Stanley’s Restaurant & Wine Bar

This place is pretty much what comes to mind when I hear the words «wine bar.» Beautiful, understated, dimly lit… They had an excellent wine list with some great flights offered. I should’ve come earlier and planned to stay longer! The staff was very professional, knowledgable, and weren’t snobby at all when I might have chosen the least expensive glass on offer ;) I would definitely go back — and try the food next time!

A friend and I came here for a much-​needed glass of wine, which turned quickly into a bottle with some food!
This is probably the perfect place for a classy first date or second date/​small dinner with a few good friends. The key word here is «intimate,» as the place is pretty small and upscale but without seeming off-​puttingly snobbish! Prices are, as indicated, not cheap — it’s definitely a main event, not a stop-​on-​a-​night-​out. However, quality is amazing — both for food and wine!
The servers were particularly friendly but not pushy and, again, not snobbish. They also were subtle and didn’t stay uncomfortably long to chat. While I was simply there with a friend, there were lots of couples around and they all seemed happy and uninterrupted.
Anyway, if you’re looking to treat yourself and really engage with the people you’re with — have a venting session, catch up, pr just talk — this is the place to go! Expect to pay for the experience but it is definitely worth it.
Protip: I was probably slightly underdressed in my nicest jeans and a nice shirt, most women were in dresses and men in collared shirts, but no one really batted an eye anyway!

Probably the best duck I’ve had in the city, served with a smile in a pretty swanky setting. Had been meaning to pay them a visit but was a bit reluctant as I used to love Saint. Even though we were sat facing a wall on high stools, that did not take away from the experience. The ground floor has a pretty romantic vibe going on with lots of candles, fairy lights and mirrors and our Italian waiter was delightful which is not something I throw out there willy-​nilly. I’m a big fan of duck and the duck I had here, oh my! It was pink and tender, delicious! The bf’s steak was beautifully charred on the outside which gave it a punchy flavour and the chips were of the massive variety. Dessert didn’t disappoint either, a great combination of flavours and textures. There’s an extensive wine list to compliment their menu. I’ll be back!

Sat in the quaint little wine bar part of the restaurant. It was lovely — beautiful music, candles, mirrors — every romantic. And they are open late for a wine bar — til 1am.

Great selection of wine from all around the world, the interior is surely designed by an artist, jazz music, cosy atmosphere! My future favourite wine bar!

I finally got to Stanley’s on a Friday night after a show at the Button Factory! We were looking to get drinks at a place that wasn’t a pub and would have a decent wine selection — Stanley’s appeared in the nick of time.
The setup is like a cocktail lounge, and the music was this techno sound blaring from the speakers. There was a lot of yell talking happening. The wine bar theme didn’t really match the ambiance. Ah well, on to the booze!
Their list of wine was extensive as it should be for a wine bar. It was excellent, and our waiter was great about providing recommendations. It made it easy to order and with so many options, you’re sure to find something within your price range.
The 3 stars are because of the general ambiance of the place and the loud music. The ambiance makes your experience. And when it’s off, it’s off.

Oh I just LOVED the vibe in this place! Been meaning to check this place out for longer than I care to remember and finally, I visited!
Reviewing from the wine bar perspective as I didn’t eat here… The wine bar is so cosy, a real elegance about it without being stuffy! The bar has a mixture of high and low tables, it’s the perfect wine bar for catch up with a few friends or even an intimate date. I visited here at night and the place was dimly lit with candles making up the perfect ambience.
Wine menu is great, some unusual finds on their menu and everything reasonably priced; waiter was knowledgeable and happy to offer recommendations.
I’m so happy to have this on my radar and plan to visit again, real soon. Next visit, I’ll sample the food and update my review :-)

Lovely meal here last weekend. We enjoyed our wine, starters, mains and even the dessert. To start I had the foie gras and J went with the mushroom risotto. Both were good but mine was the clear winner. Creamy and flavourful foie gras with lovely pear sauce to accompany it.
For mains I had the fish of the day, haddock, and J went with the filet. My fish was nice and light and was served with chips and a pea sauce. Good dish. J’s dish was excellent. Perfectly seasoned and prepared steak with tasty potatoes on the side.
To finish the evening we split the chocolate fondant with Guinness ice cream. It wasn’t overly sweet and had a nice melt in your mouth texture. We had a great experience at Stanley’s and will return soon. The wine bar is worth checking out as well — lively atmosphere!

YUUUUUMMMMM!
Obsessed.
Obsessed with the gorge dining room upstairs.
Obsessed with the delicious food.
Obsessed with the unreal value of the pre-​theatre.
Obsessed with the friendliest staff.
Obsessed with gorge wine selection.
Just Obsessed in general.

We walked in without a reservation on an incredibly busy Saturday night (the Saturday before the all Ireland final) Morgan worked to sit us right away. Every single dish was fantastic. We had the apéritif «the bill Murray» which my fiancé and I loved. We were unsure about the wine but let Morgan choose and she hit it out of the park!
We had just gotten engaged and wanted to go
To some place intimate but not crazy expensive and Stanleys was the perfect choice! Loved it!

I hung out in the downstairs bar with a friend for an evening and it was a wonderful experience. We both had fizzy to start (champagne for her, prosecco for me) and then each had a flight of three wines along with a charcuterie-​style sampler before indulging in another glass of wine each and dessert paired with port.
The wines were beautifully selected and showed variety and creativity within each genre: mine was ‘Skin Contact’, whites with hints of colour from skins; my friend’s was Gamay (or was it Grenache? a varietal with a ‘g’!) from different regions. The tasting plate featured serrano ham, duck bacon, homemade-​tasting gherkins, pickled onions, and an incredible mousse/​paté/​butter wonderfulness that was one of the best things I’d eaten in a long time.
The service was attentive and friendly, but not overbearing or intrusive. The décor was warm and interesting, without being pretentious.
The only letdown was dessert. The set caramel with oats and melon was a bland jelly-​like cube (the caramel) that was overwhelmed by the melon flavours and underwhelmed by the texture of the oats. An interesting flavour/​texture combination that just didn’t live up to its potential.
The wine bar at Stanley’s was a lovely break from the Guinness– and pub-​centric bits of Dublin and a fabulous place to spend several hours!

FANTASTIC! By far the best wine in Dublin, great value, super atmosphere and service was incredible — learned a massive amount of info from the owner Morgan who’s studying for her masters somelier exam and super knowlegeable. We started with the selection of chenin blancs and spent the next 3hrs working through the menu. Left feeling inspired… and a wee bit drunk, great evening :-)

They may have the best ham and cheese sandwich in Dublin in their ground floor bar. They call it a Cuban. It’s € 8. And it is superb. It’s worth stretching your legs for. It’s all knife and fork, but only because the ham hock, cheese and bread is stacked high, covered in hollandaise and topped with a soft fried egg. It’s filling, but I still made room for onion soup, which was perfect — sweet, seasoned with parmesan saltiness and creamy. The only disappointment was the panna cotta dessert. It’s in a jar, which I reckon is convenient but cheating. Let us see the wobble. There were cute ginger snaps, but too small or too few (greedy me, just wanted more!). I’d happily recommend family or friends eat here. I’ll have to come back to try upstairs with Bowie and Murray!

The food is really tasty and they make wonderful bread. Which they are very generous with, which is great.
The staff are very nice and don’t rush you.
We will be going back and we’ll bring friends with us.

wow I really did not expect this place to be that good!
The food was nothing but perfect and the service was exceptional.
It’s not one of those pretentious places that just have a menu that sounds fancy but the food doesn’t taste good. No, I tried two dishes and both had a complex yet perfect flavour to them.
Well done to you guys! Keep up the excellent work and will definitely be back to try the excellent value lunch specials you have!

I visited with a couple of my blogger friends in mid December when the doors had only recently opened. It’s the building that previously housed Dublin City Food… and then Saint, which I never got around to visiting. They have done a fabulous job of reinventing the room. On the bottom floor is the wine bar area. A slick gold bar and modern furnishings bring it bang up to date. Second floor is the restaurant and the 3^rd floor is almost finished and will be a private dining area.
We had a couple of glasses of wine downstairs before being seated upstairs in the restaurant area. This is where Stanley’s really shines. I adored this dining room, not least for the amazing candle-​lit window that overlooks the street.
To start with, two of us went for the Mushrooms on Toast at € 9. This picture doesn’t do the dish justice at all, I really enjoyed it.
The other choice was the Squash Soup at € 8, which also got the thumbs up.
For mains we all went for the meat option! First up, the Rib eye steak (€ 27)
My choice was the Shin of Beef (€ 20) served with black truffle polenta and glazed carrot… the beef was amazingly soft and this was a real comfort dish. It was also pretty good value for money considering the quality and portion size.
And lastly, the lamb with confit turnip & parsnip (€ 23)…
We finished up with, what else — the cheese plate, which was divine.
Adding in a couple of bottles of wine we racked up quite a bill but they do also have lunchtime deals and a Brunch menu that I’d love to try out!

Wow. The food here is simply delicious. Stanley’s, I have to admit, is the kind of place I would usually go in to for food — partly due to having a toddler, and partly due to my lack of styling!
I had the crayfish risotto to start. Too many flavours to mention in each bite. In a good way. And it was the right temperature risotto should be too; to allow you to scoff it as quickly as possible!
The beef medallions on truffley, mashy yummy goodness was great. The beef was cooked exactly how I like it. Interestingly I was not asked how I like it — perhaps that just the kind of place Stanley’s is — the chef knows best! The pot of mash on the side was just too creamy and moreish.
The service as great, and the waiter was friendly and attentive — I felt like a superstar! I really like the wooden walled interior. The paintings/​prints on the wall were great too — Bill Murray, Bowie, Christopher Walken — and I can’t remember the rest! Yet more things to add to my man cave when I get a house!
Will I be back? Yes. Will I dress up more? Yes. Will I be more punctual next time? Yes.
Exceptional for Dinner in style heads, dinner before the theatre heads, and, I wish I brought my handbag to ‘acquire’ one or two of the prints on the wall heads!

If you peek from the outside, Stanley’s looks just like a hip small bar, or at least I thought so. But upstairs they have a lot more room, so don’t be fooled, they’re a full-​fledged restaurant. The interior is comfortable and sober… that’s until you see David Bowie et al. in golden frames hanging on the wall. That and the jazzy music set the the right mood, slick yet not too formal.
The lunch menu had a lot of good things in it, and I had almost made my mind up until I saw the wine list. It was such a good selection that I changed my first choice of main dish to match the red wine I picked. (And this is where the fifth star comes from, I haven’t been to all that many places in Dublin with a wine selection that would match this one.)
We were presented a tasty little bread and butter couvert, and after that I went with the smoked trout for starter. I thought that the salad was almost only «decorative» and superfluous, but the rest of the dish was delicious. The trout itself wasn’t overpowering, and the apple really complemented its flavour.
Next I had the beef medallion, melting and perfectly medium rare, served over a very smooth squash purée and kale, and with a side of potato mash (inside the smallest, cutest copper saucepan ever!). This was a perfect dish, very filling and simple but well presented and hitting all the right spots in terms of flavour.
I wish I had tried something for dessert, but I was too full by then. Their espresso was quite decent, so I didn’t leave with a bad taste in my mouth (ah! seriously, there’s nothing worse than bad coffee after a really good meal).
Their lunch menu is good value for what you get, and the setting is perfect for a quiet, more elaborate midweek lunch. The staff — particularly our waiter — was super courteous and welcoming but not intrusive. Anyway, I think I’ll be back for that wine list alone…

Their lunchtime menu was very appealing and imaginative, I would say that they’re also carefully selected. Their starter choices were: crayfish risotto (my choice), foie gras parfait, plum & apple chutney and smoked trout salad, apple and pickled cucumber. It’s a hard task to select only one starter, however, I picked the crayfish risotto, that was so creamy and rich in flavour.
For main course we were offered: cod with new potatoes, red onions and salsa Verde, roast chicken supreme, buttered kale and sweet potato and a delicious fillet medallion with buttered kale and sweet potato. As I am a carnivorous Maximus, my pick was the fillet which was cooked to perfection (medium rare) and so tender that it melted in my mouth.
They seem to have a great wine selection. However, due to dietary constraints, I avoided alcohol and sugar, and for that reason I can’t go into detail about the wine list and the desserts (taking into account the food that they served I would say that would be at least one-​of-​a-​kind).
I think part of the tranquil ambiance of Stanley’s comes from their staff, who try to tailor their service, according to the customer’s needs, being very attentive and patient. The spacious layout and classic look of the restaurant allows a relaxed atmosphere.
Location-​wise, they are well located in the heart of the city centre, the place is just off Dame Street, near Trinity and Grafton St.
I would definitely go back, and recommend it to friends and expats living in Dublin.

I loved this place. I really really did. Where to begin.
The décor first off — wow. If you’ve been in here for Saint or Dublin City Food, you will not recognise the place. Downstairs, there is a solid gold bar (ok, maybe not solid, but it’s still deadly right!), with smokey mirrored walls, and much sparkle and pizazz. It’s like walking into a bar that would have been featured in a high-​brow Sex & The City, where Don Draper was in place of Mr Big.
The upstairs is just as beautiful. Wood paneled walls, accessories like a big old gramophone, coupled with funky elements like the framed gold picture of David Bowie looking down on you approvingly as you eat. (he’s always gonna approve of any excess isn’t he?!! MORE MASH PLEASE WAITER!)
And onto the mash. the food was really excellent. I had foie gras for my starter. (I know, I know. I’d never had it before and wanted to try it just the once.) It was similar to pâté! Very tasty very smooth pâté. It came on a very artfully placed salad and crisp bread and was lovely. The main was beef medallions on a bed of (I think squash?) with truffle mash and potato mash on the side. The potato mash was served in a small little brass saucepan that I wanted to scoop up and take home. (I refrained, don’t worry). Again, great quality ingredients and beautiful presentation.
The service was also top notch — really friendly and attentive, though never overbearingly so.
They are currently building a private dining space on the top floor which I’d love to have a go of as I’m sure it’ll be to the standard of everything they’ve done so far.