The best restaurants in Kilkenny

12/07/2026: Great campervan stop. Food available at the takeaway across the road.

09/07/2026: Wonderful place soo much fun great music and great beer!

28/07/2026: 3xactly what the name suggests. Very old little bar, very friendly bartender. But the only beer you'll get is a guiness!

26/07/2026: We had a great time. It was August’s first night bartending. He is from Wisconsin and so are we, so we had that going. It was just like being back home in your local tavern.

29/07/2026: Ultimate relaxation and wonderful cakes , I tried the vegan tart and matcha ..rich and delicious. Best spot for recharging the batteries in the beautiful city of Kilkenny .

09/07/2026: At the end of a rather "light" stay in Ireland, being able to eat such a fresh salad was a real treat. The beef and cheese sandwich for my husband was equally delicious! The flavored matcha on the side was also very good, and the service was attentive despite our very limited English.

02/08/2026: Very good place to stay on the outskirts of kilkenny ... very convenient ... with bar and restaurant on site

31/07/2026: We have had food at The Orchard on a number of occasions. The staff are very friendly and efficient. Food has consistently been of a high standard. The premises are well presented. We will definitely visit again when in the area.

14/08/2026: The staff were lovely and very helpful despite being run off their feet. Our orders got messed up, drinks missing and food arriving late despite ordering before our friends. I don't blame the staff, they were doing their best. The management need to sort out their order systems

13/08/2026: Excellent tap house with high quality beers.

08/08/2026: So totally GF and vegetarian friendly. I had a GF scone. It.did.not.lose.crumb.at.all. It let me butter and jam and put whipped cream on it. Heaven.

07/08/2026: We spontaneously decided to have a light lunch here. Our table on the first floor was cozy. Overall, the Fig Tree is rather small and lively. It seems there are also many local regulars. Everyone knows each other by name. The "soup of the day" (pumpkin and sweet potato) with bread and butter was really delicious. So were the chicken nuggets with fries. The service was friendly and attentive throughout. The prices were also reasonable.

14/07/2026: A spectacular pub I stumbled upon. Congratulations on the beer selection; the quality absolutely did not disappoint. I recommend making a reservation, especially if you're in a large group.

13/06/2026: Lovely pub, savage pint of Guinness

16/08/2026: Beautiful Sunday Lunch. Excellent service and lovely atmosphere. Looking forward to going back

09/08/2026: Fantastic French/Irish restaurant. Well located in the center of Kilkenny next to the castle. Vintage decor with a bistro feel. Excellent menu, impeccably prepared. Attentive and professional service. Very good wine list. Homemade and well-made desserts. Very reasonable prices. Well worth a visit.

12/08/2026: All we could say was wow! Owner very kindly fitted us in last minute for a table for two early evening on our visit to Kilkenny during Arts week. The food was amazing and so well presented. Brilliant atmosphere and service.

07/08/2026: Fabulous food and lovely atmosphere. Small but cosy and not cramped.

10/08/2026: Take away is fast but please don't roll your eyes when I say I wanna go in to see which cakes I wanna take away.

08/08/2026: I ordered a cappuccino and a slice of cheese cake ☕️ 🍰. It was AMAZING. I have never try a cheesecake like this and the service was amazing. The only reason why i not rank the place as 5 start is because the cappuccino mug was small. besides that amazing everything

11/07/2026: 10/10 experience every time we go. The steak is the best you’ll get! Great service and lovely interiors!

02/07/2026: We visited Butcher on a Friday evening without a reservation and was rudely told it would be a 15-20 min wait. We didn’t mind waiting and was told to sit at the tiny table in the corner by the entry way and ended up having to wait for 35 mins. We were then seated at a very small 2 person table in the middle of 3 large parties. The waiter and waitresses had to keep going around our table and ended up bumping into my husband multiple times. When they finally came to take our order we ordered a glass of $$ wine, a Guinness, an appetizer (€16), a steak (€32), and two sides with the plan of also ordering more drinks + a dessert. We were then told we were required to order two entrees since they were busy. This wasn’t mentioned anywhere on the menu and the way the waiter treated us prior and afterwards was unacceptable. The food itself was decent but after being forced to order things we didn’t want in order to dine there, we didn’t enjoy. While we appreciated the accommodations since we didn’t have a reservation, we were disappointed with how the staff treated us and acted like we weren’t spending enough money at their restaurant. I recommend looking elsewhere for dinner options!

12/06/2026: When we first entered the room, we were welcomed by a fish smell because the window was broken and the fumes from the kitchen were directly entering. We tried watching tv and couldn't because nearly all the channels were locked with a pin code that not even the manager knew. The water in the sink wouldn't drain. We tried to shower before bed but the hot water was shut off without prior notice. During the night, we were unable to sleep because all you could hear were the sounds of the pipes in the building that sounded exactly like a ship's horn going off every 10 minutes. We were left there wide awake to stare at the huge water damage stains in the ceiling. My partner suffers from epilepsy and sleep is more important for him than for the average person. At the price of 207€ for a night we at the very least expected to get a decent night's rest and that was not the case. We spoke to the manager and he told us he couldn't issue us a full refund. Only 20€. He said it wasn't within his power and that we'd have to go through Booking.com for a refund. Surprise surprise, it turns out he simply does not want to refund more than half. Very deceitful. This is place is more of a hostel.

10/06/2026: Recently had a two night stay here celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary, top marks all round, lovely hotel, exceptional staff from Louise on reception to Olya in the restaurant and Paul the owner, all so friendly and helpful, great location, will definitely return and would highly recommend. Many thanks Margaret & Tom

20/07/2026: Was really looking forward to trying the pizzas (back of the restaurant) but unfortunately, after paying over 50 euro for 3 pizzas, we got home to find the bases disgustingly black and burnt. Wood fire pizzas are expected to have some charcoal dust from the oven but you couldn't dust this off. It was completely burnt from not being turned properly - that or the oven is just filthy. Cheese on top wasnt even melted, so burnt base and undercooked toppings. Something is really wrong. So expensive and even more disappointing.

11/07/2026: Always delicious and exciting variety of dishes, my favourite food spot in Kilkenny!

30/07/2026: Great sandwiches. No dine-in options.

03/07/2026: Best sandwich in Kilkenny in my opinion, we go there anytime we get into Kilkenny . Authentic, quality ingredients , big list of choice of sandwich , they also do other yum Italian savoury treats as well as top quality coffee

24/08/2026: We had a great time and our waitress, Keira, was really nice and she gave us really good food recommendations.

21/08/2026: At first it felt like a touristy place and I wasn’t so excited. But the food came and we were blown away by how delicious it all was! The music was fantastic and starts earlier in the afternoon which is a plus.