Restaurant in Dublin, Ireland
Michelin-backed tapas worth booking midweek.
Back-to-back Michelin Bib Gourmand winner (2024 and 2025) on Montague Street, La Gordita is Dublin's most credentialed Spanish tapas option at €€ pricing. Order broadly, anchor on the anchoas de Santoña, and visit midweek for the lively atmosphere without the weekend volume. Easy to book and genuinely good value.
A 4.7 on Google across 279 reviews and back-to-back Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition in 2024 and 2025 — La Gordita earns its place as one of Dublin's most reliable value propositions in Spanish cuisine. At €€ pricing on Montague Street, this is the kind of neighbourhood spot that rewards repeat visits, especially if you time them around what's fresh and in season. Book it for a midweek dinner when the room hums but hasn't reached full volume, and order broadly across the menu.
La Gordita sits on Montague Street in Dublin 2, a short walk from the city's main cultural and dining corridors. The room is narrow, with a wooden floor, brown leather upholstery, and soft lighting that creates an atmosphere closer to a Barcelona neighbourhood taberna than a purpose-built Dublin restaurant. The energy is lively without tipping into loud; conversation works here, which matters on a tapas format where you're talking through the menu as much as eating through it.
The kitchen is driven by authentic Spanish sharing plates, and the anchoas de Santoña has been specifically called out by Michelin as a stand-out dish. That's a meaningful signal. Anchovies from Santoña on the Cantabrian coast of northern Spain represent one of the most prized preserved fish products in Spanish gastronomy — if the kitchen is sourcing well enough to nail that dish, it's taking ingredient quality seriously. For a food or travel enthusiast who knows Spanish regional cuisine, this is the kind of detail that separates a restaurant doing the work from one dressing up generic tapas.
Owners Anna Cabrera and Vanessa Murphy have been open about their intent: the restaurant as an extension of home hospitality. Their cookery book, Tapas, spells it out directly. That philosophy translates into a service style that Michelin describes as sincere and genuine, which in practice means attentive without being formal. At €€ price points, the service warmth is a meaningful differentiator , you are getting more than the food for the price.
The Bib Gourmand designation signals a kitchen committed to value at a consistent standard, but within that framework, the most engaged way to visit La Gordita is to think seasonally. Spanish tapas cooking, done properly, tracks market availability: spring brings lighter preparations, summer leans into preserved and cured ingredients alongside fresh vegetables, autumn deepens into richer, earthier flavour profiles. The extensive menu noted by Michelin suggests there's enough range here to order differently across visits and seasons without repeating yourself.
The sensible pricing means you can push the order wide , four or five dishes rather than two or three , which is the right way to explore a tapas menu and the strategy that makes seasonal ordering more rewarding. If the anchoas de Santoña is on the menu during your visit, order it regardless of season; it's a benchmark dish and worth using as a reference point to assess the kitchen's sourcing discipline on the rest of the order.
Timing your visit matters. Midweek evenings give you the lively atmosphere without the weekend volume spike that a narrow room like this amplifies quickly. If you're coming as a couple or a small group of three, the format is well-suited to the counter or side tables; larger groups may find the narrow layout limits flexibility, so communicate group size when booking.
Booking at La Gordita is rated Easy. At €€ pricing with a loyal local following, the room fills on weekends, but midweek availability is generally accessible. Contact the restaurant directly at 6 Montague St, Dublin D02 XE65. No booking platform data is available in our records, so check current availability through a standard search or walk-in on quieter nights.
| Detail | La Gordita | Host | mae |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cuisine | Spanish sharing plates | Nordic Modern | Southern Modern |
| Price range | €€ | €€ | €€€ |
| Michelin recognition | Bib Gourmand 2024 & 2025 | Check Pearl | Check Pearl |
| Google rating | 4.7 (279) | , | , |
| Booking difficulty | Easy | Moderate | Moderate |
| Format | Sharing plates | Tasting menu | Set menu |
| Leading for | Groups, casual dining | Solo/couples | Special occasion |
See the full comparison section below.
If La Gordita suits your budget and format, Dublin has a strong wider dining scene worth knowing. For fine dining, Patrick Guilbaud and Bastible operate at €€€€ and offer a different register entirely. For modern cuisine at a similar ambition level, Chapter One by Mickael Viljanen, Glovers Alley, and D'Olier Street each offer distinct perspectives on what Dublin's dining scene can do at the higher end.
Across Ireland, the Bib Gourmand and Michelin-recognised tier includes strong regional options: Aniar in Galway, Bastion in Kinsale, Campagne in Kilkenny, Liath in Blackrock, Terre in Castlemartyr, and dede in Baltimore. For Spanish cuisine in international context, ZURRIOLA in Tokyo and Arco by Paco Pérez in Gdańsk show how Spanish culinary tradition travels. Browse our full guides: Dublin restaurants, Dublin hotels, Dublin bars, Dublin wineries, and Dublin experiences.
La Gordita doesn't operate a formal tasting menu , it's a sharing-plates format with an extensive tapas menu. That's the right call at €€ pricing. You build the meal yourself, which means the value is directly proportional to how broadly you order. Four to five dishes for two people is the target range, and the sensible pricing makes that affordable. If you want a structured tasting format at this price tier in Dublin, Host is the closer comparison, but La Gordita gives you more control over the meal and more flexibility for dietary preferences.
Order more than you think you need , the dishes are tapas-sized and the pricing supports a wide order. The anchoas de Santoña is the kitchen's most cited dish and a good anchor for the meal. The room is narrow and lively; it's leading suited to groups of two to four rather than larger parties. Michelin has given it the Bib Gourmand two years running, which at €€ pricing means you're getting recognised quality without paying fine-dining prices. It's one of the more dependable Spanish restaurants in Dublin for an explorer who knows the cuisine.
No specific dietary information is listed in our current data. Given the tapas format and extensive menu, there's likely flexibility, but the kitchen's focus on authentic Spanish ingredients , including preserved fish and cured meats , means the menu may not adapt easily for all restrictions. Contact the restaurant directly at 6 Montague Street before booking if dietary requirements are a deciding factor.
The narrow dining room means larger groups should plan ahead. Groups of two to four fit naturally with the tapas sharing format; groups of five or more may find the layout limiting. The €€ pricing and sharing-plates format make it financially practical for groups, but call ahead to confirm table configuration. For larger group dining at a comparable price point in Dublin, it's worth checking current availability directly with the restaurant.
At €€ with back-to-back Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition and a 4.7 Google rating from nearly 300 reviews, La Gordita delivers strong value. The Bib Gourmand specifically recognises good food at moderate prices , it's not a consolation prize, it's a direct quality-to-cost endorsement from Michelin. Compared to €€€€ options like Bastible or Patrick Guilbaud, you spend less and get a looser, more sociable format rather than a tasting-menu experience. If Spanish sharing plates is the format you want, this is the most credentialed option in Dublin at this price tier.
It works for a relaxed, informal special occasion , a birthday dinner with close friends, an anniversary for a couple who prefers a lively room over a hushed fine-dining environment. The Michelin recognition gives it credibility, and the warm, home-like service makes the evening feel considered rather than transactional. For a more formal special occasion where ceremony matters, step up to Patrick Guilbaud or Glovers Alley. La Gordita is the right call when the occasion calls for warmth, good food, and value over formality.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| La Gordita | Spanish | €€ | Easy |
| Patrick Guilbaud | Irish - French, Modern French | €€€€ | Unknown |
| Bastible | Modern Irish, Modern Cuisine | €€€€ | Unknown |
| Host | Nordic , Modern Cuisine | €€ | Unknown |
| mae | Southern, Modern Cuisine | €€€ | Unknown |
| Matsukawa | Kaiseki, Japanese | €€€€ | Unknown |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
La Gordita operates as a sharing-plates format rather than a structured tasting menu, so the value logic is different. The Michelin Bib Gourmand recognises venues where you eat well for a fair price, and at €€ with an extensive menu, ordering several dishes across the table is the right approach. Pick broadly — the anchoas de Santoña is specifically cited as a stand-out.
Come expecting a narrow, lively room on Montague Street in Dublin 2, not a quiet dinner. The format is Spanish sharing plates — order generously and share across the table. The Bib Gourmand recognition in both 2024 and 2025 signals consistent kitchen quality, not a one-off performance. Booking ahead is the safe move, especially on weekends.
Specific dietary accommodation policies are not documented in the available venue data. Given the sharing-plates format and an extensive menu, there is reasonable flexibility, but if dietary needs are a firm constraint, check the venue's official channels at 6 Montague St, Dublin D02 XE65 before booking to confirm.
The dining room is described as narrow, which limits large-group capacity. Groups of four to six are likely workable; larger parties should call ahead to confirm space. For a big celebration requiring a private room, Patrick Guilbaud or Bastible would be safer bets. La Gordita is better suited to small groups who want a casual, shared-plates evening at accessible prices.
Yes, straightforwardly. The Michelin Bib Gourmand is awarded specifically for good cooking at a price that does not stretch the budget, and La Gordita has held it two years running at €€ pricing. For authentic Spanish tapas in Dublin 2 at this standard, there is no obvious competitor in the same price bracket. If you want fine dining, look at Patrick Guilbaud; if you want value-led cooking with genuine flavour, La Gordita makes the case.
It works well for a relaxed, convivial celebration rather than a formal one. The room has soft lighting, brown leather upholstery, and a lively atmosphere — the feel is warm and personal rather than ceremonial. Michelin describes the hospitality as sincere and genuine, with co-owners Anna Cabrera and Vanessa Murphy running it like an open house. For a milestone birthday or anniversary requiring a grander setting, consider Bastible or Patrick Guilbaud instead.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
