RFK Rankings · Dublin
Best Wine Lists in Dublin 2026
Restaurant cellars & sommelier programs · Dublin · 6 lists ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published June 18, 2026 · Updated June 20, 2026 · Reviewed by Fredrik Filipsson, Editor-in-Chief · How we rank · Corrections
Thirty thousand bottles sit beneath Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud beside the Merrion, the deepest cellar in Ireland and the anchor of a Dublin wine scene that has quietly grown serious. Behind that two-star landmark runs a city of sommelier-led tables: a Parnell Square room with two stars of its own, a tasting counter stacked with Champagne and orange wine, and a pair of bistros that treat the list as the reason to book. Here is who each table suits, what to expect walking in, and how to book it. Six, ranked on depth, the pairing program and value rather than trophy labels alone.
1.Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud
Ireland's deepest cellar, 30,000 bottles beside the Merrion. Save it for a landmark bottle.
Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud, beside the Merrion Hotel, has been the country's fine-dining benchmark for four decades, a two-star room of contemporary Irish cooking with French classical roots. The cellar is the deepest in Ireland, more than 30,000 bottles with genuinely rare vintages, run by a team of sommeliers with encyclopaedic range across France and beyond. This is the city's grand wine occasion, the room for marking something with an aged Bordeaux or Burgundy and a floor that reads the table. Plan on a top-end spend before wine. Reserve two to three weeks ahead, name a region and a number, and ask the sommelier what is drinking best from the older vintages.
Book on the Guilbaud site; ask the sommelier for an aged bottle in your range.
2.Chapter One by Mickael Viljanen
Mickael Viljanen's two-star with a serious, wide-ranging list. Reserve weeks ahead for the pairing.
Chapter One on Parnell Square, now Chapter One by Mickael Viljanen, holds two Michelin stars for some of the most accomplished cooking in Ireland. The wine program matches it, wide-ranging and serious, with depth in France and a sommelier team that builds a thoughtful pairing around Viljanen's intricate menu rather than reaching for the obvious. This is the booking for a couple who want a destination dinner and a wine team with genuine taste. Plan on a top-end spend before wine. Reserve two to three weeks ahead, take the pairing if the tasting menu is the point, and tell the floor if you want to lean classic or off the beaten path.
Book on the Chapter One site; take the pairing and ask the floor to surprise you.
3.D'Olier Street
A Michelin-starred tasting room with a list stacked with Champagne and orange wine. Try it once for the by-the-glass.
D'Olier Street is one of the city's most exciting recent openings, James Moore's Michelin-starred tasting-menu room of complex, modern Irish cooking with a wine list to match its ambition. The selection is stacked with grower Champagne, orange wines and unusual varietals from lesser-known producers, the kind of list that rewards a curious drinker and a strong by-the-glass program. This is the booking for a couple who want genuinely interesting bottles rather than a classic cellar, in a buzzy, contemporary room. Plan on an upper-mid spend before wine. Reserve two weeks ahead, take the pairing if you want the full sweep, and ask the floor for the most unusual glass on the list.
Book on the D'Olier Street site; take the pairing or ask for the most unusual glass.
4.Dax
A basement French room off Fitzwilliam Square with a deep, classic list. Book it for a great Burgundy.
Dax sits in a Georgian basement off Fitzwilliam Square, a long-running French room that has quietly built one of the best classic wine programs in the city. The list is deep and French-leaning, strong in Burgundy and Bordeaux, with a floor happy to find the right bottle for the occasion rather than push a name. This is the booking for a couple or small group who want serious French cooking and a genuinely good bottle in a warm, grown-up room away from the crowds. Plan on an upper-mid spend before wine. Reserve a week or two ahead, tell the floor what you are eating and what you want to spend, and let them lead you to a Burgundy.
Book on the Dax site; ask the floor for a Burgundy to match the menu.
5.Bastible
Barry Fitzgerald's one-star bistro with a terroir-led list. Pencil it in for natural bottles and seasonal cooking.
Bastible in Portobello is the neighbourhood one-star, chef-proprietor Barry Fitzgerald's small, hard-to-book room of precise, seasonal modern Irish cooking. The wine program tracks the menu's rhythms, terroir-led and leaning natural and low-intervention, the kind of list that improves the meal rather than flexes on points. This is the booking for a couple who want a serious, of-the-moment wine night in a relaxed room rather than a grand cellar. Plan on a mid-to-upper spend before wine. Reserve two to three weeks ahead, take the pairing, and tell the floor how far into natural wine you want to go.
Book on the Bastible site; take the pairing and ask for a terroir-driven bottle.
6.Etto
A tiny Merrion Row bistro with a sharp, characterful list. Settle in for small plates and a clever bottle.
Etto on Merrion Row is the wine-led pick on this list, a tiny, perpetually full bistro whose short Mediterranean menu exists in large part to drink well. The list is sharp and characterful, leaning Italian and French growers with a by-the-glass program among the best in the city, all at prices well below the grand rooms. This is the booking for a couple or pair of friends who want genuinely interesting wine and honest cooking without any formality. Plan on a mid spend before wine. Reserve a week ahead, sit at the counter if you can, and let the floor pour a few glasses before you commit to a bottle.
Book on the Etto site; sit at the counter and taste a few glasses before you commit.
Avoid for a wine night
Name on the old list, not on the floor
The Greenhouse. Mickael Viljanen's old two-star is still on plenty of wine lists, but it closed in 2020 and has not reopened, so any 2026 ranking pointing you there is out of date. He cooks at Chapter One now, so book there for the same talent and a serious list.
The Temple Bar pubs. The cobbled tourist quarter is a fine night out for a pint and the music, but the wine is an afterthought and the prices are aimed at footfall. Have the Guinness and the session, then keep your wine night for one of the rooms above.
How to drink well in Dublin
Name a region and a number and let the floor work inside it; at Patrick Guilbaud, Chapter One and Dax that conversation reliably turns up a better, often older bottle than the label you would have reached for, and all three are deep enough to pull aged French verticals on request. Book the destination rooms two to three weeks ahead through their own sites, where the best weekend tables go first. For anything rare at Guilbaud, say so when you book so the bottle is confirmed and standing up before you sit down.
The wine-led end, D'Olier Street, Bastible and Etto, rewards taking the pairing and telling the floor if you want classic bottles or something natural and off-script. Etto in particular is built to taste by the glass, so lean on the floor before you commit. And wherever you go, if you are celebrating, say so when you book so the room can make a night of it.
Frequently asked
Which Dublin restaurant has the best wine list?
Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud beside the Merrion holds our top spot, with the deepest cellar in Ireland. The room keeps more than 30,000 bottles with genuinely rare vintages, run by a team of sommeliers with encyclopaedic range across France and beyond, built to drink with two-star contemporary Irish cooking. Reserve two to three weeks ahead, name a region and a budget, and ask the sommelier what is drinking best from the older vintages.
Which Dublin restaurant has the best sommelier program?
Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud has the deepest classic program, while Chapter One by Mickael Viljanen runs a wide-ranging, serious list with a sommelier team used to building a pairing around an intricate two-star menu. For something more contemporary, D'Olier Street and Bastible lean into grower Champagne, orange wine and natural bottles. At any of them, tell the floor what you want to spend and let them lead.
Where can I drink natural or unusual wine in Dublin?
D'Olier Street and Bastible are the two rooms for natural and unusual wine. D'Olier Street stacks its list with grower Champagne, orange wines and lesser-known varietals, while Bastible leans terroir-driven and low-intervention to track its seasonal menu. Etto on Merrion Row is the relaxed, value-minded option, with one of the best by-the-glass programs in the city. At all three, lean on the floor before you commit.
How much does a good bottle cost at Dublin restaurants?
Plan on 55 to 110 euro for a genuinely good bottle at most of these rooms, with the ceiling far higher at Patrick Guilbaud and Chapter One, whose cellars run into rare and aged territory. Dax, Bastible and Etto are the value-minded picks. The smart move everywhere is to set a number with the floor and let them find the interesting bottle inside it rather than reaching for a name you already know.
Do you need a reservation for these Dublin wine restaurants?
Yes for all of them, and well ahead for the destination rooms. Patrick Guilbaud, Chapter One, D'Olier Street and Bastible release tables ahead and the best weekend tables go first, so book two to three weeks out. Dax and Etto are a little easier but still worth reserving. For a rare or aged bottle at Guilbaud, say so when you book so it is confirmed and ready before you sit down.
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