|---|---|---|
| Aimsir | ⭐️ ⭐️ | Celbridge, Co. Kildare |
| Chapter One by Mickael Viljanen | ⭐️⭐️ | Dublin |
| dede | ⭐️⭐️ | Baltimore, Co. Cork |
| Liath | ⭐️⭐️ | Blackrock, Co. Dublin |
| Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud | ⭐️ ⭐️ | Dublin |
| Aniar | ⭐️ | Galway |
| Bastible | ⭐️ | Dublin |
| Bastion | ⭐️ | Kinsale, Co. Cork |
| Campagne | ⭐️ | Kilkenny |
| Chestnut | ⭐️ | Ballydehob, Co. Cork |
| Eipic | ⭐️ | Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Glover’s Alley | ⭐️ | Dublin |
| House | ⭐️ | Ardmore, Co. Waterford |
| Ichigo Ichie | ⭐️ | Cork City |
| Lady Helen | ⭐️ | Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny |
| OX | ⭐️ | Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Terre | ⭐️ | Castlemartyr, Co. Cork |
| The Muddlers Club | ⭐️ | Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| The Oak Room | ⭐️ | Adare, Co. Limerick |
| Variety Jones | ⭐️ | Dublin |
| Wild Honey Inn | ⭐️ | Lisdoonvarna, Co. Clare |
What Is A Michelin Star Restaurant
Music has the Grammy’s, films have the Oscars, and for recognizing excellence in cooking, there’s the Michelin Guide.
The Michelin Guide has been around since 1926 with the introduction of the One Michelin Star rating. It wasn’t until 1933 that a Two Michelin Star and Three Michelin Star rating came into existence.
It’s odd that a tire company would be behind the most coveted award for restaurants. Started in France, the Michelin Guide was in part created to get more people to drive. The more people drive, the more tires need replacing. When you think about it, the Michelin Guide might be the greatest advertising campaign ever. With the exception of “Guinness is good for you,” of course.
One important misunderstanding about the Michelin Star rating is it’s not the chef who earns the star. The Michelin Star is awarded to the restaurant. The exception to this is when a chef has more than one restaurant.
Today, there are over 2,600 restaurants around the World with at least one Michelin Star. France leads all countries with the most Michelin Star restaurants and is tied with Japan for the most number of three Michelin Star restaurants.
Michelin Star Rating System Defined
Ever wonder what each of the Michelin Star ratings means? The good folks over at the Michelin Guide have put together a very straightforward rating system for each of the stars.
- One Michelin Star: High-quality cooking; worth a stop
- Two Michelin Star: Excellent cooking; worth a detour
- Three Michelin Star: Exceptional cuisine; worth a special journey
This is especially true for the Michelin Guide in Ireland. This is because the majority of the restaurants are outside of Dublin and some are truly at what seems like the ends of the earth.
Traveling to Ireland and wondering what to pack? Check out our Ireland packing guide for inspiration.
Two Michelin Star Restaurants In Ireland
Aimsir In County Kildare
One of only five two Michelin Star restaurants in Ireland, Aimsir is the brainchild of head chef Jordan Baily and his wife Majken Bech Bailey.
Set in the stunning Cliffs at Lyons Hotel, Aimsir is easily one of the best restaurants in Ireland and has everything you want in a two Michelin Star dining experience. An intimate setting with seating for only 24. Clean, minimally decorated walls. No music. And friendly and super knowledgeable staff. And then there’s the food.
Chef Bailey’s 18-course tasting menu highlights the best of Irish ingredients. Nearly every ingredient on the menu comes from Ireland. For us, the highlight of the tasting menu was the incredible Flaggy Shore oyster poached in butter and finished in an Irish apple balsamic vinegar. Having visited the Flaggy Shore Oyster Company, it was a joy to see them featured in a two Michelin Star restaurant.
In addition to the oysters, the wild mallard cooked in its own fat, fermented summer berries, and rosehip jam were extraordinary. While this was our experience, the tasting menu changes with the seasons to ensure only the best Irish ingredients are featured. They even had an Irish bread course, which was stunning.
Details on Aimsir
- Opened in Celbridge in 2019
- Awarded Two Michelin Stars in 2019
- Head Chef: (Vacant) *Jordan Bailey announced in February 2023 he is leaving Aimsir and a search is underway for a new head chef.
- Style Of Food: Contemporary Irish
- Menu And Cost: 18 courses for €210 Beverage Pairing €125
Liath In Dublin
Located outside of Dublin in the seaside town of Blackrock, Liath is the second Michelin Star restaurant from Australian-born owner and head chef Damien Grey. The restaurant itself is easily one of the smallest we’ve ever dined in. Making the experience very intimate. During our visit, we had a front-row view of the action as we were seated at the closest table to the kitchen. A first for us.
The food at Liath is the closest we’ve come across in Ireland to the amazing Michelin Star meals we’ve enjoyed in Spain. Both in terms of creativity and taste. A couple of Chef Grey’s dishes reminded me of dishes we’ve enjoyed at the three Michelin Star El Celler de Can Roca in Girona.
Referred to as “new Irish” cuisine, dishes at Liath are balanced around five tastes; savory, salty, sweet, bitter, and sour. The menu at Liath is seasonal using only the best of what’s growing locally at the time. This means that what we ate during our visit isn’t necessarily going to be served again.
Liath is closed for the months of January, March, August, and December. They are unable to accommodate lactose-intolerant and vegan diners.
Pro Tip: The name of the restaurant is pronounced /le-ah/. This is the Irish word for grey. It took Amber and me a while to figure this out. If you are taking a taxi to Liath, knowing how to pronounce it will come in handy.
Details on Liath
- Opened in Blackrock in 2019
- Awarded Two Michelin Stars in 2022
- Head Chef: Damien Grey
- Style Of Food: New Irish
- Menu And Cost: Multicourse Dinner €180 Wine Pairing €110 Prestige Wine Pairing €240 Multicourse Lunch €100 Wine Pairing €75
Dede at the Customs House Baltimore Co. Cork
Early we explained the Michelin Star rating system. Of all the Michelin Star restaurants we’ve eaten in, none exemplifies the definition of a two Michelin Star restaurant more than dede in Co. Cork. Why? The effort it took to enjoy this amazing meal.
From our home in Limerick, it’s a three-hour drive to the small town of Baltimore in West Cork. Once there, we stayed at the Channel View B&B roughly a mile from dede. It was a beautiful evening so we walked the mile down a narrow county road. This might seem like a lot for dinner, but it was completely worth it.
Amazingly, dede opened in the middle of Covid in July 2020. Within a year, it was awarded a Michelin Star and in 2023, it was awarded its second Michelin Star. Not bad for a small restaurant in a small Irish town, on the edge of Ireland.
In terms of the food at dede, there’s nothing like it in Ireland. Chef Ahmet Dede shares his Turkish heritage in a tasting menu bursting with Turkish flavors. In all fairness to the other Michelin meals we’ve eaten in Ireland, none have these flavors.
During our visit, we did the 8-course tasting dinner menu with wine pairing. While the food was exceptional, my only criticism was the size of the wine pours.
Obviously, we are not looking to get drunk, but the pours were a bit “light”. In our opinion, the pours were too small to taste on their own, with the food, and once again. Otherwise, the wines and saki were rather good. Just wish there was more.
Details on dede
- Opened in Baltimore in 2020
- Awarded Two Michelin Stars in 2023
- Head Chef: Ahmet Dede
- Style Of Food: Turkish
- Menu And Cost: Dinner Tasting Menu €160, Dinner wine pairing €100, Tasting Lunch Menu €100, Lunch wine pairing €85
- If you are traveling in Cork, here is our list of Cork hotel recommendations.
Chapter One by Mickael Viljanen in Dublin
This was a highly anticipated meal. We heard a lot of buzz about Chapter One by Mickael Viljanen on social media, in the Irish press, and from talking to other Irish Michelin Star chefs.
Due to high demand, it is a challenge to get a reservation. Thankfully, Amber and I got our reservation and were excited to experience for ourselves what we had been hearing about ever since moving to Ireland in 2020.
Currently led by Swedish-born Chef Patron Mickael Viljanen, Chapter One is the brainchild of Irishman Ross Lewis. Along with Martin Corbett, Chapter One first opened its doors in 1992. The restaurant earned its first Michelin Star in 2007.
Overall, Amber and I were pleased with our meal and experience at Chapter One. Was it the best meal of our lives? No. Was it the best meal we’ve had in Ireland? No. We had an enjoyable evening with innovative and delicious food and wine.
It’s never easy going to a restaurant after hearing or reading so much positive press. In fact, many in Ireland feel that in 2023, Chapter One should have been awarded a third Michelin Star. The bar was set so (unfairly) incredibly high for our experience. In sales, we used to say, “under promise and over deliver.”
With that said, my favorite dish of the evening was the Donegal Lobster with Kari Gosse & Cacao Pod Glaze, Carrot, and Yuzu, in an Aromatic Lobster Sauce. As far as lobster dishes go, this was sublime. And that it was Irish lobster is great to see.
Chef Viljanen and his team are extremely talented and I would recommend dining at Chapter One.
Details on Chapter One by Mickael Viljanen
- Opened in Dublin in 1992
- Awarded Two Michelin Stars in 2019
- Head Chef: Mickael Viljanen
- Style Of Food: Modern
- Menu And Cost: 7 course Dinner Tasting Menu €180, 4 course Dinner Menu €150, Dinner wine pairing €105, 3 course Lunch Menu €75, Lunch Wine Pairing €85
Other Michelin Star Restaurants In Dublin
As we make our way through the complete list, it’s worth noting there are a few other options for Dublin Michelin Star restaurants.
Michelin Restaurants in Dublin on our to-eat list include Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud, a more classically French-inspired two-star restaurant. Additionally, one-star restaurants include Bastible, Glover’s Alley, and Variety Jones. This means that the bulk of the Michelin Stars in Ireland have been awarded to restaurants outside of Dublin, which is a great accomplishment!
One Michelin Star Restaurants In Ireland
The Lady Helen In Kilkenny
Located in Thomastown Co. Kilkenny, the Lady Helen is the marquee dining experience at Mount Juliet Estate.
Situated in the property’s Georgian Manor House, the Lady Helen is led by head chef and Kilkenny native John Kelly. Joining The Lady Helen in 2011, the restaurant was awarded its Michelin Star two years later.
Chef Kelly focuses on using locally sourced Irish food products. Believing in the quality of these ingredients, he creates dishes based on his previous travels and experiences as a chef.
Chef Kelly told me that he wants his food to be “understood by the customer” and to “marry ingredients with accuracy and balance” Having experienced the 9-course tasting menu, I’d say Chef Kelly has done exactly this.
Seasonal Menus
Amber and I visited The Lady Helen during the summer. Chef Kelly changes the tasting menu during the year to match the best ingredients for the season. Our tasting menu certainly reflected this.
Super fresh Summer fruits and vegetables were incorporated with mouthwatering Irish fish and meats. The highlight of our meal was a mind-blowingly good potato and truffle raviolo served with a duck egg yolk and Pedro Ximénez sauce. Unreal.
We returned to Lady Helen in the early spring of 2023. This time, the menu featured exactly what you would find during the change of seasons. This included Jerusalem artichokes, morel mushrooms, and asparagus. Our favorite was the foie gras, which was creamy and topped with walnuts and pears for sweetness.
Details on Lady Helen
- Opened in Thomastown in 1991
- Awarded one Michelin Star in 2013
- Head Chef: John Kelly
- Style Of Food: Contemporary Irish
- Menu And Cost: 7 and 9 courses for €105 and €130
- If not staying at Mount Juliet, here is our list of recommended hotels in Kilkenny
Campagne In Kilkenny
Earning a Michelin Star is no easy task. Holding onto that Michelin Star is even more difficult. With this in mind, Campagne, led by Kilkenny native Chef Garrett Byrne, has held a one Michelin Star designation since 2014. Having eaten there, I’m not surprised, but this is still an incredible accomplishment.
Located in an unassuming building in Kilkenny adjacent to old railway arches, Campagne draws its culinary inspiration from regional French cooking. This is apparent in the dishes on its seasonal menu including duck terrine, pig trotters, and peas a la Francaise. During our visit, I enjoyed a terrine of foie gras that I’m still thinking about.
With access to exceptional Irish food products from Co. Kilkenny, Chef Byrne blends French cooking techniques with high-quality local ingredients.
A perfect example of this was the shoulder of Irish lamb I had for my main. Cooked perfectly and with a sauce, you’d expect from a one Michelin Star chef, it’s easily the best lamb dish I’ve ever eaten.
Campagne offers both a lunch and dinner menu. The menus change with the season to ensure the freshest ingredients. A 3 course dinner at Campagne will cost €70 per person. When you consider how good the food is, this is an unbelievably great value.
Details on Campagne
- Opened in Kilkenny 2008
- Awarded one Michelin Star in 2014
- Head Chef: Garrett Byrne
- Style Of Food: Regional French
- Menu And Cost: 3 courses for €70
Wild Honey Inn In Lisdoonvarna
Amber and I have visited a lot of pubs in Ireland. But until our visit to Wild Honey Inn in Lisdoonvarna, Co. Clare, we’d never been to a pub with a Michelin Star. The only Michelin Star pub in Ireland, the food at Wild Honey Inn is described as “bistronomy”, a blend of bistro dishes prepared using haute cuisine techniques.
Wild Honey Inn’s location in the heart of Co. Clare and near Ireland’s famous Burren allows head chef Aiden McGrath access to some of the best food products in Ireland. From locally sourced Irish seafood and meats to award-winning Irish cheeses, his dishes burst with Irish flavors.
Our meal at Wild Honey Inn consisted of three courses. We both started with local Irish scallops cooked with a crisp pigs head, broad beans, Bayonne ham, and tapenade velouté.
For mains, Amber enjoyed a wild turbot with Irish langoustine. For me, a perfectly cooked Irish lamb rump and neck fillet in a black olive jus.
Like most restaurants, the menu at Wild Honey Inn is seasonal and changes throughout the year. They also close during the winter months.
Details on Wild Honey Inn
- Opened in Lisdoonvarna in 2009
- Awarded one Michelin Star in 2018
- Head Chef: Aidan McGrath
- Style of Food: Bistronomy
- Menu And Cost: €80
Ichigo Ichie In Cork
Finding high-quality Japanese food outside of Japan is never easy. Finding Michelin Star Japanese food outside of Japan is even more difficult, let alone finding it in Ireland. Thanks to Chef Takashi Miyazaki-san and his one Michelin Star restaurant Ichigo Ichie enjoying high-end Japanese food in Ireland is now possible.
First opened in Cork City in 2018, Ichigo Ichie, from the Japanese meaning “one time, one meeting” has held its one Michelin Star rating since 2019.
Chef Miyazaki-san’s imaginative menu transports dinners from Cork to Japan with each and every bite. Chef Miyazaki-san strikes a beautiful balance between fresh local Irish seafood and Japanese cooking techniques.
With a seasonal tasting menu that changes to ensure only the freshest ingredients, diners to Ichigo Ichie are guaranteed a dining experience unlike any in Ireland.
The highlight of our tasting menu at Ichigo Ichie was a dish called “nimono”. The dish featured swordfish, Caherbeg pork belly, cauliflower, and pedrón pepper in squid ink. A combination on paper that doesn’t seem like it would work, but believe me, it does, and then some.
Ichigo Ichie features a few different dining options including the ability to sit at the Chef’s Counter to watch Chef Miyazaki-san in action.
Details on Ichigo Ichie
- Opened in Cork City in 2018
- Awarded one Michelin Star in 2019
- Head Chef: Takashi Miyazaki
- Style Of Food: Japanese
- Menu And Cost: 12 courses for €120
- See our recommended hotels in Cork for where to stay
Aniar In Galway
Aniar, the Irish word meaning “from the west” prides itself on using ingredients from the west of Ireland. Famous for the Cliffs of Moher and the Wild Atlantic Way, the west of Ireland produces some of Ireland’s best food products. From Irish oysters and fish to Connemara lamb and wild herbs, Aniar has taken using what’s local to another level.
Like many Michelin Star restaurants, the menu at Aniar changes with the seasons. This ensures only the best locally sourced ingredients are used.
The menu at Aniar consists of 22 “bite-sized” courses. Each course showcases the best of Western Ireland food products. Of the 22 courses, we enjoyed a few standouts including a razor clam and rose-hip and venison with artichoke.
The restaurant itself is small. Not as small as Liath, but cozy and very welcoming. Keep this in mind if you are visiting Galway and want to experience Aniar.
Details on Aniar
- Opened in Galway in 2011
- Awarded one Michelin Star in 2013
- Head Chef: Jp McMahon
- Style Of Food: Modern Irish
- Menu And Cost: 22 courses for €140 Wine Pairing €80
- Check out our recommendations for where to stay in Galway
House In Ardmore, Waterford
Located in the coastal town of Ardmore in Co. Waterford, House has maintained a one Michelin Star rating since 2010. Over this time, House has had several head chefs maintain House’s Michelin Star. The current head chef, Tony Parkin took over in 2022.
Using locally sourced Irish ingredients, dining at House begins with canapes and cocktails with a view. House is located in the 5-Star Cliff House Hotel. With stunning views of the Celtic Sea, it’s easy to be distracted but Chef Parkin’s food reminds you why you’re really there.
After canapes and cocktails, we were escorted into the main dining room for our seven-course tasting. Much to our enjoyment, the menu featured a blend of Irish ingredients with Asian flavors. The highlight was a Thai Green Curry with wild Irish turbot.
Details on House at Cliff House
- Opened in Ardmore in 2008
- Awarded one Michelin Star in 2010
- Head Chef: Tony Parkin
- Style Of Food: Modern Cuisine
- Menu And Cost: 7 courses for €150 Wine Pairing €85
- If not staying at the Cliff House Hotel, here are our recommendations for Waterford hotels
Terre Restaurant – Castlemartyr Resort Co. Cork
As of March 2023, Terre is the newest Michelin Star restaurant in Ireland. Set inside the stunning Castlemartyr Resort, Terre is one of the Michelin Star restaurants in Ireland to keep an eye on. Led by Chef Vincent Crépel, Terre perfectly blends French and Asian ingredients and techniques.
The meal begins in the kitchen where you have a front-row seat of the entire kitchen staff including Chef Crépel. Here we were served a gin tonic to enjoy with a few tasty snacks. Afterward, we were shown the ingredients the Chef would be using. We loved starting our meal this way, except for the blaring music in the kitchen.
Next, we are brought to the main dining room for our lunch. Having lived in Asia and loving Asian food, we thoroughly loved our meals. Chef Crépel has done an incredible job blending French ingredients with Asian flavors. For Amber and me, the star of the meal was lobster, scallops, and fish in an Asian broth. Unreal.
After dessert, we changed rooms again to enjoy petit fours and an after-dinner drink. While we enjoyed our meal, there are a couple of things that stood out and not in a positive way. In the middle of our meal, a dish was present where we could add caviar for an additional €35. When we went for petit fours, we were offered Cognac or Armagnac for an additional cost.
This has never happened to us at a Michelin restaurant. It felt odd. It felt out of place. And it felt like I was not at a Michelin restaurant. In my opinion, if the dish calls for caviar, added the caviar. Don’t present me with an additional cost in the middle of my meal. Just my two cents.
Details on Ichigo Ichie
- Opened in Castlemartyr Resort in 2022
- Awarded one Michelin Star in 2023
- Head Chef: Vincent Crépel
- Style Of Food: French Asian
- Menu And Cost: Dinner Tasting Menu is €210, Lunch Tasting Menu is €110, Beverage Pairing Terre “Petit Accord” €110, Terre “Grand Accord” €220
- See our recommended hotels in Cork for where to stay
FAQs – Ireland Michelin Star Restaurants
As of the 2023 Michelin Star rating, there are a total of 21 Michelin Star restaurants in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland has 3 Michelin restaurants, all with one Michelin Star. The remaining 18 are in Ireland, with 5 restaurants having 2 Michelin Stars, and the remaining 13 with one Michelin Star.
There are six Michelin Star restaurants in Dublin. 3 two Michelin Stars and 3 one Michelin Star.
No, Neven Maguire does not have a Michelin Star. He has worked in several Michelin Star restaurants over his career, but he has not been awarded one.
There are currently three, all 1 Michelin Star restaurants, in Northern Ireland. They are all located in Belfast. Those restaurants are, Eipic, the Muddlers Club, and Ox.