Where can you sit outside at a café in Dublin city centre?

The most outdoor café tables in Dublin city centre are around Grafton Street, at places such as Fallon & Byrne on Exchequer Street, Bear Mrkt on Westland Row and Beanhive on Dawson Street. North of the river, Bachelors Walk and the Millennium Walkway have rows of outdoor tables, and Capel Street has been traffic-free since 2022.

Which Dublin cafés have outdoor seating by the water?

On Dublin's south docks, Surge Coffee on Sir John Rogerson's Quay and As One on City Quay both have outdoor seating. Grand Canal Square, completed in 2008, extends its paving out over the dock.

How rainy is Dublin for sitting outside at a café?

Dublin is on Ireland's drier side: most of the eastern half of the country gets 750–1,000 mm of rain a year, against 1,000–1,400 mm in the west. Across Ireland, about one hourly observation in five records measurable rain, so choose a café with indoor seats as a back-up.

Outdoor Seating in Dublin: Terraces, Quays and Parks

Sitting outside in Dublin is a bet on the weather. Most of the eastern half of Ireland gets 750–1,000 mm of rain a year, against 1,000–1,400 mm in the west, and across the country about one hourly observation in five records measurable rain.¹ The outdoor tables follow the foot traffic, in the pedestrian streets west of Grafton Street and along the northside quays.

Grafton Street & St Stephen's Green has the most cafés with outdoor seating, ahead of Capel Street & O'Connell Street and Phibsborough & Drumcondra. Fallon & Byrne on Exchequer Street, Bear Mrkt on Westland Row, and Beanhive and Tang on Dawson Street all put tables out.

Local tip: For an outdoor seat with a roof close by, the Phoenix Park Tea Rooms beside Dublin Zoo open 09:30–16:30 every day.⁵

Where these cafés are: Grafton Street & St Stephen's Green (20), Capel Street & O'Connell Street (14), Phibsborough & Drumcondra (8), Rathmines & Ranelagh (6), Docklands & Grand Canal (5), The Liberties (5), Merrion Square & Baggot Street (4), Harold's Cross & Terenure (4), Smithfield & Stoneybatter (3), Temple Bar & Dame Street (3), Fairview & Clontarf (2), Portobello & Camden Street (2), Ballsbridge (1).

At a glance

77Cafés listed

35With opening hours

06:45Earliest opening

22:30Latest closing

Opens earliest: Mister Magpie, from 06:45 (Mon–Fri 06:45–18:00 · Sat–Sun 07:00–18:00).

Closes latest: Surge Coffee, until 22:30 (Mon–Wed 07:30–17:00 · Thu–Fri 07:30–22:30 · Sat–Sun 07:30–17:00).

Most listed streets: Pearse Street (5), Bachelors Walk (4), Dawson Street (3).

Most common features: indoor seating (42%), smoke-free indoors (27%), wheelchair access (26%).

Car-free streets

Grafton Street has been pedestrianised for most of its length since 1982, after a first four-week trial in September 1971.² Capel Street followed in 2022, when about 400 m of it went traffic-free and its parking spaces were removed.³

On the north quays, Bachelors Walk has outdoor tables at Póg, the Irish Potato Cake Company, Murphy's and The Rolling Donut. Just behind it, the Millennium Walkway lines up Caffe Cagliostro, Jay Kays and Lemon Jelly side by side. On O'Connell Street, Guud Day on the upper street and The Green Kitchen on the lower one have outdoor tables, and The Tram Cafe sits on Wolfe Tone Square.

On the water

Grand Canal Square, completed in 2008, pushes its red paving out over the dock.⁴ Around the south docks, Surge Coffee on Sir John Rogerson's Quay has outdoor seating, as does As One on City Quay, and il Valentino puts tables out on Pearse Street.

North of the river, the Harbourmaster Café at Custom House Docks sits beside the old dock basin. Surge has the longest hours of the dockside terraces, until 22:30 on Thursdays and Fridays.

Parks and gardens

The Phoenix Park has two cafés: the Tea Rooms, neighbours of Dublin Zoo, and the Phoenix Park Café beside the Victorian walled garden, which supplies part of its produce.⁵ The park's wall runs for 11 km around 707 hectares of grass and tree-lined avenues.⁶

At the Museum of Literature Ireland on St Stephen's Green, the Readers Garden holds a courtyard part of the café and can also be reached from the Iveagh Gardens.⁷ On Thomas Street, Container Coffee sets out tables beside its shipping containers.⁸

Neighborhood terraces

Phibsborough and Drumcondra have about as many outdoor tables as the Docklands: Bread & Butter on Drumcondra Road Lower, Yellow Café on Berkeley Road and La Pausa Caffè on Blessington Street, which opens at 07:30 on weekdays.

In Ranelagh, Er Buchetto and Urban Health have outdoor seats, and in Kimmage, Grian Cafe on Kimmage Road Lower opens at 07:00 on weekdays with tables outside. In Ballsbridge, Mister Magpie on Merrion Road starts even earlier, at 06:45 on weekdays and 07:00 at weekends, with seats outside.

Outdoor seating cafés in Dublin

At a glance

3fe / Victoria Arduino

Artybaker

As One

Bang Bang

Bear Mrkt

Bread & Butter

Cloud Cafe

Cloud Picker Coffee

Er Buchetto

Fallon & Byrne

Gerard's

Grian Cafe

Groundstate

il Valentino

Irish Potato Cake Company

It's a trap

Jay Kays

La Pausa Caffè

Mister Magpie

Noshington

Noshington

Old Town Cafe

Perch Coffee

Póg

Rumi

Surge Coffee

Tang

The Bald Barista

The Coffee Bean

Third Space

Yellow Café

Boom Coffee

Bake 'n' Brew

Beanhive

Bear Mrkt

Bewley's Café

Car-free streets

On the water

Parks and gardens

Neighborhood terraces

Sources

Other ways to browse Dublin

Specialty coffee

Wi-Fi

Vegan & vegetarian

Bakery cafés

Open late

Outdoor seating in Dublin: questions

Where can you sit outside at a café in Dublin city centre?

Which Dublin cafés have outdoor seating by the water?

How rainy is Dublin for sitting outside at a café?

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