• 1. Where to Stay
• 2. Where to Eat
• 3. What to Do
• 4. Insider’s Tip
• 5. An Oddball Day

The Winding Stair became a landmark in the seventies as a famous meeting place for writers, musicians, and artists.    (Photo: Courtesy of The Winding Stair)

Grab a table overlooking the river at the Winding Stair, a former bookstore turned cozy restaurant with Irish cooking that gets a boost from largely organic ingredients from local farmers and suppliers. Have a hearty entrée of rhubarb-stuffed Black Pig pork fillet with roasted potatoes and a warm mixed-bean-and-spinach salad ($35) and skip the traditional pint of Guinness for a selection from the extensive wine list ($8–$22) highlighting floral whites and decadent reds.

Amp up your afternoon tea experience at Art Tea at the five-star Merrion Hotel, where pastry chefs turn original art hanging on the walls into edible replicas. Available from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. daily, the service ($51) includes scones, finger sandwiches, and the art-inspired pastries, but you can get extra indulgent with the champagne version ($7). Reservations are required, and make sure to ask for a table in the garden.

Take a seat at the chef’s table at Michelin-starred Chapter One Restaurant, where you can watch the chef craft your meal from start to finish in the stone-walled, underground space beneath the Dublin Writer’s Museum. If the six-course tasting menu ($120) seems too extravagant, the pre-theater three-course set menu ($52) is a good value, and offers elaborate options like Japanese-style marinated mackerel and braised short ribs of Angus beef.

Published on Aug 11, 2011 as a web exclusive.