Dublin’s cocktail scene has been shaped slowly. Many of the city’s best bars have been open for close to a decade, some longer, and they’re still here because they worked from the start and kept standards high.
The bars in this guide have built their reputations over years, not overnight through a few viral TikTok or Instagram posts.
Some are dedicated cocktail rooms, others are restaurants that take their drinks seriously, but all of them have are contenders for the best cocktail bars in Dublin. Cheers!
Where to find the best cocktails in Dublin
Photos via Stella Cocktail Club on Facebook
The first section of our guide is packed with where we think knock up the best cocktails in Dublin. These are places that one of The Irish Road Trip Team have visited, and loved.
Below, you’ll find everywhere from the brilliant Stella Cocktail Club and BAR 1661 to The Sitting Room at Delahunt and more.
1. BAR 1661
Photos via BAR 1661 on Facebook
Bar 1661 on Green Street is one of the strongest cocktail bars in Dublin. Since opening in 2019, it has picked up multiple Irish Craft Cocktail Awards, including Ireland’s Best Cocktail Bar, but the appeal here goes beyond trophies.
The bar is built around Irish spirits, with a particular focus on poitín. Rather than using it as a gimmick, the menu treats it as a serious base spirit, pairing it with carefully chosen ingredients that keep the drinks balanced and drinkable.
You will find a small, well considered menu rather than an endless list. The Irish coffee is executed properly, while cocktails like the Halston St, made with blueberry poitín, lychee, lemon verbena and amaro, show the bar’s ability to create distinctive flavours without overcomplicating things.
2. The Sitting Room at Delahunt
Photos via the Sitting Room at Delahunt on Facebook
Delahunt is best known for its appearance in Ulysses, where James Joyce described an evening of “port wine and sherry and curaçao” enjoyed at pace. That literary link still hangs lightly over the place, but it’s the drinks that matter now.
The Sitting Room is Delahunt’s cocktail bar, set apart from the restaurant and styled with restraint. A large bay window looks out over Camden Street, while the interior leans mid century, with retro furnishings and dark wood panelling giving it a calm, settled feel.
The cocktail list matches the room. Drinks are built carefully rather than showily, with options like the Whiskey Punch using Slane Whiskey, rooibos and fermented pineapple, or the Apple Fashioned made with Longueville Irish Apple Brandy, maple syrup and chocolate. Balanced, considered, and easy to return to.
Related read: Check out our guide to 13 pubs pouring the best Guinness in Dublin (well known spots and hidden gems)
3. Peruke & Periwig
Photos via Peruke & Periwig on Facebook
Peruke & Periwig sits on Dawson Street and is one of the more established cocktail bars in Dublin. It’s well known, reliably busy at weekends, and open seven nights a week.
The bar is on the ground floor and keeps things straightforward. Alongside a focused cocktail menu, you’ll find draught pints, bottled craft beer, a solid whiskey selection, and wine, making it an easy choice for mixed groups.
The cocktails lean on familiar foundations with subtle twists. Classics are reworked rather than reinvented, with drinks like the Smells Like Teen Spirits Appletini, made with Ketel One Citroen vodka, crème de mûre, caramel, lemon, apple and pineapple juice.
4. Stella Cocktail Club
Photos via Stella Cocktail Club on Facebook
The Stella Cocktail Club is attached to the Stella Cinema in Rathmines and it shares much of the same visual language as its sister venue, the Vintage Cocktail Club. The setting leans polished without feeling stiff, making it one of the more distinctive places for cocktails in Dublin.
The room was originally a ballroom in the 1920s and the sense of space remains. A glass atrium and large front window bring in plenty of daylight, while an outdoor terrace offers a rare chance to enjoy cocktails outside without leaving the city behind.
The menu takes its cues from cinema, but the drinks themselves are taken seriously. Options include a well balanced French Martini made with Absolut Vodka, Chambord, strawberry and pineapple, alongside classics like the Hemingway. This is a great option if you’re looking for date ideas in Dublin.
5. The Mint Bar
Photos via the Mint Bar in Dublin on Facebook
The Mint Bar sits beneath the College Green Hotel, housed inside the former vaults of an old bank. The setting does most of the work. Heavy doors, low ceilings, and a sense that the room hasn’t been softened for effect.
The cocktail list leans on classic technique rather than novelty, with drinks built carefully and without excess. Live jazz plays regularly, adding to the atmosphere without taking over the room.
If you’re planning an evening that includes food and cocktails in Dublin, the Westin’s on site restaurants make it easy to start upstairs and finish below in the bar. It’s a contained, well executed setup that suits a slower night rather than a quick stop.
6. Vintage Cocktail Club
Photos via Vintage Cocktail Club on Facebook
The Vintage Cocktail Club sits just off the main drag in Temple Bar and feels deliberately removed from the noise outside. Spread over three floors, including a small roof terrace, it leans heavily into early 20th century styling without tipping into parody.
The rooms are filled with antique furniture, low lighting, artwork, and a working fireplace that gives the place a settled, intimate feel. It has long been recognised as one of the more serious cocktail bars in the city, and the longevity shows in how confidently everything is run.
For those who want to go deeper than ordering from the menu, the bar also runs cocktail masterclasses. They are structured, hands on, and well suited to small groups looking for something more considered than a standard night out.
7. Sophie’s
Photos via Sophie’s (Website & Instagram)
Sophie’s is one of the busier spots in the city for food and cocktails, helped by its rooftop setting and open views across the capital. Rooftop bars in Dublin are still relatively rare here, and that alone makes it a draw.
The cocktail list is built on good base spirits, with house made tinctures and cordials used where they add something rather than for show. Food is served throughout the day, with breakfast, lunch, dinner and weekend brunch all on offer.
Drinks lean accessible but well executed. The Mad Ting combines Havana rum, lime, passionfruit and Ting grapefruit soda, while non alcoholic options include the Cosmo Petal, made with Cedar’s Rose, cranberry, lime, lychee and cranberry bitters.
8. Pichet
Photos via Pichet on Facebook
Pichet operates comfortably as both a restaurant and a cocktail bar, with the two sides feeding into each other rather than competing.
The drinks menu sticks close to the classics, executed properly and without unnecessary reinvention. Expect well balanced staples like a Negroni made with Tanqueray Gin, Campari and Carpano Antica Formula, or a straightforward Aperol Spritz.
Food is a big part of the appeal. Pichet holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand and the kitchen blends French technique with modern Irish cooking. If you’re looking for Dublin cocktail bars to mark a special occasion, you won’t go wrong with an evening in Pichet.
9. Bow Lane Social Club
Photos via Bow Lane Social Club on Facebook
The Bow Lane Social Club dishes up some of the most popular bottomless brunch in Dublin, and both the food and cocktails pack a punch.
The brunch costs €50 for bottomless drinks, with options like the Bow Lane Fizz, a mix of sweet melon and tart apple topped with Prosecco. Cocktails are simple, quick to arrive, and designed to keep things moving without cutting corners.
Food is solid and filling, with dishes such as huevos rancheros, fried eggs with black eyed beans, chorizo, guacamole and corn tortillas. If you’re after Dublin cocktail bars that suit an easygoing afternoon with friends, this one makes sense.
Related read: Check out our guide to 7 of the oldest pubs in Dublin (or, for something fancier, our guide to the top wine bars in Dublin)
10. 9 Below
Photos via 9 Below Bar on Facebook
9 Below is tucked beneath the former Stephen’s Green Hibernian Club, set across a handful of small basement rooms that keep the atmosphere contained and low key. It’s easy to miss from the street, which suits the place just fine.
The cocktail list focuses on a tight set of house drinks rather than endless variations.
Standouts include the Apple Bottom, made with Ketel One Peach & Orange Blossom, sour apple liqueur, clarified apple and elderflower, and The Samantha, which combines Ketel One Grapefruit & Rose, Cointreau, clarified orange and cranberry. Carefully built, balanced, and well suited to the intimate setting.
Explore beyond the Dublin cocktail bars
So, now you know where to find the best cocktails in Dublin, it’s time to move on. Here are some guides to dive into:
Keith O’Hara has lived in Ireland for 35 years and has spent much of the last 13 creating what is now The Irish Road Trip guide. Over the years, the website has published thousands of meticulously researched Ireland travel guides, welcoming 40 million+ visitors along the way. In 2022, the Irish Road Trip team published the world’s largest collection of Irish Road Trip itineraries. Keith lives in Dublin with his dog Toby and finds writing in the 3rd person minus craic altogether.