Restaurant in Dublin, Ireland
Serious food, no formality, easy booking.
Etto on Merrion Row is the strongest value case for serious cooking in Dublin at the €€ tier. A Michelin Plate kitchen with a Star Wine List White Star award, an intimate counter that works as well for solo diners as for dates, and booking that is easier than most rooms of comparable quality. Book it before a show at the National Concert Hall or as a considered weeknight dinner.
If you want a genuinely special dinner in Dublin without the formality of a jacket-required dining room or the price tag of a Michelin-starred tasting menu, Etto on Merrion Row is the right call. It works well for a considered date night, a small celebration, or a solo evening at the counter where the kitchen is close enough to hold your attention. At the €€ price tier, it delivers a quality of cooking that most restaurants at this price point in Dublin cannot match — and that gap is the reason to book it.
The name is Italian for intimacy, and the room earns it. The counter and the open kitchen are close enough that the line between guest and cook dissolves; you are not watching the kitchen through a pass, you are sharing the same space. For a date or a solo visit, this is one of Dublin's most compelling counters , the proximity to the kitchen means dinner moves at the rhythm of what is being cooked, not a fixed service schedule. For groups larger than four, it is worth noting that the scale of the room limits how well the space works; Etto is better suited to parties of two or three who want immersion over table size.
The cooking draws from two distinct traditions: Italian structure with a Japanese seasonal sensibility. The antipasto misto, described as arriving on a Kiyomizu-yaki platter with leaves of the season, has a hassun quality , the Japanese tradition of presenting small, seasonal morsels that signal the time of year. Five small dishes of salty and sour bites are designed to carry a wine-drinking dinner forward. This is food built around a table that stays at the counter, not one that wants to eat quickly and leave.
Etto holds a Michelin Plate (2025), which places it in the tier below a full Michelin star but recognises consistent good cooking. The more relevant credential for wine drinkers is its Star Wine List White Star, awarded in 2023 , this is a published wine list recognition from Star Wine List, and it is the reason Etto earns its place among Dublin restaurants worth visiting specifically for the wine programme alongside the food. A Google rating of 4.8 from 826 reviews suggests the consistency holds across a broad range of visits, not just press nights.
At the €€ price point, Etto is positioned well below [Bastible](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/bastible) and [Patrick Guilbaud](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/patrick-guilbaud) in spend, but the standard of cooking is closer to those rooms than the price difference implies. That gap , paying €€ for a kitchen operating at a standard that routinely gets press and award attention , is exactly what the casual excellence angle means in practice. This is not a budget restaurant that happens to be good; it is a serious restaurant that happens to have kept its pricing accessible.
Booking at Etto is rated Easy, which makes it more approachable than many Dublin restaurants of comparable quality. That said, the intimate scale of the room means it does not take many covers to fill completely. Book ahead rather than counting on availability, particularly for weekend evenings and around Dublin's busier cultural calendar. The address is 18 Merrion Row, D02 A316 , a short walk from St Stephen's Green and within easy reach of the city's hotel strip and the National Concert Hall.
For more context on what else is worth booking in the city, see [our full Dublin restaurants guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/dublin). If you are making a full trip of it, [our full Dublin hotels guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/hotels/dublin), [our full Dublin bars guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/bars/dublin), and [our full Dublin experiences guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/experiences/dublin) cover the rest.
Dublin's more ambitious modern cooking is spread across a number of rooms worth knowing. [Chapter One by Mickael Viljanen](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/chapter-one-by-mickael-viljanen-dublin-restaurant) and [Glovers Alley](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/glovers-alley-dublin-restaurant) operate at the starred level if you want to move up in formality and spend. [Variety Jones](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/variety-jones-dublin-restaurant) and [allta](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/allta-dublin-restaurant) are the closer comparators in terms of scale and ambition at a similar price tier. [D'Olier Street](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/dolier-street-dublin-restaurant) is worth noting if your priority is wine depth alongside food.
Beyond Dublin, the standard of serious cooking in smaller Irish rooms is high. [Liath in Blackrock](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/liath-blackrock-restaurant) is close enough to include in a Dublin trip. [Aniar in Galway](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/aniar-galway-restaurant), [Bastion in Kinsale](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/bastion-kinsale-restaurant), [Campagne in Kilkenny](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/campagne-kilkenny-restaurant), [dede in Baltimore](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/dede-baltimore-restaurant), and [Terre in Castlemartyr](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/terre-castlemartyr-restaurant) are all worth the detour if you are travelling beyond the capital. For those interested in the Japanese-European culinary crossover that informs Etto's approach, [Frantzén in Stockholm](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/frantzn-stockholm-restaurant) and [FZN by Björn Frantzén in Dubai](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/fzn-by-bjrn-frantzn-dubai-restaurant) represent what that synthesis looks like at the highest level of spend.
Book Etto if you want dinner that takes the food seriously without requiring you to dress for it or spend at the level of a starred room. The counter is one of the better places to eat solo in Dublin. For a date night or a small celebration, the combination of a strong wine list, intimate space, and Italian-Japanese cooking at the €€ tier is difficult to beat at this price in the city. Booking is Easy by Dublin standards , use that to your advantage and get a reservation rather than hoping for availability on the night.
| Detail | Etto | Variety Jones | Host |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price tier | €€ | €€€ | €€ |
| Awards | Michelin Plate 2025, Star Wine List White Star | , | , |
| Booking difficulty | Easy | Harder | , |
| Leading for | Counter dining, dates, solo | Small groups | Nordic-leaning modern |
| Google rating | 4.8 (826 reviews) | , | , |
| Address | 18 Merrion Row | Thomas Street | , |
| Venue | Awards | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Etto | Etto is a restaurant in Dublin, Ireland. It was published on Star Wine List on September 14, 2023 and is a White Star.; Etto is Italian for ‘intimacy’. It’s hard to tell where the counter ends and the open kitchen begins, so guests and chef become entwined in a single, intimate space. Italian cuisine is accented by Japan’s four seasons. Antipasto misto, served on a Kiyomizu-yaki platter and strewn with leaves of the season, has a hassun sensibility. Five small dishes of salty and sour morsels keep the wine flowing.; Michelin Plate (2025); Star Wine List #1 (2023) | €€ | — |
| Patrick Guilbaud | Michelin 2 Star | €€€€ | — |
| Bastible | Michelin 1 Star | €€€€ | — |
| Host | €€ | — | |
| mae | €€€ | — | |
| Matsukawa | €€€€ | — |
A quick look at how Etto measures up.
Etto's format leans toward small plates rather than a formal tasting menu, with dishes like the antipasto misto designed to keep things flowing rather than lock you into a fixed sequence. At a €€ price point with a Michelin Plate (2025) and Star Wine List #1 (2023) recognition, the food-to-price ratio is strong. If you want a structured multi-course progression with matched wines, Chapter One or Patrick Guilbaud will suit that format better. Etto rewards diners who want to graze and drink well without a set itinerary.
Yes, at the €€ price range, Etto sits well below Dublin's starred rooms while carrying a Michelin Plate (2025) and the top spot on Star Wine List (2023). For the combination of cooking quality, wine programme, and relaxed atmosphere on Merrion Row, it delivers more than its price suggests. If budget is the main concern, Bastible offers a comparable value proposition on the southside. But for wine-led dining in a central location, Etto is hard to beat at this price.
Yes — the counter setup is genuinely well-suited to solo diners. The open kitchen means you're watching the kitchen work rather than staring at an empty chair across from you, and the intimate scale keeps the room from feeling isolating. Solo diners at the counter sit alongside the action, which is part of what the space is designed around. Book the counter directly if you're coming alone.
Booking is rated Easy relative to Dublin's competitive restaurant scene, but the intimate scale means it still fills up. A week's notice is usually sufficient for midweek, though weekend tables — particularly Friday and Saturday evenings — are worth booking 2 to 3 weeks out. Given the room's small footprint, even a few days' delay can close your options at prime times.
The antipasto misto, served on a Kiyomizu-yaki platter with seasonal leaves, is a documented signature and the clearest expression of the Italian-Japanese sensibility the kitchen works in. The small salty and sour dishes are designed to pair with wine, so arriving hungry and ordering broadly across the menu makes more sense than anchoring to one or two plates. Let the wine list guide the pacing.
For a step up in formality and price, Chapter One (Michelin-starred) or Patrick Guilbaud (two stars) are the obvious moves. For a similar value-driven, ingredient-focused approach in a neighbourhood setting, Bastible in Portobello is the closest comparison. Host and mae offer more modern, produce-led cooking for diners who want something looser in format. Matsukawa covers the Japanese end of the spectrum if that's what the Italian-Japanese crossover at Etto is drawing you toward.
Yes, with the right expectations. The intimate scale and counter-focused room make it feel personal rather than celebratory in the traditional sense, so it works well for a birthday dinner for two or an anniversary where the food and wine matter more than a grand room. If you need a private space, a large party setup, or a formal dining atmosphere, look at Patrick Guilbaud or Chapter One instead. For a special dinner without the occasion feeling staged, Etto is a solid call.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
