The best restaurantsof italian in Dublin

30/03/2024: As a local to the area, recently visited Botanical to see if this relatively new restaurant is "one of the best in the city" as they claim on the website. Unfortunately was very disappointed. The menu is limited but I guess ok if viewed as a side service to a hotel. We ordered a few different things, all were ok but in no way a top culinary experience. Things stated as 'seared' were not so, sourdough bread very much looked and tasted like grocery store toast, missing items from order etc. What did stand out as a positive was the cocktails and jungle themed decor (although pales in comparison to places like The Ivy). What was the worst was the service. It was not non-friendly, just very incompetent. The service staff would ask a question and immediately rush away without consideration to any questions or if we wanted to order other items. Initial drinks order took 3 attempts to get right. When asked what the special was, again staff rushed away to the kitchen area and came back with a single word response "lamb". Ok.. served how, with what, what's the price? It didn't seem to occur to them at all that this would be relevant information and they just again rushed away. At the end of the visit, was first given the bill of a different table and when questioning this, server seemed visibly irritated and rushed out to get it corrected. I could understand the rushing away if the place has been busy but more than half the tables were empty and there was more than one server working. One experienced professional could have handled all customers with relative ease. The final disappointment was using the customer bathrooms. This required a 5 digit code from the reception and when going into the bathroom, I could not believe how it could look so nice but smell so bad! This was not some slight stench but like raw sewer. I seriously considered holding it in to go to a close by pub (not know for rosy smells there either!) for my business as it was the worst bathroom smell I've experienced in my life! I would not recommend this place to anyone who wants more than just a hotel style burger before heading upstairs to bed or grab a few beers/cocktails on the patio. It's sad to see a new place like this that has so much potential not make the most of it when simple improvements like training their staff could easily elevate the experience to the customers. I sincerely hope they improve.

05/03/2024: Lovely food and great atmosphere

02/05/2024: Very poor quality food. Not a sign of fresh tomatoes or olives on our starter board. Tasted like packaged meat from a supermarket. Will not be back!

30/04/2024: First time here after wanting to come for ages. Got the Bresaola starter with parmesan celery and lemon — great flavours in a small bite and very refreshing. For mains: Tagliatelle Amatriciana, Ravioli with Porcini mushroom filling in a cream sauce, Wild boar stew. Great texture on the pastas, and sauces not too rich. Wild boar stew was hearty, meat was dry but flavour was alright, fantastic side of toasted bread. Complimentary bread with a fine olive oil. Overall: Cooking very home-style as opposed to fine dining, good only if authenticity is what you crave. Intimate dining space — either come early or book early. Great service. Servings are small considering prices, but if ingredients were imported then I suppose this is justified. Unique experience but for me personally am not particularly inclined to come back.

02/04/2024: Dined here in Easter Sunday evening. We'd no reservation but were seated immediately. Atmosphere - all the lights were on it was too bright. We weren't given menus for about 15 mins. We were ready to get up and leave but we're in no rush. We'd to ask for the specials. Food was mediocre. Prawns were the type you used to get frozen in the 80's. Warm underseasoned bland salad which I wasn't expecting. Pasta was okay but very al dente, hoped for fresh pasta. Will go to another Italian restaurant next time. Also, sourdough has no place on an Italian menu. No just no. I'm guessing the better staff were on Easter break. 🐣

02/04/2024: The food is really good quality. I’m leaving two stars because it’s too pricey. The special pappardelle was 20€ and was way too small of a dish. I left the place unhappy and won’t come back as long as the price doesn’t match the quantity.

04/04/2024: "Terrible service! The staff behaviour was so rude and inattentive. We had to wait for ages to get our food, and when it finally arrived, it was poorly cooked."

04/04/2024: After a very long and trying ordeal we made it to the fair city of Dublin. Exhausted and hungry we took a walk in the standard weather of heavy mist or light rain. So our first night in Ireland should have called for some Irish cuisine but somehow we landed in Milanos and we were very glad we did. The pizza was delicious as was the beet and goat cheese salad. Oh we did order a Guinness so not a total un-Irish event.

17/03/2024: Great restaurant. Excellent food and very nice waiter ☺️

28/02/2024: Great restaurant, food excellent, service excellent.

08/05/2024: Quiet Wednesday night, so quiet atmosphere otherwise it would've been 5 stars across the board. Food was fabulous. I have a very restrictive diet which was catered for and everyone in the party was in agreement that it was the best meal we'd ever had in Dublin. Also, reasonably priced. We'll definitely be back.

07/05/2024: Delicious pizza. Delicious beer. Very nice employees. Unfortunately a bit expensive, but adapted to Dublin price conditions.

19/03/2024: Seating deplorable had a party for my sister about 30 people on the 2 long tables trying to get in or out was unreal to go to toilet will never go back would not recommend it to anyone

02/03/2024: I've gone for breakfast, lunch and dinner here at different times and all times I had a good experience. Food tastes good, staff are friendly and prices are good too I'd recommend coming here

29/02/2024: Brilliant atmosphere amazing service and beautuful food with great service.

17/02/2024: The worst meal we have ever had in Dun Laoghaire. Fish of the day; Dry, over-cooked, shrivelled up hake. Rest of family had three way over-cooked pizzas, difficult to cut. One pizza had the addition of plastic left on ham. Complained immediately. Advised chef called in sick! Who cooked the awful meal so? The sun has definitely set on sunshine cafe. Avoid

09/05/2024: We went for drinks, the staff was super helpful and gave great suggestions!!

02/05/2024: One of the things that make me the happiest are to try speakeasies in the world wherever I travel. My friend found this one. I reached out via email and the team was very responsive. I had to book in advance for another day. This was hands down the best anticipation and experience ever. You have to book and pay $10/person that they reimburse later. They send you the instructions with the password. The day of you have to follow these instructions. I won’t reveal all of it, but just know you’ll have tons of fun going through it. Servers were in characters and gave us the best experience. Cocktails were great and we enjoyed the ambiance inside. We booked for 1h. When we left, there was this lovely cat that belongs to the place that wanted to be petted. So we obliged. Love loved it.

01/04/2024: My friends and I had such a nice time here. Our service was perfect, all thanks to Maeve. No request was too much. No issue too big. She is a credit to this restaurant.

24/03/2024: Wife enjoyed her Pizza, I didn't. I had the Romana Garlic and Prawn.It was the most bland pizza I have ever had....I'm sorry that I didn't order the new "American very hot"but I thought I could heat it up with the chilli oil.....No....it was olive oil only ( no heat )......staff were good as was service.....ps 1 prawn was divided in 8 for my pizza.....shocking!

21/03/2024: Very nice and friendly service! The pasta was poor though, never had such bad canelloni before. Sorry.

16/03/2024: A decent place for a pizza. Does the work as a weekly cheat meal!

03/04/2024: Italian, family friendly offering. Great fish options and pizza for those who wish. We didn't know it was BYOB, which explains the limited wine menu. Sharing plates are a great option. No fuss, good Italian and value for money.

10/02/2024: I have found my new favourite Italian! Thank you so much to Claudio and the team for an amazing evening! We dined as a group of 5 and the service was great and the food was top class and very reasonable! Looking forward to returning..