In search of the best restaurants in Swords? Our Swords restaurants guide will make your belly happy!
Now, the food scene in Swords is often overlooked. However, for those in the know, there’s several fine places to grab a tasty bite.
From casual cafes that pack a punch, like the Green Straw, to more formal restaurants in Swords, there’s something to tickle most tastebuds.
Hopefully, after reading the guide below, you’ll get a pleasant surprise at the volume of excellent Swords restaurants on offer! Dive on in!
Our favourite restaurants in Swords
The first section of our guide to the best restaurants in Swords tackles our favourite places to eat in Swords.
These are pubs and restaurants that we (one of the Irish Road Trip team) have munched away in at some point over the years. Dive on in!
1. The Arch Bar
The Arch Bar is one of the newest pubs in Swords. For those of you familiar with the area, it’s located in what was once The Star pub, near Swords Castle.
After an extensive renovation, The Arch is a mix of old and new, with countless corners to tuck yourself away in for food or drinks with friends.
On the menu, you’ll find some very pocket-friendly weekly specials along with the likes of steak, ribs, fajitas and plenty more.
2. Pomodorino Wood-Fired Pizza Pasta
Pomodorino is a peach of a spot and you’ll find it a short stroll from Swords Castle, on the mainstreet. Both the pizzas and the Italian dishes here are to die for!
The pizzas here are made from sourdough bases, the sauces are cooked a long, slow four hours for maximum concentration of tomato flavour, a recipe that dates to the 1880s.
There are classic options, such as Margherita and Quattro Formaggi, and specialities such as Golosa, with pork sausage, nduja and egg. Top pasta picks are lasagna and penne al salmone.
If you’re looking for Swords restaurants to mark a special occasion, it’s well worth checking out Pomodorino (they have a takeaway menu, too!).
3. D’Chilli Shaker
A well-spiced curry served with delicious sides is a thing of beauty, and you’ll find both at D’Chilli Shaker. Herbs, spices, roasted seeds, vegetables and meat fuse to create authentic, delicious dishes in what is one of our favourite Indian restaurants in Dublin.
Choose from Chicken Shashlik Kebabs, where chicken breast is marinated in mild spices, cooked in a clay over and served with onions, tomatoes, green peppers and mushrooms.
Or, why not opt for one of the many vegetarian dishes on offer such as Aloo Chana Palak (chickpeas, spinach and potatoes) or Mutter Paneer (spinach with a homemade cottage cheese)?
4. The Grill House
The Grill House offers a blend of Mediterranean and Lebanese dishes and has stunning views of Swords Castle, so makes a great venue for a night out in the summer months.
There is indoor and outdoor dining, and the restaurant works closely with local suppliers for its chicken, lamb, beef, vegetables and seafood.
Hummus, calamari, stuffed vine leaves, crispy chicken wings and fatoush salad are all included on the mezze menu.
5. The Old Schoolhouse Bar & Restaurant
The Old School House Bar and Restaurant describes itself as a traditional but modern Irish pub, which specialises in locally sourced steak and seafood.
Starters range from stuffed mushrooms to seafood chowder, Caesar salad and soup of the day, while mains take the form of steaks served with wedges or chips, half a roast chicken and fillet of cod fried in a crispy beer batter and dished up with mushy peas, tartare sauce and chips.
If you’re looking for casual restaurants in Swords where the food packs a punch, the Old Schoolhouse is a great shout (the Guinness here is also some of the best in the town!).
6. Green Straw
For a more casual feed, the Green Straw is hard to beat. Here you’ll find delicious breakfast and brunch options, with pancakes, salads, wraps and smoothies on offer.
Breakfast options range from the traditional porridge to the more hipster scrambled eggs and smashed avocado on rye bread toast, and Turkish eggs, poached eggs with yoghurt, chilli butter and roasted sweet potato.
If you fancy a pancake, you’ll find some of the best in Dublin here (their protein pancakes are some of the best we’ve ever had anywhere!).
7. Empoli Restaurant
Craving the goodness of all things Italian? Empoli has spaghetti with tiger prawns, penne with chicken, tagliatelle with smoked salmon and many more.
For the pizzas, the Bolognese option has many fans. Sides of garlic cheese chips and Taco chips help extend the carb overload feel, and if you’ve still got room for pudding, save some space for chocolate fudge cake or a homemade tiramisu.
8. Ruby’s Pizza & Grill
Ruby’s Pizza can be found in the Pavilions Shopping Centre, and it runs regular specials, such as Wings Wednesday, Burger Tuesdays and Pizza Thursdays.
For Burger Tuesdays, you can order any two burgers and fries for €22. There’s the classic beef burger and the chicken burger for a start, and if you’re vegetarian, plump for the falafel one.
The cocktails here are also pretty good and there’s some decent sized tables if you’re visiting with a group of friends.
9. Indie Spice Grill
India is a melting pot of food influences, and the Indie Spice Grill aims to capture that confluence, calling themselves true taste ambassadors of what the continent has to offer.
They provide a healthy take on this popular cuisine, using only lean, locally sourced meat and responsibly sourced vegetables, along with lentils, beans and pulses, herbs and spices that maximise taste.
The dinner taste plates include the Indie lamb chop, Irish lamb rack with onions, fennel, star anise and kalpashi.
10. Pink Elephant Thai Restaurant
The Pink Elephant Thai Restaurant cooks its dishes to order, guaranteeing you fresh and delicious food, that you can eat in or take away.
The menu here has everything from black tiger prawns in batter served with a plum sauce, to prawn cakes with red curry paste and a seafood Thai massaman.
For main courses, pick from chicken, beef, duck, prawn, seafood, mixed meat or mixed vegetables served with a number of sauces, such as Thai green curry or Thai panang curry, and remember to try the traditional Tom Yum soup.
What tasty Swords restaurants have we missed?
I’ve no doubt that we’ve unintentionally left out some other great restaurants in Swords from the guide above.
If you have a favourite Swords restaurant that you’d like to recommend, drop a comment into the comments section below.
FAQs about the best restaurants in Swords
We’ve had a lot of questions over the years asking about everything from what are the best restaurants in Swords for a fancy feed to which Swords restaurants are nice and chilled.
In the section below, we’ve popped in the most FAQs that we’ve received. If you have a question that we haven’t tackled, ask away in the comments section below.
What are the best places to eat in Swords?
In our opinion, the best Swords restaurants are Shaker and Vine, Pomodorino and D’Chilli Shaker.
What Swords restaurants are good for a fancy meal?
If you’re looking for restaurants in Swords to mark a special occasion, it’s hard to go wrong with either Shaker and Vine or Pomodorino.
Lorraine Fagan
Tuesday 20th of September 2022
The wine house is also fabulous