A long-simmered beef stew braised in Guinness Extra Stout with carrots, onions and a bay leaf, the working Dublin pub plate served with mash and brown bread. Three hours minimum.
Where to eat it: 8 restaurants across 2 cities.
Beef in stout is older than Guinness, but the 1759 St James's Gate stout brewery formalised the recipe across Dublin pub kitchens. The classic Irish stew uses lamb and no stout; the beef and Guinness variant became the Dublin pub menu signature from the 1970s onwards. The dish needs three hours minimum to reduce the stout to a glossy syrupy gravy and to break the beef shin down. Every Dublin pub serves a version; the Brazen Head's is the city's reference, the Stag's Head and L. Mulligan Grocer's are the gastropub upgrades.
Common allergens: Gluten
Tip from the editors. Brown the beef hard in small batches; the colour is the flavour. Do not skip the bay leaves; they cut the Guinness bitterness.
The Brazen Head on Bridge Street Lower in Dublin 8, established 1198 as Ireland's oldest pub, the present 1754 coaching inn serves Irish stew and trad.
Signature drink: Guinness with an Irish stew
Food: Full Irish pub kitchen, food to 21:00
Tip: Food served until 21:00 daily; nightly trad music sessions from 21:00. The back snug holds eight; the courtyard runs summer only.
L. Mulligan Grocer on Stoneybatter in Dublin 7, the Northside gastropub of black pudding arancini, Irish seafood chowder and chicken Kiev, no Guinness.
Signature drink: Irish craft beer (no Guinness)
Food: Modern Irish gastropub kitchen
Tip: Closed Mondays and Tuesdays. The Wednesday early dinner is the calm window; Sunday lunch books two weeks ahead online.
The Stag's Head on Dame Court in Dublin 2, a Victorian pub since 1860 with original mahogany and a stained-glass roof, the city's archetypal Dublin pub.
Signature drink: Guinness with an Irish stew
Food: Irish pub menu, full kitchen
Tip: Two bars; the downstairs is the trad pub, the upstairs Parliament Hotel is the late bar. Irish stew at lunch is the value play.
Davy Byrnes on Duke Street in Dublin 2, the moral pub since 1798, the Joycean Bloomsday stop for a Gorgonzola sandwich and a glass of Burgundy.
Signature drink: Burgundy with a Gorgonzola sandwich
Food: Irish seafood and pub plates
Tip: Bloomsday on 16 June fills before 11:00; the back room sits forty. Seafood plates run all day.
Tigh Neachtain on Cross Street Galway is the most ambient trad-session pub in the west; low ceilings, open fire and live music most nights since 1894.
Signature drink: Pint of Guinness in one of Galway's oldest pub interiors
Food: Bar snacks only
The Kings Head on High Street Galway serves weekday lunch from €9 in a pub licensed since 1611; the soup-and-sandwich deal beats every city centre cafe.
Try: Pub lunch: Atlantic chowder, Irish stew and toasted sandwiches
Order: Wild Atlantic chowder with soda bread and butter: the €10 lunchtime standard at the King's Head
The Quays on Quay Street Galway runs trad sessions until late seven nights a week; the three-floor Victorian bar is the most spacious late-night venue around.
Try: Bar food until 21:00 then pints in the medieval hall until close
The Crane Bar on Sea Road Galway keeps trad sessions running late on weeknights; the after-midnight Galway music crowd fills every seat in the narrow bar.
Try: No food service: come for the trad session and the pint
More cities are in research. Want guinness beef stew covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.