Éadaoin Fitzmaurice — Dublin restaurant reviews and recent coverage

Research date: 1 November 2026

Review window: 1 November 2024–1 November 2026

Scope and confidence

I searched public/indexed Instagram and Facebook posts from Éadaoin Fitzmaurice, her RTÉ food writing, and recent Dublin restaurant coverage. Instagram itself limits extraction and the profile's October 2026 “My top 20 eats in Dublin” reel is only partially indexed. Its full 20-name list could not be verified from the indexed caption/transcript. I found snippets naming White Rabbit, El Silencio, The Blind Pig and The Cake Café, and others naming Variety Jones, Note, Host, Grano, Kicky’s, Manny, Park Lane Deli, Bambino and Orwell Road; search summaries do not reliably establish that these are all from that reel.

For the requested 20-place review scan below, I used the 20 ranked slots in Éadaoin's RTÉ “Top 50 places to eat in Dublin”, published 4 August 2024. That older ranking is an explicit proxy for a review scan, not a claim that it is the same list as her October 2026 Top 20 reel. It is just outside the strict two-year window. Reviews and profile posts below are labelled separately; where I did not find a credible new review in-window, I say so rather than fill the gap with older material.

Profile posts/recommendations found in the review window

20 Nov 2024 — special-occasion restaurants: Variety Jones, Note, Host, Grano and Kicky’s. Instagram Reel. The indexed caption identifies all five.
21 Apr 2025 — HERA, Drumcondra: new-opening review/recommendation; indexed reel says her top pick was @hera_dublin.
25 May 2025 — Hidden Smithfield: brunch café visit/recommendation. Instagram Reel.
31 May 2025 — Arisu Korean Kitchen: positive Korean BBQ recommendation; highlights short ribs, bulgogi, sides and Set A. Instagram Reel.
26 Jul 2025 — Grano: date-night visit, called one of her all-time favourites. Instagram post.
29 Sep 2025 — date-night picks: indexed post names Fidelity and Host among her picks. Instagram post.
8 Jan 2026 — Top 10 Eats of 2025: recap/recommendation list; public indexed caption gives title but not the full venue names. Instagram Reel.
25 Jul 2026 — expensive-but-worth-it Dublin restaurants: Chapter One, Host, Variety Jones, Note and Bang. Instagram Reel.
24 Oct 2026 — Top 20 Eats in Dublin: new list reel; full list is not exposed in its indexed caption. Instagram Reel · Facebook cross-post.

Location index — Dublin city / inner city and suburbs

For this index, “city / inner city” includes the central districts and inner-city neighbourhoods such as Stoneybatter, Smithfield and Phibsborough. “Suburbs” covers the outlying neighbourhoods. Original RTÉ rank numbers refer to the review scan below.

Dublin city / inner city (16)

#1 Grano — Stoneybatter, Dublin 7.
#2 Kicky’s — South Great George’s Street, Dublin 2.
#3 Note — Fenian Street, Dublin 2.
#5 Slice — Stoneybatter, Dublin 7.
#6 Sister 7 / Big Fan Bao — Smithfield, Dublin 7.
#8 Dash Burger — Capel Street, Dublin 1.
#9 Loose Canon — Drury Street, Dublin 2.
#10 Bambino — Stephen Street Lower, Dublin 2 (also Merrion Street).
#12 Mani — Drury Street, Dublin 2.
#13 Terra Madre — Bachelor’s Walk, Dublin 1.
#14 Bloom Brasserie — Upper Baggot Street, Dublin 4.
#16 El Silencio FFF — Clarendon Market, Dublin 2.
#17 Two Boys Brew — Phibsborough, Dublin 7.
#18 777 — South Great George’s Street, Dublin 2.
#19 Nomo Ramen — Charlotte Way, Dublin 2.
#20 Vice Pizza & Wings — Phibsborough, Dublin 7.

Dublin suburbs (4)

#4 Orwell Road — Rathgar, Dublin 6.
#7 Just Chubby’s / Chubbys — Clontarf, Dublin 3.
#11 Park Lane Deli — Chapelizod, Dublin 20.
#15 Benjamin’s Hot Chicken — Irishtown, Dublin 4.

Recent review scan — 20 ranked slots from the RTÉ proxy list

Review summaries are paraphrases, not verbatim excerpts. Recent diners' reviews are identified as such; they are not equivalent to professional criticism.

Grano — Éadaoin's RTÉ #1: handmade pasta and lively, intimate Italian dining. Recent: Irish Times, 2 Nov 2025, revisited the very small room and highly regarded Calabrian cooking; Tripadvisor includes 2026 diners praising attention to detail and fresh pasta. Irish Times.
Kicky’s — Éadaoin's RTÉ #2; Mediterranean-influenced cooking, fire and pasta. Recent: The Times gave it 9/10, praising the cooking and pre-theatre appeal; All the Food flags a high bill relative to portions. The Times · All the Food.
Note — Éadaoin's RTÉ #3; seasonal small plates and wine. Recent: a 2026 The Times review describes a stronger, more assured “Note 2.0,” particularly its venison dish; April 2026 diner feedback praises the room/service but one reviewer found the ragu portion small. The Times · Tripadvisor.
Orwell Road — Éadaoin's RTÉ #4; special-occasion neighbourhood dining. Recent: The Times awarded 7/10, describing a small, neighbourhood-style restaurant and a new head-chef era; positive on its midweek set-menu value. The Times · OpenTable diner reviews.
Slice (Stoneybatter) — Éadaoin's RTÉ #5; creative brunch/café and baking. Recent review found: no clearly dated 1 Nov 2024–1 Nov 2026 independent review surfaced in this search. The indexed Totally Dublin and Lovin Dublin reviews are older and are not counted as recent. Totally Dublin.
Sister 7 / Big Fan Bao — one RTÉ #6 slot spans Sister 7 and Big Fan Bao. Recent: The Times review of Sister7 rates it 8/10 and praises inventive Asian small plates and its Fidelity Studio setting; The Irish Times 2026 restaurant coverage notes Big Fan's Bib Gourmand recognition. The Times — Sister7 · Eater Dublin guide.
Just Chubby’s / Chubbys — RTÉ #7 was the Clontarf taco truck; it has since expanded into Chubbys. Recent: The Times gives the Clontarf operation 8/10 and describes flavourful, generous tacos; The Irish Times reviewed the Chubbys restaurant in April 2026 and called it a difficult booking with high-end ambitions. The Times · Irish Times.
Dash Burger — RTÉ #8; smash burgers. Recent: current customer discussion is mixed: one 2026 Reddit post complains of an overly greasy, expensive visit while replies defend consistency and value; this is anecdotal, not critic-reviewed. Reddit discussion. Older professional reviews exist but fall outside the recent window.
Loose Canon — RTÉ #9; natural wine and cheese toasties. Recent review found: no clearly dated in-window independent review surfaced. Search results returned older Irish Independent and TheTaste reviews, excluded from “recent.” The Times review (older).
Bambino — RTÉ #10; New York-style pizza slices, especially Hot Pep. Recent: 2026 Tripadvisor visitor reviews praise the slices and quick-moving queue, while some note long waits, portion/value changes and price increases. Time Out current guide · Tripadvisor.
Park Lane Deli — RTÉ #11; açai bowls, coffee and breakfast sandwiches. Recent: Éadaoin's RTÉ dog-friendly café guide (2025) calls its açai the best she had tried and praises its bacon-and-egg sandwich. RTÉ, 4 May 2025.
Mani — RTÉ #12; Roman-style pizza al taglio. Recent review found: the main independent critic review surfaced was January 2024, outside the two-year window. Contemporary indexed diner discussion compares it favourably with Bambino, but is informal. Irish Times review (26 Jan 2024; outside window).
Terra Madre — RTÉ #13; tiny Italian restaurant with regional pasta. Recent: Tripadvisor visitor reviews in Nov 2025 and Mar/Apr 2026 praise the pasta, produce, wine and warm service; they also caution that the basement setting is simple. Tripadvisor · All the Food.
Bloom Brasserie — RTÉ #14; Irish produce and date-night dining. Recent: EarlyTable lists 2026 guest reviews praising food, brown bread, service and ambience. EarlyTable · Tripadvisor.
Benjamin’s Hot Chicken — RTÉ #15; Nashville-style chicken sandwiches and tenders. Recent review found: no clearly dated, credible 2024–26 review surfaced in this search; All the Food has a detailed review but its publication date was not verified as in-window. All the Food.
El Silencio FFF — RTÉ #16; hidden Mexican taco-and-margarita bar. Recent: OpenTable currently lists the restaurant and recent diner ratings (4.6 overall in the indexed page); listing describes its secret entrance inside Pablo Picante, tacos, margaritas and loud dive-bar atmosphere. OpenTable.
Two Boys Brew — RTÉ #17; brunch and coffee. Recent: The Times awards 9/10, calling it a leading Dublin brunch café; recent Tripadvisor feedback is positive overall but includes a Jan 2025 complaint about slow service and bland eggs Benedict. The Times · Tripadvisor.
777 — RTÉ #18; Mexican cooking and tequila cocktails. Recent: The Times gives 7.77/10 and praises the margarita, energy and Sunday value; a March 2026 Tripadvisor diner reports a very poor meal, especially brisket and tacos. The Times · Tripadvisor.
Nomo Ramen — RTÉ #19; ramen and broth-focused comfort food. Recent: The Times gives it 8/10 in a January review, praising warming broth/noodles; current visitor reviews are mixed. The Times · All the Food.
Vice Pizza & Wings — RTÉ #20; pizza and wings. Recent review found: no clearly dated 2024–26 professional critic review surfaced; newer informal discussion is mixed, with some praising the pizza/service and others calling it standard. Reddit discussion.

Takeaways

The strongest recent critic signals in this scan are Kicky’s, Grano, Sister7, Two Boys Brew, 777, Nomo and Orwell Road; several have reviews dated 2025–26.
The strongest directly attributable recent creator praise is for Arisu Korean BBQ, Hidden Smithfield, Grano, and the 2026 splurge shortlist (Chapter One, Host, Variety Jones, Note, Bang).
Several lower-cost/casual picks have recent diner coverage but not a new, date-verified professional review in the sources returned. This is marked rather than treated as a clean bill of health.
To make the second section a fully verified review of the October 2026 Top 20 (rather than the explicitly labelled RTÉ proxy), the missing source is the complete restaurant-name list/transcript for the Instagram reel.