Taste of Dublin Returns This Thursday With Its Biggest Line-Up Yet
If you’ve been waiting for the perfect excuse to hand the kids a fork and call it a cultural outing, this is it. Taste of Dublin returns to Merrion Square this Thursday, 11th June, and runs through to Sunday 14th June — and honestly, it looks like one of the best line-ups the festival has ever had.
Now in its 21st year, Taste of Dublin is Ireland’s biggest food and drink festival, and this edition is shaping up to be its most impressive yet. We’re talking 15 of Dublin’s most exciting restaurants, 50+ chefs and culinary experts, and over 60 food and drink experiences across four days in the heart of Georgian Dublin. The kind of thing that’s worth actually arranging childcare for — or, equally, dragging the whole family along to.
A Dublin dining bucket list, all in one place
The restaurant line-up this year reads like a wish list for anyone who’s ever been told a reservation isn’t available for the next three months. King Sitric Oyster Bar, Bar Italia, Parrilla, Shaku Maku, Dosa Dosa, BIG FAN, Bovinity, IBILE, BAH33 x Teeling Whiskey, The Salt Project, Chimac x Sicín Sásta, Achara, Daata and The Salty Buoy (the latter just announced, for the seafood lovers among us) will all be serving up signature dishes across the weekend.
The menu previews alone are enough to cause genuine excitement. Expect Gordon Ramsay-approved Butter Chicken, Grilled Hang Lay Duck on Duck Fat Roti, live-fire Brazilian BBQ, vibrant West African dishes and South Indian street food — all without a single waiting list or hard-to-get reservation in sight. The festival format means you can graze your way through things you’d never normally get to try side by side, which is exactly the kind of eating experience that’s hard to replicate on a regular Tuesday night with everyone demanding fish fingers.
More than just food
Beyond the restaurants, the festival is packed with cookery demonstrations on the Taste Kitchen stage, botanical gin experiences from Glendalough Distillery, Taste Spain masterclasses, SuperValu wine experiences and live music all weekend at the 98FM Music Stage. There’s also an X-Lite Social DJ space inspired by Lot Radio from Brooklyn, New York — so yes, you can absolutely justify staying well past the kids’ bedtime.
New for 2026, headline sponsor JYSK is bringing the House of JYSK to the festival — a Scandinavian-inspired space focused on simple, stylish living, with ideas for indoor and outdoor entertaining, live music, cocktail masterclasses and a series of relaxed lifestyle experiences running all weekend. It sounds like exactly the sort of corner you’d end up lingering in far longer than planned.
Is it family friendly?
Good news for parents: children under 10 go free, and tickets for children aged 10–14 are available from €14. The festival runs two sessions each day — a lunchtime session from 12pm to 4.30pm and an evening session from 6pm to 10.30pm — so there’s flexibility depending on whether you’re bringing the whole crew or making a night of it with friends.
General admission tickets start from €19.50, with VIP packages available from €52.50. Tickets are on sale now, and with the festival just days away, they won’t last long. You can grab yours and find out more at tasteofdublin.ie.
