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14th February 2025
12:53pm GMT
Those in search of a quiet, romantic dinner, full of yearning look away now. This isn’t for you. This guide is for the people wanna shimmy at the table. Who are definitely ordering a second bottle of wine and quite possibly a third. Or maybe they're going for an aperitif, wine, digestif combo. This if for the guys, gals, gays and theys who are wondering, “Where’s the place to be?”. This is for the people doing fit checks in bathrooms that go hard. The diners who don’t mind a mid-meal photoshoot but crucially want the food to be as immaculate as the vibes.
We’re not talking themed novelty places built for the 'gramming. Nope. These are paces that know how to give 'je ne sais quoi', X Factor, and all that ephemeral shit that dials the craic up to 90. These range from old-school institutions where your granda' might have been handed a free whiskey to newfangled, neon-lit haunts with custom sound systems. These are Dublin’s “it” dinner spots. These are the most fun places to eat Dublin.
And if you’re after a bar for the next stop, we’ve got a guide coming for that soon.
Rathmines, Dublin 6
One of the very few places you can enjoy the delight that is teppanyaki in Dublin is Rathmines' restaurant aptly named Tippenyaki. The word Teppanyaki derives from the words teppan, meaning iron plate, and yaki, meaning grilled, and teppanyaki dishes are typically comprised of beef, chicken, prawns, and veggies, cooked in soybean oil. This style of cooking, alongside sushi, makes up the backbone of modern Japanese cuisine, and the live-cooking element that you can experience at Tippenyaki is some of the most fun. They do two-hour live cooking sessions Tuesday through Sunday. Seats are limited and require advance booking, which you can do here.
Go for? Dinner with a show
Tippenyaki opens Tuesday to Sunday from 17:00.
Dundrum, Dublin 14
What may appear to be a simple bar is so much more, as PYE, nestled in where The Eagle used to be on the Dundrum Main Street (RIP), is completely dog-friendly, so much so that they have furniture just for your furry friend. The bar also serves food, including pizzas, pastas, salads, the works, and your pup won't go hungry, as they have a doggy vending machine installed too. Throw in their weekly pub quiz, and you're sorted for a night full of laughs.
Go for? A few pints alongside your pup
You can keep up with Pye on their website.
Baggot Street, Dublin 2
The second teppanyaki spot on this list is Chai Yo, which has been based on Baggot Street for many, many years now. The live cooking element is of course why it features on this list as one of the most fun restaurants to dine in in Dublin, but that's not the only entertainment they have live for you. If it's a special occasion at Chai Yo, you will also be treated to some live music just for your table. For my 21st birthday, I was treated to several songs, not just the classic "Happy Birthday" anthem, with my personal favourite naturally having to be "I Will Survive". Add in the impeccable food, which let's be real, tastes better once you've seen it cooked before you, and I dare you to say this isn't a fun place to eat. Definitely one of the most fun places to eat Dublin.
Go for? A spectacle worthy of the IG story
Find everything you need to know about booking a table at Chai Yo here.
Crane Lane, Dublin 2
The Saucy Cow remains a shining light for plant-based food that actually tastes great and has the same sort of fun vibes normally befitting of an American diner - sans the hamburgers. This colourful little spot does vegan fast food like no other in Dublin, ideal if you don't always want to eat a mountain and veg and fruit, but are devoted to the plant-based lifestyle. Instead, they do beyond meat smash burgers, loaded fries, as well as wraps and sambos, and this saucy restaurant has garnered so much popularity, that you can now find them in Cork too. If we had to recommend something in particular, it would be the salt and chilli hash browns that are nothing short of stunning.
Go for? The chilli hash browns
The Saucy Cow opens 12.00 to 21.00 Wednesday to Saturday, and 12.00 to 20.00 on Sundays.
Capel Street, Dublin 1
Two words. Seafood boil. This New Orleans tradition is where people come together at certain times of the year to boil pounds and pounds of fresh shellfish and tuck in, often accompanied by veg and potatoes. The Krewe edition of this dish is made with langoustines prawns, mussels cockles, clams, monkfish cheeks, cod and smoked andouille sausage, all boiled in a spicy Cajun broth with potatoes and corn on the cob. If you're looking for a sharing food experience that will keep you more full than small plates and is also a lot more fun. Get your bib on and dig in. How can you not have fun somewhere it is socially acceptable, and advised, to wear a bib as an adult? Exactly.
The seafood boil will cost €130 and is meant to serve four people. It is genuinely one of the most fun places to eat Dublin.
Go for? A sharing food experience that will keep you more full than small plates
Krewe Boil is only available on Tuesday evenings.
Dawson Street, Dublin 2
If you're someone who always orders the Mighty Meaty pizza at Domino's, then a visit to Bah33 is a must for you. Serving up all kinds of flavoursome eats, the menu is packed full with a range of different Brazilian specialities - all cooked in the traditional way. What makes Bah33 a fun dining experience however is that the serves come around all night with different cuts, and you can have as much as you like.
You're given red and green signs, which you use to tell the servers whether you are ready to eat or not. Display the green sign if you are ready for meat and display the red one if you need a break.
Go for? When you're missing BBQ food amid non-BBQ weather
Bah33 opens Tuesday to Sunday from 12:00.
Dawson Street, Dublin 2
We all associate Maneki with roaring out Total Eclipse of the Heart at karaoke. But if you're the kind of person who finds themselves starved after belting out eighties classics, then a dinner before you start necking the sake pornstar martinis is in order. The Dawson Street restaurant serves modern Japanese cuisine, with several kinds of sushi rolls and sashimi depending on your taste.
Grander dishes such as their eight-piece Godzilla sushi roll (which is deep-fried, by the by) will cost you over €20 for a plate, but given how beautifully the food is presented, we'd find it difficult to pass up. In the summertime, you can also dine al fresco while people watch the crush of Dawson Street.
Go for? Some karaoke after your soosh
Maneki opens daily from 12pm and serves both lunch and dinner.
Parnell Street, Dublin 1
Step into The Big Romance, and you’ll immediately get it. Pints come with a side of jazz. By day, it’s the kind of place where vinyl obsessives nurse coffees and debate the best Coltrane record. By night, it transforms—groups huddle over pints of Whiplash, couples share plates of El Milagros finest, and someone’s inevitably explaining why a pint of Kellerbier is the only true beer worth drinking. It's a small wholesome taco focused menu that pairs perfectly with the rotating tap list. Expect the odd free pour if you catch the bartender in a chatty mood. So obviously this had to rank on the most fun places to eat Dublin list.
Go for? Pints, tunes, and lovely seating
The Big Romance opens Monday to Thursday from 16:00 and from 1 on weekends.
Blackrock
Big Mike's launched in 2023 and has become something of a household name in that short period of time. Of course, the ambience is only made better by the absolutely incredible staff, who are attentive, friendly, and have a way of making you feel right at home. No night at Big Mike's is complete without a little chat with Gaz or a member of his amazing staff.
Plus you can have your own curated disco in the toilets. Who doesn't want to listen to Whitney Houston when they wee, am I right?
Go for? A little dance in the bathroom of your dreams
You can make a booking at Big Mike's here.
Camden Street, Dublin 2
Hang Dai has to be on any list of most fun places to eat Dublin. One of the coolest restaurants to open up in recent years is Hang Dai. This futuristic Chinese/Asian restaurant and bar not only serves some of the most delicious and creative food on the south side of the Liffey. It also provides a space to boogie later on in the evening. From the moment you step into Hang Dai, you're transported somewhere that doesn't resemble Dublin at all. Hang Dai has a space kind of theme, where you dine and drink in what looks like a vibey subway station. They serve everything from street food, including their famous cheeseburger spring rolls, to wholesome mains such as chilli bean hot pot, or Irish wagyu. The menue ensures you won't come away from your meal hungry.
As for the music, the restaurant's massive love for vinyl and analogue sounds has led to a detailed focus on Hi-Fi and acoustics. Hang Dai has a custom-built sound system, an isolated DJ booth, an acoustically treated room, and even a "Saturday Night Fever" dance floor on the ceiling. DJs such as Fett Burger, Bjorn Torske, Donna Leake, Monk One, and Jeremy Spellacey, to name but a few, have all taken to the decks in Hang Dai. We're sure they have a class line-up coming for 2025.
Go for? Those sweet sweet acoustics
You can make a reservation at Hang Dai here.
Drumcondra, Dublin 9
While it is hard not to lament the passing and demolition of The Bernard Shaw on South Richmond Street, we can be grateful that the Drumcondra iteration lives on and keeps the legacy of a good place for food, music, and most importantly fun alive. With Eatyard at their disposal, there's no shortage of vendors to choose from - the current line-up includes Pastiamo Truckttoria, El Fuego, Village Pizza, Gaucho's Dog, Janets, and Nice Burger.
As for entertainment, there are games, karaoke, drag brunches, and plenty of space to be dancing below the disco ball, with a cocktail or beer in hand. The Bernard Shaw has been a reliable Dublin location for food and a boogie for many years, and we have no doubt this legacy is set to continue into 2025.
Go for? Some laid-back food and dranks
There's always loads happening at the Bernard Shaw, you can keep up with them over on IG.
Coppinger Row, Dublin 2
Row Wines feels like it landed fully formed—one of those rare spots that just gets it. Inspired by Tokyo’s listening bars, it pairs a best-in-class sound system with a menu that’s just as sharp. The vinyl collection is deep, running from jazz to house to disco, but this isn’t a place where the music drowns the conversation—it underscores it. The food is the real reason to stay: Kilkee crab flatbread that’s an instant classic, beef tartare on crisp rösti, and a natural wine list that reads like a love letter to fermentation. Cocktails are dialled in, the room glows just right, and if you pop in for a quick glass, good luck leaving before the record flips.
Go for? Wine, vinyl, and plates worth lingering over
Row Wines opens Tuesday to Sunday from 17:00.
South Great George's Street, Dublin 2
Margaritas and tacos are always a barrel of laughs, and 777 does it best. On Taco Tuesdays you can get two for the price of one. Choose from their classic house marg or the 777 margaritas especial, the dragon negra, the lobo verde, the marg del fumo or the mi cobra mas sexy. The list goes on. Surprising absolutely no one that it's one of the most fun places to eat Dublin.
Go for? Every variation of margarita under the sun.
Interested? You can make a booking at 777 here.
Smithfield, Dublin 7
When Big Fan announced they were setting up shop inside Fidelity, the reaction was immediate. Excitement. Intrigue. A collective “this makes so much sense.” A high-fi bar with one of the best sound systems in the country, now serving some of Dublin’s best small plates? No notes. Sister7 is a dimly lit, vinyl-spinning, cocktail-slinging dream. Here prawn toast meets natural wine and Whiplash beer gets a second life in their spent grain specials. The menu is as dialled-in as the playlist. And with a dining room that wouldn’t look out of place in Soho or the East Village, it’s got that rare thing: a Dublin spot that feels like a city spot.
Go for? Bao, basslines, and something brilliant on draft
Sister7 opens Wednesday to Sunday from 17:00.
Drury Street, Dublin 2
A disco lounge with vintage wine and a Negroni list? Of course it works. Bootleg is what happens when the minds behind Big Fan, Bow Lane, and Sprezzatura decide to throw a party. The room glows under disco balls. DJs keep the energy at just the right simmer. The menu leans into the good stuff. It has morphed and changed a good few times meaning evry time you go there's a little something different. The Negroni variations alone are worth a visit. Especially if you're into Lemon Cello. It’s the mix of old-school fun and slick execution that makes Bootleg feel like the kind of place you could go for dinner and end up dancing on the tables at 2am.
Go for? Disco, drinks, and the best Negroni line-up in town
Bootleg opens Tuesday to Sunday from 17:00.
Think there's a more fun place to eat in Dublin? Let us know at hello@lovin.com.
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