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: 4 restaurants across 1 city.
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.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
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 sessions nightly.
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, small-brewer beers only.
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 interior.
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.
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