Where To Eat Seafood In Dublin

Seafood is for life, not just for summer, but it definitely shines in these sunnier months when meaty mains and richer dishes feel like a bit too much in those warmer temperatures. From palate-livening combos like gildas and sherry, to fresh-as-it-gets seaside spots, to everywhere leaning into lobster season, here's where we're going in Dublin to get the best seafood now and all year round...

The Seafood Café, Fownes Street

Niall Sabongi’s Temple Bar mainstay The Seafood Café is the perfect casual central spot to settle in and sup seafood to your heart’s content – a long and boozy lunch segueing into oyster happy hour at 4pm is one of our go-to treats. They’re going big on Irish lobster as you’d expect right now, with a half and a glass of white Rioja going for €35 at lunchtime from Monday - Friday.

Bar Italia, Ormond Quay

€40 for a whole lobster? In this economy? Bar Italia’s brilliant offer turned our heads so quickly last week (and last year when it started) that they threatened to unscrew – this is as good value as it gets. Calamari bruschetta, wild baby scallops, and seafood Strozzapreti are all on the go too if you’re not down for summer lobster.

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Mongoose, Dublin 8

The long-awaited follow up to Michelin-starred Variety Jones has been the sequel of dreams for Keelan Higgs and his team, with diners and critics unable to find anything they don't like about the place. Seafood is one of the best value things to order in here, with cod's roe and halibut on the bone two of our favourites from dinner. Read our once over here.

Library Street, Dublin 2

Are you really a seafood lover if you've never had the turbot head with miso and preserved lemon at Library Street? The experiment in the name of fin to tail cooking has become a permanent resident, joining those Flaggy Shore oysters with Blaufränkisch and cherry, and the choux with horseradish and Cantabrian anchovy as the restaurant's seafood standouts.

Uno Mas/Etto/Lena

While you might only have one or two seafood options on the menu at Dublin's iconic restaurant trio of Uno Mas, Etto and Lena, they are guaranteed to knock you sideways. From the legendary mussels with nduja at Etto, the the squid a la plancha at Uno Mas, to the bluefin tuna crudo at Lena, this is as fresh and eye-wipingly delicious as seafood gets.

Bar Pez, Kevin Street

Fish Shop’s Spanish-style little sister specialises in seasonal and seafood-heavy small plates, with their crab sandwich and scallop toast now infamous for good reason. With a pivot to a seven-day service, Bar Pez is bringing comfort food and benchmark wine every night of the week.

Fish Shop, Benburb Street

We’ve lost count of the times we’ve sat down in Fish Shop, ordered a gilda and manzanilla, and agonised over what to order next – name a better way to start a meal. The city’s best fish and chips has racked up raves from international outlets aplenty in recent years, cementing it firmly on the tourist radar, so be sure to book ahead if you want to be guaranteed a seat.

Allta na Farraige, Grand Canal Dock

Niall Davidson's casual spin off next door to mothership Allta had a few guises before settling on seafood and cocktail bar Allta na Farraige, and everything seemed to be coming up roses with critics calling it "thrilling" and "the best food I've eaten in Dublin in a while". Despite this the chef announced in June that his businesses would wrap up at the end of the year, but you've still got a few months to take a seat at the bar for prawn oil margaritas and barbecued scallops with lobster XO.

Matsukawa, Smithfield

Three years on from its arrival in Smithfield, Matsukawa's eight seats are somewhat easier to book – especially if you're happy to eat early in this omakase sushi spot. From melt-in-the-mouth otoro to torched John Dory, every morsel here is made in front of you using premium ingredients with the utmost care, and it's a show as much as a delicious dinner.

Achara, Aston Quay

While its Sandymount sister restaurant Crudo might sound the fishiest in a family that also includes Hera and Borgo, it’s actually Thai-style Achara that’s our pick for the best of the bunch to sample seafood. Sourcing from Glenmar, they give this prime catch the best bold flavour treatment, from the famed trout ceviche with nam jim and Donegal squid pad phet, to crab-fried rice with crispy shallots.

La Gordita, Montague Street

Las Tapas de Lola’s younger but much more refined sibling, La Gordita translates to “the little fat one”, which is precisely how we feel every time we roll out of there. From the first bite of a gilda, to the squid ink decadence of arroz negro, to the sizzling sputter of gambas al ajillo, everything on the ample seafood and shellfish menu is worth wrecking your waistline for.

Daruma, Parliament Street

There’s a few izakaya-style spots around Dublin these days, but none we've seen doing as much of interest with fish as Daruma. Beyond the bountiful sushi options, there’s a constant commitment to interesting seafood specials here, with scallop skewers, monkfish karaage and red mullet tempura often appearing.

Coppinger & Row Wines, Coppinger Row

The Bereen brothers’ neighbouring sites on Coppinger Row always have seafood to the fore, from Row Wines’ Kilkee crab rösti to Coppinger’s cod with mussels and chorizo. The latter’s laudable lunch deal of three courses for €20 has been known to throw up things like red mullet too – there’s nothing we wouldn’t drop for that.

Mamó, Howth

There might not be a better-known snack on any menu in Dublin than Mamó’s cod chip, but spicy buffalo ray wings have had us just as excited on our last few visits. The Howth institution is the nicest of spots for a celebration, with hospitality, wine and seasonal specials that never fail to thrill. (ATF Insiders get a free portion of cod chips when dining on Monday, Thursday and Sunday)

King Sitric, Howth

It's hard to visit Howth without stopping at King Sitric for oysters, tempura prawns and garlic butter crab claws, but bookings are essential during summer when tourists flood the peninsula. During lobster season they usually have the best prices around, as they buy direct from the boats, and on a sunny day the wooden outdoor dining pods is where you want to be. If it's not sunny, the nautical themed dining room is also lovely to relax in.

Octopussy's Seafood Tapas, Howth

There’s no better reward for a hike around Howth Head than slumping onto a picnic table outside Octopussy’s and munching on gambas and mussels like popcorn. The only non-fishy option on this menu is chicken wings, and if you order them you're cheating.

 

Sea Shanty, Blackrock

Moved from the market just a short stroll away to the space above over Conway’s pub, Sea Shanty specialises in a superb selection of oysters, with anything up to nine options available at any given time. That’s exciting enough in its own right even before we get to the soft shell crab curry and seafood aguachile.

The Dunmore, Rathmines

Transplanting the success of Waterford’s Strand Inn Hotel to the Dublin suburbs, The Dunmore brought plenty of tried-and-tested seafood dishes to Rathmines when it opened back in 2023. The 3-for-€40 neighbourhood menu makes for great midweek value too, with Duncannon Quay Mussels and sobrasada, and traditional fish and chips on there.

Lobstar, Monkstown

Veronika and Zsolt Zakar's cosy neighbourhood dining room has lobster as the star of the menu (both rolls and grilled tails), but you'll also find mussels, prawn pil-pil, wild seabass and lots more. Lobstar's family run feel means the food and service are consistently good too.

Caviston's Glasthule

Caviston's has long been known as the seafood shop of choice for fish-loving southsiders, but their restaurant, which opened a couple of doors down in 2022, is now the local go-to when you don't want to cook it at home. Wild Irish fish like lobster, langoustines, hake and monkfish abound, but there's some obligatory meat and veggie dishes if for some strange reason you end up in here with someone who's not feeling fish.