Dublin seems to have a growing number of restaurants, especially with a variety of world-cuisine choices. Gone is the day of just traditional Irish food in the "hip city." My friend and I love to go out for nice and drawn-out (not too upscale) dinners, where we eat, drink, and lolly over meal and talk. The food in many of the restaurants in Dublin made this difficult. The Elephant and Castle was the best dinner we had there. It certainly was not cheap at about $35 per person but a great place for our last dinner. Don’t expect a traditional restaurant, but it was packed with Dubliners.
FYI – The chicken wings are out of this world! Some of the best I have ever had. It is also right near a few pubs with live music, so save room at the end and stroll over for a Guinness after dinner.