Afternoon tea on a bus driving around the Dublin streets? And not just any bus – a genuine 1961 Routemaster, a real vintage bus named Pauline. It sounds like a crazy idea but it totally works.
The brainchild of Karen Nixon, Vintage Tea Trips is ... more...
3 Leaves started life in 2016 as a simple street food stall in Blackrock Market, yet chef Santosh Thomas’s cooking was too good to stay a casual secret. The 12 seats were constantly full, with lunchtime queues snaking through the market daily. Wo ... more...
Neighbourhood is everything these days and every neighbourhood needs a restaurant at its core. RIBA is one of those spots. This Italian restaurant - which has been in the Borza family for decades and is currently co-owned by Paolo Borza (who also has Q ... more...
CLOSING JANUARY 2024
Having made his name in London, over many decades, critically-acclaimed Irish chef and restaurateur Richard Corrigan’s new Dublin restaurant is the latest addition to his portfolio and an exciting and vibrant new addition to ... more...
This opulent 19th-century hotel on St Stephen’s Green (Europe’s largest garden square) dates back to 1824 - and, in new ownership since 2015, a major facelift was completed just in time to cerlebrate its 195th anniversary in 2019. The chang ... more...
Renowned for their finesse and flavour, artisan baker Thibault Peigne’s tasty continental breads are made by traditional methods, using the finest organic ingredients.
Sourdough breads, French pastries and cakes are among the treats you can buy ... more...
Like many other Irish brewers, owners Emma Devlin and Cathal O’Donoghue’s love of good craft beer began abroad, when they were living in New Zealand. After returning to Ireland, not one but two home brewing competition awards in 2013 spurre ... more...
RE-LAUNCHED AS TABLE WINE - see entry
THE MORNING, next door, is a daytime hatch serving takeaway coffee and baked sourdough goodies
Located on a quiet street off a busy thoroughfare, Kevin Powell and barista Brian O'Keefe's popul ... more...
Situated near St Patrick's Cathedral, Assassination Custard is probably Ireland's smallest restaurant.
Do not expect frills, this is good food in a very simple setting and the two owners, Ken Doherty and Gwen McGrath, are there all of the time, both c ... more...
At this temple to superb wine in the old Silver Tassie venue, wine industry veteran David Whelehan has assembled a seriously impressive team around him – including Martina Delaney, who garnered many admirers during her tenure as sommelier in l&rs ... more...
With lengthening days and spring in the air, a short break away from cities can lift the spirits without breaking the bank. A hotel is a good bet early in the year, offering plenty of comfort and facilities if the weather is disappointing. To get the best rates, travel midweek if possible, give the special offers pages on hotel websites a good browse - and book direct. Here are some of our favourites to try.
Spring may be a clichéd time for all things romantic, but there can never be a bad time to plan a twosome break. Here are just a few of our favourite romantic destinations in Ireland to get you thinking...
Whether for Christmas, New Year or that lovely Twixmas gap between them, this can be the perfect time for a short break with - or as a respite from - family and friends. That in-between time often offers great value for a refreshing post-Christmas recovery break and some hotels have interesting pre-Christmas packages on offer too. Extra high demand this year means that some venues may be heavily booked, especially for the main Christmas break, but it is always worth calling to check availabi ...
While many are open all year, this is perhaps the perfect time for garden visits - and some of Ireland's loveliest gardens offer accommodation too, so why not try one (or more) of these gorgeous garden getaways this year...
Thinking of a family get-together in Ireland, or want to meet up somewhere interesting with old friends? Destinations that can cater separately for families and other groups often offer a particularly relaxing stay. Here are just a few of our favourites to tempt you…
10 of the very best places to eat, drink & stay throughout Ireland. We are blessed with some outstanding places to eat and stay in Ireland and these are unquestionably some of the very best – and they’re all beautifully located too.
What better way to spend a few days away in some of Irelands most stunning landscapes than a short break at one of our famous fishing hotels? And, by a happy chance, they are all lovely places for non-fishing partners to visit too….
With soaring fuel prices affecting everything - and especially travel costs -picking a destination that's an hour or 90 minutes from home means better value for your break, as well as less stress and more chilling time. So if you're based in Dublin why not try one of our picks for a quick break within easy striking distance of the capital?
Not quite decided on your holiday plans yet? Consider the simplicity, relaxation and - if chosen wisely - better value, that airport-free home holidays offer. Parents holidaying with their kids will find there is plenty to choose from in many of the most beautiful and interesting areas of Ireland, and you’ll be made especially welcome this year.
Affordable 5 star luxury is on offer at Lough Eske Castle this spring with the special ‘Escape To The Castle’ package, from just €315 per room including dinner
Two iconic houses of great taste create the perfect blend this March when The K Club hosts a very special Laurent Perrier Champagne Dinner in the Barton Restaurant
Famed for their value breaks together with great food and service, the Dunraven Arms always has some excellent short breaks on offer, including in Spring 2024
It’s not too late to bag a festive treat at this special rural destination. Set in a secluded County Wicklow Valley, BrookLodge & Macreddin Village promises a ‘haven of tranquillity’ at any season...
Denotes genuine Irish food culture, ie special Irish food products/companies/producers, and highlights the best places to shop for regional and artisan ...
With a rich historical and maritime legacy, East Cork has a truly unique variety of attractions to offer the visitor.
It is a haven for family holidays with a huge range of activities and attractions to keep the whole family entertained for hours.
In this extensive county, the towns and villages have their own distinctive character. In West Cork, their spirit is preserved in the vigour of the landscape with the handsome coastline where the light of the famous Fastnet Rock swings across tumbling ocean and spray-tossed headland. The county is a repository of the good things of life, a treasure chest of the finest farm produce, and the very best of seafood, brought to market by skilled specialists.
The town of Killarney is where the Ring of Kerry begins and ends for many, among the lakes and mountains where they are re-establishing the enormous white-tailed sea eagle, has long been a magnet for visitors. Across the purple mountains from Killarney, the lovely little town of Kenmare in South Kerry is both a gourmet focus, and another excellent touring centre. As one of the prettiest places in Ireland, Kenmare puts the emphasis on civic pride.
That Galway Bay coastline in Co. Clare is where The Burren, the fantastical North Clare moonscape of limestone which is home to so much unexpectedly exotic flora, comes plunging spectacularly towards the sea around the attractive village of Ballyvaughan.
Connemara, the Land of the Sea, where earth, rock and ocean intermix in one of Ireland's most extraordinary landscapes, and is now as ever a place of angling renown - you're very quickly into the high ground and moorland which sweep up to the Twelve Bens and other splendid peaks, wonderful mountains which enthusiasts would claim as the most beautiful in all Ireland. Beyond, to the south, the Aran Islands are a place apart.
Rivers often divide one county from another, but Fermanagh is divided - or linked if you prefer - throughout its length by the handsome waters of the River Erne, both river and lake. Southeast of the historic county town of Enniskillen, Upper Lough Erne is a maze of small waterways meandering their way into Fermanagh from the Erne'e source in County Cavan.
Co Cavan shares the 667 m peak of Cuilcagh with neighbouring Fermanagh. No ordinary mountain, this - it has underground streams which eventually become the headwaters of the lordly River Shannon, Ireland's longest river that passes south through many counties before exiting at the mighty estuary in Limerick. A magnet for tourism now with boating, fishing, cycling and walking-a-plenty.
Between the sheltered bays at the foot of the Glens of Antrim, the sea cliffs of the headlands soar with remarkable rock formations which, on the North Coast, provide the setting for the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge and the Giant's Causeway.
A selective companion guide to our famous broad-based online collection, the ‘glovebox bible’ includes a uniquely diverse range of Ireland's greatest places to ...