RFK Rankings · Dublin
Best Restaurants for an Anniversary in Dublin 2026
Anniversary · Dublin · 8 tables ranked · Updated May 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published March 10, 2026 · Updated May 21, 2026
Guillaume Lebrun has cooked at Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud since the 1980s, which is exactly the kind of continuity an anniversary wants. A milestone dinner asks for a room that will be the same next year and the year after, that remembers your name and the date, and that quietly repeats a kindness you mentioned once. Dublin delivers this best from its grand hotel rooms and its long-running independents, the kitchens that have held their standard for decades rather than seasons. The food matters, but for an anniversary the table memory matters more: the noted occasion, the held window seat, the off-menu sweet at the end. These eight, ranked, are the Dublin rooms to mark a year in, whether it is the first or the fortieth.
1.Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud
Ireland's grandest two-star room at the Merrion, the lobster ravioli and duck for two, tasting 275 euros. Make it the anniversary tradition.
Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud has held two Michelin stars for decades from a Georgian house on Upper Merrion Street, beside the Merrion Hotel, with Guillaume Lebrun long at the head of the kitchen. The Clogherhead lobster ravioli with curry-scented oil and the roast Challans duck carved for two are the signatures, and the eight-course tasting is 275 euros, the top spend in the city. For an anniversary it is the grand choice: a room that has marked Dublin milestones for forty years, a floor team with the memory and the discretion to note your date and repeat a kindness, and a sommelier with one of Ireland's deepest cellars. Make it the anniversary tradition, book three weeks out, and tell them the year you are marking.
Book at restaurantpatrickguilbaud.ie; note the occasion.
2.Chapter One
Mickael Viljanen's two-star room on Parnell Square, the foie gras royale a signature, tasting 235 euros. Book a milestone weeks ahead.
Chapter One reopened as Chapter One by Mickael Viljanen and holds two Michelin stars from a Georgian basement on Parnell Square, on the north side of the city. Viljanen's foie gras royale, layered with eel, grapes and caramelised walnuts, has been his signature since 2012, and the tasting dinner is 235 euros. For an anniversary it is the food-first milestone: a serious, polished kitchen in a room warm enough to linger in, with a floor team that handles a celebration without making a performance of it. The north-city setting keeps it a touch less obvious than the Merrion rooms, which suits a couple who want the occasion without the crowd. Book a milestone weeks ahead and ask after the wine pairing.
Book at chapteronerestaurant.com; the wine pairing is 110 euros.
3.Glovers Alley
Andy McFadden's one-star room over St Stephen's Green, 170-euro tasting and a view of the trees. Take a window for the anniversary.
Glovers Alley occupies the first floor of the Fitzwilliam Hotel above St Stephen's Green, where Andy McFadden holds one Michelin star for modern French cooking on Irish produce, the tasting 170 euros. For an anniversary it lands between the grand hotel rooms and the neighbourhood independents: refined and special-occasion in feel, but calmer and a touch less formal than the two-star rooms. Ask for a window table and the trees of the Green become the backdrop, which makes a milestone feel like an event without the top-end spend. The service is warm and the room handles a celebration gracefully. Take a window for the anniversary and book the earlier sitting.
Book at gloversalley.com; ask for a window.
4.Pearl Brasserie
Sebastien Masi's basement booths off Merrion Street, the Pigeon Rossini and a 105-euro tasting. Return to a nook each year.
Pearl Brasserie has cooked under Sebastien Masi on Merrion Street Upper since 2000, a subterranean set of rooms with booths and nooks and the kind of low light that suits a returning couple. The French-Asian menu keeps the Pigeon Rossini and the bluefin tuna ponzu year to year, and the six-course tasting is 105 euros, gentler than the two-star rooms across the road. For an anniversary it is the intimate, repeatable choice: a booth you can ask for by year, a floor team that remembers a face, and twenty-plus years in the Michelin Guide to back the consistency. It is the room to make a quiet tradition of. Return to a nook each year and tell them the date when you book.
Book at pearl-brasserie.com; request the same booth.
5.One Pico
Zhan Sergejev's grown-up room off St Stephen's Green, modern Irish-French with real occasion. Pencil it in for an unshowy anniversary.
One Pico sits down Molesworth Place off St Stephen's Green, an established occasion room owned by Eamonn O'Reilly, with Zhan Sergejev now running the kitchen after years at L'Ecrivain. It carries into the 2026 Michelin Guide for modern Irish cooking with French polish, and the dining room is calm, well-spaced and built for a long dinner. For an anniversary it is the dependable, grown-up choice: a room that has marked Dublin occasions for over two decades, generous menus, and service that knows how to make a table feel looked after. It does not chase trends, which is part of why couples keep returning. Pencil it in for an unshowy anniversary and take a corner table.
Book at onepico.com; the corner tables are quietest.
6.Forest Avenue
John Wyer's new-starred Sandymount room, a 75-euro tasting and a personal welcome. Try it for a gentler anniversary in Dublin 4.
Forest Avenue won its first Michelin star in early 2026, run by John and Sandy Wyer as a neighbourhood restaurant in Sandymount for more than ten years. The tasting menu is 75 euros, with a three-course lunch from 55, exceptional value for a starred kitchen, and the cooking is quietly excellent rather than showy. For an anniversary it suits the couple who want the occasion to feel personal: a small room where the Wyers know their regulars, an easy welcome, and a kitchen that has earned its star without losing the neighbourhood feel. It is a milestone marked among friends rather than in a grand hall. Try it for a gentler anniversary in Dublin 4 and book the tasting.
Book at forestavenue.ie; the tasting is the move.
7.Bastible
Barry Fitzgerald's one-star room at Leonard's Corner, a 110-euro set menu and a warm welcome. Book it for a low-key milestone.
Bastible holds a Michelin star in the 2026 guide from a small room at Leonard's Corner on the South Circular Road in Portobello, where chef Barry Fitzgerald cooks a seasonal modern-European set menu, around 110 euros. For an anniversary it is the choice for a couple who would rather mark the year warmly than grandly: a handful of tables, a confident kitchen and a welcome that treats a returning face as one of its own. The set format keeps the evening simple, the spend reasonable for a starred room, and the neighbourhood setting personal. It is a milestone for people who like their celebrations off the tourist track. Book it for a low-key milestone and tell them you are celebrating.
Book at bastible.com; flag the occasion.
8.Liath
Damien Grey's two-star counter in Blackrock Market, a dozen seats and a destination tasting. Worth the trip for a food-led anniversary.
Liath earned its second Michelin star in 2026, which makes Damien Grey's tiny counter in Blackrock Market, south of the city, one of just three two-star rooms in Dublin. There are barely a dozen seats and a single tasting, prepaid when you book, with wine pairings from 80 euros on top of the menu. For an anniversary it is the destination milestone: the couple who care more about the cooking than the grandeur of the room, willing to travel out to Blackrock for one of the most precise meals in Ireland. It is intense and intimate rather than romantic in the candlelit sense, so it suits a food-obsessed pair. Worth the trip for a food-led anniversary; book the moment seats release.
Book at liathrestaurant.com; seats release in advance and go fast.
Avoid for an anniversary
Right city, wrong room
Variety Jones. Keelan Higgs's one-star Variety Jones on Thomas Street serves a single feasting menu in a small, communal, open-kitchen room. It is a brilliant night out and a poor anniversary: there is no quiet table to linger at and no real room for the kitchen to mark the occasion. Save it for a celebration with friends.
Etto. Etto's Bib Gourmand small plates on Merrion Row are some of the best value in the city, but the room is tiny, loud and built for turnover, with tables close enough to share your neighbour's conversation. It is the wrong setting to stretch out a milestone. Keep it for a casual midweek dinner.
Reservation strategy for a Dublin anniversary
Book three to four weeks ahead for the starred rooms and say it is an anniversary when you do. Patrick Guilbaud, Chapter One and Liath fill first for the weekend, and Liath's prepaid counter seats go within days of release. The hotel rooms, Patrick Guilbaud and Glovers Alley, are the ones to lean on for table memory: their floor teams keep records, so a returning couple is remembered and a kindness from last year can quietly reappear.
Flag the year you are marking at the time of booking, not on the night, so the kitchen can prepare a milestone dessert and the floor can hold the table you want. Dublin adds 10 to 12.5 per cent service for two in most rooms, so check the bill before you tip again. If wine is part of the celebration, brief the sommelier in advance, and at the two-star rooms ask whether they can pull a bottle from a year that matters to you. Book early, name the date, and let the room build the tradition with you.
Frequently asked
What is the best anniversary restaurant in Dublin?
Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud is the top pick. The two-Michelin-star French room on Upper Merrion Street has marked Dublin milestones for decades, with Guillaume Lebrun's Clogherhead lobster ravioli and Challans duck for two anchoring an eight-course tasting at 275 euros. For an anniversary the draw is the table memory: a floor team that notes the date and repeats a kindness, and a cellar deep enough for a bottle from your year. Book three weeks out.
Which Dublin restaurants remember returning couples?
The hotel and long-running rooms are best for table memory. Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud beside the Merrion, Glovers Alley at the Fitzwilliam, Pearl Brasserie on Merrion Street and One Pico off St Stephen's Green all keep records and have floor teams used to returning couples. Tell them when you book that it is a returning anniversary and the year you are marking, and the room will be ready for it.
How much is an anniversary dinner in Dublin?
Plan on 75 to 275 euros a head before wine. Forest Avenue's starred tasting is 75 euros and Pearl Brasserie's six-course is 105, while Glovers Alley is 170, Chapter One 235 and Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud, the grandest, 275 for eight courses. Bastible's set menu sits around 110. Pick the room by the size of the milestone rather than the size of the bill, and brief the sommelier on a wine budget in advance.
Where is the most romantic anniversary restaurant in Dublin?
Pearl Brasserie and Glovers Alley lead for romance. Pearl's dusky basement booths on Merrion Street are intimate and private, ideal for a returning couple, while Glovers Alley's window tables over St Stephen's Green give a milestone a genuine sense of occasion. For a grand, classic romance, Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud is unmatched. Each suits a different kind of anniversary, so choose by the mood you want for the year.
Is Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud worth it for an anniversary?
Yes, for a milestone you want to feel grand. The only two-star French room of its kind in Dublin, it pairs serious classic cooking, the lobster ravioli and duck for two, with the deepest table memory and cellar in the city. The eight-course tasting at 275 euros is a real spend, so it suits a significant year rather than a casual annual dinner. For a quieter, gentler anniversary, Forest Avenue or Pearl Brasserie are better value.
Which Dublin Michelin restaurant is best value for an anniversary?
Forest Avenue is the value pick. John Wyer's Sandymount room won its first Michelin star in 2026 and serves a tasting menu at 75 euros, with a three-course lunch from 55, some of the best value at this level in Ireland. The room is small and personal, the welcome warm, and the cooking quietly excellent. For a milestone that feels intimate rather than grand, it is hard to beat on price or feel.
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