5 Best Restaurants in Merrion Square and Around, Dublin

Named after the street in Queens where chef-owner Sandy Wyer grew up, Forest Avenue is a star on the Dublin food stage. The menu is a five-course taster, and while choice is limited, quality and value are off the charts. The open kitchen gives the place a lively vibe and Sandy and her Irish husband, John, are only too willing to discuss each dish with interested guests. A floor-to-ceiling glass frontage allows the light to flood in across the elegant white-brick walls. Try the confit cod with pumpkin and crab velouté. They do a cheaper three-course lunch menu Thursday to Saturday.

Also known as "Dublin's finest restaurant," this Michelin-starred place on the ground floor of the Merrion Hotel boasts a menu described as French, but chef Guillaume Lebrun's genius lies in his occasional daring use of traditional Irish ingredients—so often taken for granted—to create the unexpected. The ambience is just as delicious, if you're into lofty, minimalist dining rooms and Irish modern art (the Roderic O'Conors and Louis le Brocquys are all from the owner's private collection). The best dishes are flawless, such as the roast red leg partridge. Follow that, if you can, with the assiette au chocolat (a tray of five hot and cold chocolate desserts). Nearly as impressive are the 70-page wine list, the view of the Merrion's manicured gardens, and the two-course lunch special. Soaring white vaults and white walls won't make you feel warm and cozy, but you can always go somewhere else for that.

The Japanese teppanyaki area at this classy Pan-Asian restaurant on bustling Baggot Street, where the chef cooks your food right on your tabletop, is a feast for the eye as well as the palate. The simplicity of the white walls and dark lacquered furnishings are enhanced by the delicate glassware and fine green-washed porcelain. The menu picks the best from Chinese, Thai, and Japanese dishes, with the Asian tapas a good eat-and-go option.

When is a wine bar not just a wine bar? When it's also one of the city's most talked-about restaurants where you can drink or dine (tapas-style) at the bar, in the lush armchairs of the open-plan lounge, or in the more formal, restrained-modern dining room. The Roscoff onion tart is an adventurous starter, while the cold meat platter is a finger-lickin' little bar dish. The wine list is the envy of many a more expensive eatery, and with a couple of dozen wines poured by the glass you can dare to try something really special. There's a sister café in the same building with equally scrumptious offerings at a lower price point.

While the bistro food at this Ballsbridge stalwart is always top-class, it's the jovial atmosphere and superb service that keep locals coming back. It's famed for the wine list, with great options by the glass, and that certainly helps to explain the wonderful buzz that always seems to be about this popular neighborhood place. For a starter try the Dublin Bay prawn bisque. The grilled hake with linguine, wild mushrooms, artichokes, and tarragon cream is a standout main course.