The best restaurants in Kilkenny

10/11/2025: Everything from start to finish was excellent. Waiter was brilliant 👏 food delicious and great value. Location so central snd overall atmosphere was really great. 👌 can't wait to return. Highly recommend.

22/10/2025: What a fantastic experience at Grapevine Kilkenny! The atmosphere was warm and lively, the service friendly and attentive, and the food absolutely delicious. We tried several dishes, but the highlight for us was definitely the paella — perfectly cooked, full of fresh seafood, rich flavours, and that authentic Spanish touch that made us feel like we were on holiday. The tapas were all beautifully presented and bursting with taste, especially the prawns with chorizo and the patatas bravas. The wine list is impressive too, with great Spanish options that pair perfectly with the food. The staff were so kind, taking the time to recommend both dishes and wines, which really made our evening special. A wonderful place to relax, enjoy amazing food, and soak up the great vibe. Highly recommended — we’ll definitely be back soon!

15/09/2025: Very dark when u go in good location

09/08/2025: Nice atmosphere. Service is excellent Never had food here.

30/09/2025: While visiting my friend in Ireland for the first time, we went to The Steppes Bar. The bar was exactly what I was hoping for and exactly what I expected. Just a great atmosphere when you walk in there. I was greeted with open arms from the owners, Alice and Eddie, and the rest of the locals. If you are ever in the area, stop by for a visit and tell them James sent you 😉.

21/01/2026: Consistently great service. We're dined here a few times during our current visit to Kilkenny and in a past visit. The menu selection covers most eating preferences. The ambience is also very nice.

12/01/2026: Always great. Nice menu and range of drinks.

10/03/2026: A great hotel,bar ,restaraunt and music venue. The staff are friendly, and helpful The food is great. The hotel is clean,basic and comfortable

10/03/2026: Everything is and looks awesome here...

15/01/2026: The food was good and well presented. While none of the dishes particularly impressed me, everything tasted good overall.

22/11/2025: Well what can we say? Each and every dish was so good! Especially the fish course. Not much of a fish person but Lady Helen converted me! We were full by the veal course but it was so good that we finished it. We did not go for wine pairing but ordered a bottle between the two of us. I meam the wine was lovely. Every time we come to Kilkenny, we come to the Lady Helen. Thank you again and can't wait to be back!

31/12/2025: We dined here on new years eve as part of the supper club. There was a 7 course meal, each one well crafted with artsy flavour and garnish. The service and atmosphere were fluid, everything exceeded our expectations. Excellent!!! Thanks Ash, Julien and Lekker team.

09/11/2025: I went here for the first time on Friday and wow I wasn't disappointed. I got the build your own breakfast, excellent value for money the mushrooms were absolutely amazing. There was a great selection for breakfast, The staff were very friendly staff I will definitely be returning again.

10/03/2026: We visited the newpark hotel for our fourth visit. It was for our minimoon. We ordered dinner in the restaurant the first night. It was nice, we ordered wine also with the meal which came when we were almost finished eating. (Restaurant was not busy) We stayed in a hot tub room, which is much more expensive than the standard but we felt up to now, worth it. The hot tub smelled like a fish tank though we were assured it was cleaned. It was also quite low on water compared to usual and the lights in it were not working at all . For the whole second day, carpenters were in the balcony beside us, hammering, sawing, using loud gas nail guns and installing new decking where they could see us in our "private balcony". It made it quite difficult to enjoy our stay. I did politely complain to front desk and asked for the general manager. Instead, front desk manager came out and agreed that this was not acceptable and offered complimentary lunch the following day which we politely declined. We were informed we could be moved to another room though it was 4 o clock at this stage and all the hot tub rooms were still in close proximity to the ongoing works which I'm sure were finished for the day at this stage. We were assured that works would have been stopped if we complained earlier but this is beside the point, it shouldn't have been going on while the rooms were in use. I did let management know that this review would be posted and we have recorded the works going on right alongside us as it was unbelievable frankly. The TV in the room also is something from maybe 10 years ago. No Netflix, it has screencast which cuts in and out and TV is important in Ireland specially if weather is poor. While the outdoor park and animal farm for kids looks like it is great for families, it looks like this hotel has gone downhill and is badly in need of investment and refurbishing. Would not recommend and certainly won't be back. We stayed in the Brehon hotel Killarney for our wedding the days beforehand and I must say the quality and standard was certainly on another level entirely considering both are 4 star hotels and the Brehon was better value too.

10/03/2026: Absolutely phenomenal stay every moment was amazing, exceptional customer service, lovely rooms, fantastic facilities! Can’t fault anything was worth every penny highly recommend!

19/02/2026: Great place to sit back and sip the night away. Great whisky and Great service.

08/11/2025: The singer was great he got through 6 songs while I waited at the half empty bar . Shocking service

11/02/2026: Hidden gem. Great food. Beautiful place and great service.

16/10/2025: Wedding Venue of our dreams!! Wow! I can’t recommend the Avalon highly enough! Laura is a phenomenal wedding organiser who listens to your vision and brings it to life! She feels like a friend straight away who is fully invested in the day! Peter and Laura then make sure the day runs perfectly, remaining calm and positive throughout! The Avalon is the perfect place for a private wedding where you are the priority for the whole hotel! They could not have been more supportive! I can’t thank them enough for the most perfect day! All of our guests loved it commenting on the gorgeous food, friendly staff and homely rooms!

17/10/2025: Definitely the best breakfast spot in town. The lady who runs the shop is super friendly! We enjoyed a *delicious* breakfast at the riverside!

06/10/2025: Amazing flavors and great service, definitely recommended

19/02/2026: One of the best pubs in Kilkenny! Great food and one of the best Guinness in town

15/02/2026: Beutiful decor....food was exellent....hake and prawns great....steak well cooked and great wings....really like here !!!

26/09/2025: Today I was in SuperValu in Thomastown getting cigarettes for my husband and myself when I reached the till and I was struggling to get the right word out the operator was visibly annoyed with me, I found this to be very disarming, secondly I handed over €51.10 for cigarettes when the change was thrown back at me and I was told she didn’t want it, I found this very disrespectful and unprofessional behaviour, if the same person is there again the next time I go to the store I will not go near them as I do not appreciate the attitude of them it’s absolutely unnecessary

12/08/2025: Really just a glorified corner shop. Basic enough and not somewhere I’d consider doing a weekly shop. Free parking is plentiful.