It’s that time of year when there is truly nothing we rather do than curl up in front of a fire with a juicy book and a scalding hot whiskey, alas, it’s Christmas, and there are places to go and presents to buy. Fear no more. We’re here to heat your mittens and feed your bellies with a selection of Dublin’s best winter warmers. Most have added booze but we've included a few non-alcoholic ones (marked NA) in case you need to keep a clear head.
Mulled Wine & Cider
Mulled Apple Juice At The Cake Café
The Cake Café is a little haven, hidden away from the hustle and bustle of Camden Street with indoor and outdoor seating. Along with mince pies, gingerbread men, and the peanut butter cup, their mulled apple juice is the perfect complement to a Saturday brunch or a weekday lunch.
Provider Fine Foods is the kind of establishment where you go in for a pint of milk and end up coming home with an assortment of nut butter, a selection of pastries, and a trendy condiment or two. You might as well pick up a mulled wine while you’re there - it is the season after all.
You've shopped until you're ready to drop and now you need sustinance. Bestseller is a few minutes walk away from the chaos of Grafton Street, and the perfect place to warm your bones with a cinnamon-infused mulled wine.
Experience some of the best views in Dublin by throwing on your winter woollies, hopping in the car and travelling to Howth for a scenic walk. Once you’re finished pop down to Margadh for a mulled house wine (available in white and red) because you deserve it.
Mulled Wine at The Orange Goat, Killester & Ballsbridge
Based on either side of the Liffey in Ballsbridge and Killester, The Orange Goat have put together a festive menu with plenty of baked goods and citrusy mulled wine. And if that’s not to your liking, they do an After Eight hot chocolate.
Mulled Wine at Old Street, Malahide
Old Street has officially been decked out for Christmas with Jean Holland’s Christmas puddings and hampers that make the perfect gift to impress your in-laws. They also serve up one of our favourite mulled wines, chock full of amaretto and spices.
Soup in Smithfield is one of our go-to spots for a casual dinner and a drink. The ramen is the best around, they make a mean Bánh mì, and the mulled Chardonnay is a nice alternative to the conventional mulled red.
Whiskey
The Irish coffee at Vice is so damn good that owner Tom Stafford won an award for the World’s Best Irish Coffee in 2015. The aforementioned signature cocktail, the “Fancy Frankie” contains Teeling Small Batch and 3fe espresso, and it's the crème de la crème of the category.
“I promise it’s not COVID”, she exclaims as she mops her face with a Kleenex. This winter is particularly rife with sniffles, but keep nasty bugs at bay by enjoying an immune-boosting Jameson and ginger mixed with lemon and honey from Urbanity. Please note: we are not health professionals. Please get tested if you present any signs of COVID-19, and don't just depend on hot alcohol for the cure.
Hot Chocolate & Coffee
Chilli Hot Chocolate At Roe & Co, Dublin 8
Roe & Co. Distillery has teamed up with Crepes in the City for a festive feast for those with a sweet tooth. For €15 per person, diners will enjoy a sweet or savoury crepe, along with a hot chilli chocolate with toasted marshmallows and chilli Chantilly cream, from the distillery's creative bartenders.
Feeling indulgent? Head to Three Twenty Ice-Cream Lab for melted hot chocolate with a fluffy, blow-torched marshmallow crown. Feeling extra indulgent? Order the waffle and dip it into the oozing melted marshmallow. Hey, it's been a rough year.
Step into L. Mulligan Grocer and feel your winter blues fade away. The menu is laden with ultra-comforting foods (like scotch eggs and Kievs), and the boozy hot chocolate is spiked with Power’s whiskey and topped with scorched meringue to ensure you leave merry and snug.
Fallon & Byrne is the perfect place for the annual Christmas shop, from their extensive cheese counter and wine cellar to their fresh chestnuts and homemade cranberry sauce. It will take some serious willpower to be able to ignore the adorable gingerbread men and Christmas cake squares, but the peppermint mocha overflowing with cream and candy cane pieces is a non-negotiable.
The Stillgarden Distillery in Inchicore has mixed its very own Christmas cake gin with hot chocolate and marshmallows to make a sweet and spicy edition of a classic. They’re also serving “gince pies” if you want to do it properly.
The Fat Fox is not technically in Dublin, but it is only a stone’s throw away and is well worth mentioning. Based in Delgany and Greystones, the Fat Fox Christmas Truck has popped up with outdoor seating, seasonal treats, mulled wine and creamy hot chocolate complete with a toasted marshmallow and a gingerbread man.
Something Different
The Fourth Corner has prepared an extensive winter drinks menu with mulled wine, hot port, hot whiskey, Irish coffee, Bailey’s coffee, Bailey’s hot chocolate, and the real bombshell: the Picantea. This flaming cocktail pairs tequila with lemon-peel syrup and ginger-lemon tea - the perfect airway cleanser.
