Best brunch in Dublin: how to find it and get a table

The best brunch in Dublin is the place that does your dish well, and the quickest way to find it is to look at photographs and ratings of that specific dish from people who ate it, rather than at a list of famous names. Search Mosey for the plate you want (eggs Benedict, pancakes, a full Irish), compare what people rated and photographed, then plan around timing: book where a place takes bookings, and arrive early where it does not.

What makes a brunch place genuinely good?

Brunch is unusually easy to judge, because almost every kitchen cooks the same handful of things and the differences show.

• The eggs. A poached egg with a runny yolk and a set white, cooked to order, is the single best test of a brunch kitchen. If the photographs show eggs that look rubbery or flat, believe them.
• The bread. Good toast, sourdough or a proper bap is the base of half the menu. A place that bakes its own, or names where it gets it, usually cares about the rest.
• The coffee. A brunch is long, and you will drink two. A kitchen with great food and a bitter flat white is a frustrating morning.
• The thing they are proud of. Most good brunch places have one plate everybody orders. Find out what it is before you sit down.

Photographs from several separate visits tell you more than any description, because they show whether the plate looks the same on a quiet Tuesday as it does on a packed Sunday. Check how many people have rated somewhere, too: a high score from three people is a promising start, and a high score from many is a pattern.

How do I find the best brunch dish rather than the best-known place?

Search for the dish rather than the word "brunch". On Mosey a dish has its own page at each place: the photographs people took of it, what they thought, and what they paid where they said. "Pancakes near me" is a better question than "brunch near me", because it is the one you actually have.

Two pages are worth bookmarking. Brunch in Dublin gathers places diners have tagged for brunch, and the best dishes in Dublin shows the plates people rate highest across the city. Both come from ratings. Nothing a place pays for moves it up either page.

When you are torn between two places, compare the two plates you are deciding between rather than the two overall scores. A place can be excellent overall and still do a mediocre version of the one thing you came for.

Can you book brunch in Dublin, or do you have to queue?

Both, depending on the place. Some brunch places take bookings, and plenty run entirely on walk-ins, especially at weekends. A few habits make either easier.

1. Check the place's page first. If it takes bookings on Mosey, book. It is free, you get a confirmation and a reminder, and the booking lands in the same diary the staff use.
2. Join the waitlist if it is full. A booked-out Sunday is rarely as full as it looks. When somebody cancels, the table goes to the waitlist instead of sitting empty. More on that on the reservations page.
3. Go early, or go midweek. For walk-in places, the first hour after opening is usually the calmest. Weekday brunch is a different, quieter meal, and often the same food.
4. Use the queue where there is one. Some places run a walk-in queue on Mosey: you scan a code at the door, add your name and party size on your phone, and get a message when your table is ready. You can wait somewhere warm instead of in the doorway.

If you are going somewhere popular with four or more people, booking matters more than usual. Small brunch places often have only one or two tables that seat a group.

What to check for different kinds of brunch

Brunch covers very different mornings. A quiet catch-up, a hangover, a family with a toddler and a working session with a laptop want different rooms. Diners on Mosey tag places for what they were good for, and those tags are filters you can use.

• Coffee that matters: look for places rated for great coffee, and read what people said about it.
• A conversation: places tagged for a quiet atmosphere or for catching up with friends.
• Children: places tagged family friendly, and the more specific tags for high chairs and changing tables.
• Eating alone: places tagged for solo dining, where a single at the counter is normal.
• Dietary needs: the dietary filters (vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free and more) are a starting point. Always confirm with the staff, because a tag is somebody's experience, not a guarantee about today's kitchen.

A missing tag does not mean a place is unsuitable. It may only mean nobody has said so yet.

Planning brunch with a group

Groups fail at brunch for one reason: nobody agrees on a place until it is too late to book. Start a shared list, invite everybody, and ask each person to add one or two places. The decision takes minutes instead of a week of messages.

For a bigger table, book as early as you can and expect that some places will ask for a deposit on a large weekend booking. A deposit comes off the bill, and it exists because an empty table of eight on a Sunday is a real loss for a small place.

Keep a brunch shortlist you will actually use

The most useful brunch tool is a list. Save every place somebody recommends, and add a note while you remember it: "go before ten", "get the special, not the menu", "ask for the window table". You will not remember any of that in three months, and it is the part that makes the list worth having. Our guide to Dublin's best cafés is a good place to find more to add.

When you have been, rate it with a photograph and name what you had. It takes one extra tap, and it is how the next person finds the good plate rather than the famous one.

Try it on Mosey

Search for the brunch dish you want in Dublin, compare the photographs, and book or join the queue from the same page.