Perched above one of Dublin's oldest bookshops on Ormond Quay, The Winding Stair serves up proudly Irish food with a side of literary history. The dining room is small and full of character, with big windows framing the Liffey and the Ha'Penny Bridge — order the seafood and linger.
Upstairs from a legendary bookshop, this snug dining room serves stubbornly Irish seafood with a Liffey-side view that'll make you want to linger all night.
Book ahead for a window table — the dining room is small and the Liffey views are the whole point of the experience.
Old Dublin charm, proudly Irish food, and the best river view in the city
There's something about The Winding Stair that makes you feel like you're eating in the Dublin of 30 years ago — and I mean that in the best possible way. The restaurant sits above one of the city's oldest bookshops, and the winding staircase that gives it its name (a nod to Yeats) sets the tone before you've even sat down. The dining room is small, warm, and full of character, with big windows overlooking the Liffey and the Ha'Penny Bridge. It's the kind of place where you want to linger over a glass of wine and watch the river go by.
The food is proudly, almost stubbornly Irish. With the exception of coffee, tea, and lemons, everything is sourced from within the island, and they name their suppliers right on the menu — which sounds gimmicky until you realize it actually changes how you eat. The seafood is the standout: reviewers consistently rave about the fish dishes, and the wine list is surprisingly deep for a room this size. OpenTable reviewers echo this, praising the "exceptional sea food dishes" and "great wine selection." Service is warm and knowledgeable without being stuffy.
Is it perfect? No. It can feel a bit cramped on a busy night, and it's not cheap. But this is one of the few restaurants in Dublin where the food, the setting, and the history all add up to something genuinely greater than the sum of their parts. If you want to understand what Irish dining is about in 2024 — rooted, proud, and unhurried — this is where you start.
Il y a quelque chose de profondément dublinois dans The Winding Stair. Perché au-dessus d'une des plus anciennes librairies de la ville, le restaurant tire son nom d'un poème de Yeats et de l'escalier en colimaçon qui mène à la salle. La pièce est petite, chaleureuse, pleine de caractère, avec de grandes fenêtres qui donnent sur la Liffey et le Ha'Penny Bridge. C'est le genre d'endroit où l'on s'attarde, un verre de vin à la main, à regarder l'eau passer.
La cuisine est irlandaise sans complexe. Tout — à l'exception du café, du thé et des citrons — provient de l'île, et chaque plat cite son producteur. Ça pourrait sembler prétentieux, mais ça change vraiment la manière dont on goûte. Les plats de poisson sont la grande spécialité : les critiques en parlent à l'unisson, saluant des « plats de poisson exceptionnels » et une carte des vins étonnamment riche pour un restaurant de cette taille. Le service est attentionné et savant, jamais guindé.
Ce n'est pas donné, et la salle se sent vite à l'étroit les soirs de rush. Mais c'est l'un des rares endroits à Dublin où la cuisine, le décor et l'histoire se combinent en quelque chose de plus grand que la somme des parties. Si vous voulez comprendre ce que c'est que manger en Irlande aujourd'hui — ancré, fier, sans précipitation — commencez ici.