It feels like not a day goes by lately without another Dublin café announcing a pivot to small plates and wine by night, and as much as we’re on board for more choice, it’s getting harder to discern where's worth your precious time and hard-won cash.
We’re here to help. The city was starting to see an increasing glut back when we published our first guide in 2019, but you-know-what put a sharp halt to all of that soon after. Now with the pace picking up rapidly once again, here’s the latest ATF guide on where to drink great wine in Dublin...
Row Wines, Coppinger Row
An instant hit when it opened last summer, Row Wines marked a distinctly on-trend pivot from the Bereen brothers’ sadly shuttered (but soon to reopen) Coppinger Row, with one of the nicest new spaces to hit the city in a long time. Despite losing talented young chef Paddy Maher to London a few weeks in, it’s continued to throw up killer dishes like Kilkee crab rosti to match its more affordably pitched wine list. Try their €10 flatbreads for one of the city’s best lunch deals. Read our Row review here.
Fish Shop, Benburb Street
D7’s best is now so close to our heart it feels like it’s always been there – and like we’re always going there. Fish Shop’s simple name sets out its stall, but their best-in-class fish and chips and seafood small plates are no more a thing of simplicity than the impeccably curated wine list with themes like Island and Alpine and great selections of grower Champagne and sherry letting you tour the world from the comfort of a stool on Benburb Street. Walk-ins have been known to happen but it’s not worth the heartbreak of being turned away – this is one to book ahead.
Bar Pez, Kevin Street
A more casual counterpoint to its older sister Fish Shop, Bar Pez joined the family about this time last year and has maintained a bustle and buzz ever since with its Spanish bar vibes. The deep wine list is even more eclectically themed than its sibling, with the upper end of things offering excellent value if you’ve got something to celebrate. Be sure to double-check timing if you’re heading out hungry – a pared-back bar menu is sometimes all that’s on.
Piglet, Cow’s Lane
Closing in on ten years in business, Piglet was among the very first city centre wine bars to get us properly excited when it popped up in Temple Bar in 2015. This long-standing industry fave has a bottle list studded with interesting stuff, so bringing a gang of open-minded friends is the way to go. There are few places we'd rather be on a sunny evening than at one of the outside tables sipping a white port and tonic.
Loose Canon, Drury Street
Uber-cool Loose Canon has become an integral part of the Drury Street scene since kicking off the last wave of wine bars back in 2018, and bringing natural wine to the Dublin masses. Their by the glass rotation regularly throws up some of the best value going in town, and the bottles (with €15 corkage if you’re drinking in) give even more variety – ask about their chilled red options right now. Their toasties also happen to be some of the most satisfying city centre snacks going.
Note, Fenian Street
We’ll credit Note with firing the starting gun on the post-Covid wine bar boom. Since opening its doors in October 2021, this sleek space has built a rightful reputation for great wine and top-quality seasonal cooking, with the three-course €32 lunch menu one of the hottest tickets in town. Grab one of the seats out front for an evening vantage point that's as good as it gets in the city centre – if the sun ever plays ball.
Frank’s, Camden Street
The full-on fanatic’s choice, joining Frank’s gigantic marble slab table can feel like taking a seat at the altar of wine. With a focus on minimal intervention, and a regular schedule of producers stopping by to give the inside track and share their best wares, this ever-buzzy space is worth regular pitstops to see what’s new and interesting. Ex-Clanbrassil House chef David Bradshaw serves up a rotating cast of small plates, with his partner Katie Seward the expert on all things wine.
Cellar 22, Stephen’s Green
A lower-key alternative to high-end Floritz upstairs, this basement bar in the new Townhouse on the Green hotel has a commendable total of forty BTG options. There’s loads at Cellar 22 to pair with their house charcuterie boards, but a Suduiraut Sauternes with Boyne Valley blue is our top tip. Read our once over here.
Two Faced, Montague Street
Surely one of the most en trend of the latest entries, Two Faced’s thumping tunes and spillover crowd can’t but catch the ears and eyes of passers-by on the rapidly-livening Montague Street. While the food menu is solid (it’s more pitched towards snacks and soakage than a full-fledged meal), the real draw is a chatty, chirpy atmosphere to enjoy as you work your way through the fifteen or so BTG options on a well-considered list. Read our once over here.
Bootleg, Drury Street
We’re still slightly scratching our heads at the mix of things going on in Bootleg, but its ability to attract the Drury Street crowds would suggest it’s carving out a niche fine all the same. If an evening of enjoying Italodisco beats over a vintage bottle list spanning back to the 1960s is your vibe, look no further – otherwise, the short BTG list has some solid options to pair with their must-try swordfish skewers.
La Cave, Anne Street South
Respect your elders - old-school La Cave is the longest-standing of Dublin’s wine bars, a French-style throwback to a time when we weren’t nearly so spoiled for choice. On a cold winter's evening the cosy downstairs bar decked in red from top to bottom is a great place to shelter. They do a cracking crémant by the glass, and the bottle list is full of diamonds, if you know what to look for.
Ely, Ely Place
Refocused on the D2 original after its more corporate-oriented IFSC branch shut up shop, Ely is one of the OG stalwarts of the Dublin wine scene. In the past their by the glass list has been a bit safe for our liking, but its made progress in recent years with some interesting sparkling and sherries. The hugely extensive bottle list is where it's at so it might be worth arriving early for a full peruse.
A Fianco, Stoneybatter
The date night pick par excellence, A Fianco is the one vineria on this list we’ve found ourselves returning to time and time again. A sophisticated older sister to Grano next door, its regional Italian wine list is a joy to work through (and we’ve been working hard), while the food is a smart mix of ever-shifting seasonal creations and perennial favourites – their meatballs are the best, bar none.
H2G Wines, Botanic Avenue
We will be reliving the recent summer evening we spent sipping on the H2G Wines terrace all through the winter. This store-bar hybrid from the previous operators of Honest2Goodness market is a godsend to locals of Glasnevin and surrounds, and well worth a trip for those further afield. Corkage is €10 from anything on the well-stocked shelves (€15 at weekends), while the rotating open bottles number about seven at a time.
Brut Wine Bar, Drumcondra
On Friday and Saturday evenings, Nelly's in Drumcondra turns into organic and biodynamic wine bar Brut, with an all-star list of natural lovelies. There's a food menu ranging from terrines and antipasti to grilled chicken thighs and gratin, and we do love dining and drinking by candlelight.
Green Man Wines, Terenure
Part award-winning shop, part much-lauded wine bar, Green Man Wines nails the best of both worlds with a €10 corkage charge on anything off the shelf, making it one of the best value places in the city to drink the really good stuff, and all to tempting to trade up. The selection in here is second to none, and people travel from across the city to Terenure to buy and drink wine in Green Man.
64 Wine, Glasthule
Another suburban diamond, 64 Wine makes wine fiends everywhere severely jealous that they don't live in Glasthule. The shelves are crammed full of the best bottles currently available on the Irish market, and the staff are always dying to tell you the stories behind them. Corkage on anything off the shelf is €15, which is increasingly better value the more expensive your taste. Just try to leave here without draining your bank account - we've yet to manage it.
September, Blackrock
The focus of this week’s once over is a feather in the cap of the current wine bar explosion. September is the new venture from the folks who ran D4’s Leroy’s up until only this week, and the move to bigger and better things is to everyone's benefit. We’re hoping they beef up the BTG choice a bit in the months to come, but the bottle list’s focus on natural and organic producers has some really excellent options to match with their delicious array of small plates.
