Dax Restaurant

A perfectly delicious and beautifully prepared meal with excellent service to match. Spent our anniversary together here and enjoyed every minute and every mouthful. Worth every penny (or euro!)

Hidden down in the basement below the great Pembroke bar is where this white table cloth French restaurant is found. For the Tuesday we were there, we had no less than two waiters paying close attention to our table and serviced us impeccably throughout the evening.
Started off with a tuna tartar after the waiter proudly presented this was the first day of the season they had the tuna on the menu. Sold. It was soft and sour and salty at the same time, and pleasantly presented. Continued with more fish and had a lovely cod — crispy on the surface and so soft on the inside that it almost melted in my mouth.
The vibe was nice, friendly and relaxed, which is more than you can expect given the type of restaurant and its prices. Speaking of the latter, this would be the only reason why you would not find me dining in here on a weekly basis. This is as good as it gets in Dublin.

Love myself a good tasting menu. It’s the ultimate way to dine in my opinion. And Dax has it down to a tee!
Celebrated buying our house here with my better half and a few close friends. Great great place to do so. Relaxed and classy atmosphere.
Everything was wonderful, the place was buzzing, the wine flowing. My personal favourite was the sea bass, simply stunning.
And if it matters, then I would put this in Michelin Star company, it’s really that good :)

Really nice meal, definitely a fine dining experience. The restaurant itself is a bit dark and bland in my opinion but the food and service was great (if a little expensive).

Dax is right up there amongst the best restaurants I’ve eaten in — it serves Michelin quality food, the service is impeccable without being over-​intrusive or snooty and the dining room managed to feel both lively and intimate at the same time. I loved this place, and my three dining companions all felt the same. We were there to celebrate a special occasion and the experience did not disappoint. From the amuse bouche to the petit-​fours all six courses were exquisite with the two fish dishes (one pickled and one grilled to absolute perfection) being stand-​outs for me.
The chocolate fondant was also a knockout, the aroma of cocoa emitting from the dish was incredible — it smelled and tasted like heaven. All the little accompaniments were spot-​on too — the bread was delicious, water and wine glasses were attentively filled and each dish was broken down by the waiter upon reaching the table. Couldn’t recommend this place more, the only question I’m left with is… when can I go back?!?

4 of us went to Dax on Friday evening, the restaurant was very busy– but the staff were so attentive it was like we were the only ones there, we all had a superb meal and lovely wines, definitely we will be returning sooner than later.

Outstanding food and very good service.
3 course meal (appetizer, entrée, and dessert) offered a nice variety of courses and the best value at 39.50 Euros.
Bread — 5 stars
Wine — 5 stars
Salted cod croquette and fresh squid appetizer = 5 stars
Irish Sea Trout Fillet — very moist with crispy flavorful skin = 5 stars
Potato, broccoli, and carrot side dishes = 5 stars
Medjool date puddling with black treacle ice cream = 4 stars
Service was very attentive but not very personable = 4 stars
Others in my party had different appetizers, entrees, and desserts and really enjoyed their dishes.

I’m back to the best restaurant in Dublin, !! I have been here many times and always the food and service is excellent !! Spoil someone special !! Bring them here !!!

Over priced and nothing too special. The soup and breads are nice but anything else I have sampled has been disappointing. It’s very snooty too although it can be entertaining to listen to the suits trying to outdo each other with daft buzz words. I muat stop going. My friend keeps dragging me for the soup.

Ate the table d’hote menu on a friday evening here which rather brilliantly runs till 10pm. Service was a perfect mix of snappy and friendly. A very tasty ham-​hock terrine for starters, a beautifully cooked lamb shoulder for main and a tasty crumble for dessert. Incredible value and really a no-​brainer for top notch fine dining.

I had lunch in Dax to celebrate a friends birthday recently and I must say, while the food was top class, you certainly pay for the quality.
However if you are looking for a nice place to treat yourself on the special occasion, I would highly recommend it.
Soup and sandwich cost about 12 euro, if you are wondering how expensive is expensive.
Do remember, there is a check-​in offer for a free glass of wine, which I am looking forward to cashing in some day soon. Everyone loves a good glass of wine! :)

A bit conflicted on this one. Great food and excellent service in a really nice dining room. A mouthwatering wine list but the meal was also eye-​wateringly expensive in the circumstances. En route to the concert hall around the corner, we decided to pop in here at 6pm on a Saturday for a quick pre-​theatre early dinner. First mistake — they don’t do pre-​theatre, early bird or any other specials. I hadn’t bothered to check first. My bad.
So, for the meal — I often judge a restaurant by the quality of the bread they serve. I find it’s an excellent guide to what’s coming after and Dax didn’t disappoint on this score nor on the rest of the meal. I had a salmon starter and my wife had a salad, both of which were excellent. Lobster was on the specials board, although at € 33 not exactly blue plate, and it was served in the shell topped with a lovely Bearnaise sauce. No heavy lifting and sublime. The roasted halibut was superb. With no dessert or coffee and only one cocktail and a excellent Chablis Brocard from the vast wine menu, the bill, with tip, came a shade under € 160. We were in and out in under 90 minutes, hadn’t really intended a fine dining experience so I felt shortchanged. In fairness, more my fault than theirs hence my conflicted comment above.
Olivier — please please please put on an early bird. On the night, we were in and gone long before 8 so you can sell the table again. Surely that’s good business. You’re leaving money on the table at the moment IMO.

My first time in Dax. Had heard many great things.
The food was great. Starter of Foie gras served with orange and berry jelly as opposed to a compote. Different but quite nice.
Mains of hake with cardemon foam… I do like foam. Pork stuffed with black pudding. Very moist — loved it.
Dessert of hazelnut torte with Sheeps milk yoghurt and carrot purée. Unusual but delicious.
Where Dax went wrong was the service. I ordered a 2009 wine and was offered the 2010. When I pointed out the error there was no apology. Then the starter was brought out before I got the chance to order a replacement. Not good.
The other problem was, we went upstairs to the bar and were not made welcome. We were told that there was a party in 40 mons and we would have to leave. Not a great way to run a business.
Overall, great food. Need to work on the service!

Awesome. In a word — Dax still continues to outperform and out-​service restaurants that are pricier and less fun than they are. This was our second time here — just before Christmas. A reduced menu was still excellent. Staff were superb, food was truly class from start to finish, and the place was buzzing.
Go here — it’s great!

This is one of the best restaurants if not the best restaurant I have ever been to. Great ambiente, excellent food, service is outstanding — just brilliant! SIX STARS!

Just back in from Dax an rushed to the laptop to write it up while it’s all still fresh.
The restaurant itself is a great little basement level place, and you walk right into the bar area, which at the time was also hosting a good size gathering all clustered at one big table, clearly enjoying their wine. The initial bar was set high by a waiter who immediately took our umbrellas and our raincoats for safekeeping and led us to our table. The place is cozy and quite warm, and is a blend of continental elegance and Irish familiarity.
The menu was broad enough to be interesting without being pretentious, and while we were looking at it we were served amuses geules of sweet pepper soup and an endive/​rocket salad, tapas size. Both very tasty, the soup in particular having both texture and depth.
Ok, enough with the Michelin-​speak! What the heck is an amuses geules, anyway? This place was great, with an elegant atmosphere and pretty good service.
The wine list was decent with bottles ranging from € 30 to € 500 (yikes! There’s a recession on, people!). We had a bottle of white for € 35 that was served at the perfect temperature. The salad I had as a starter was very nice, not overly dressed, and the Wicklow Venison main was tender and served with a sauce made of mushrooms and berries-​the proper thing to serve with game, the fruits of the same forest it grew up in (seriously, that’s the way to go).
My dining companions had the halibut and felt it was very nice, and the green beans and potatoes that were served as accompaniments were flavorful and cooked with just the right amount of butter.
The tarte Tatin (apple) that was served for desert left a little to be desired, the crust was too hard and the apples were meh, at best. Coffee was excellent.
Overall presentation was perfect, and the reason that it doesn’t get a 5^th star was largely due to the service falling flat toward the end of the meal. We had to ask several times for our coffee, which arrived long after desert was finished, and finally ended up sending a different server for the check after requesting it and waiting too long.
Dax is definitely on the spendier side for the average diner, but the place was packed, which does make me wonder about the recession. On the other hand, I can definitely see it being the place to celebrate a new contract with a top sales exec or being taken there by a partner/​parent to honor passing the Chartered Accountancy exams (before your taste buds are destroyed by massive alcohol consumption later in the evening)
Bottom Line: Go once, then save your pennies up to go again for an intimate special occasion.

Had dinner here recently with my girlfriend. Felt really welcome the moment we walked through the door. Nice and warm with the music at the right level. Has several nooks and crannies so even though you can be seated close to other diners we didn’t feel crowded. Unbelievable food and perfect service. The staff knew everything about the food and wines. Not the cheapest but we felt we got excellent value for money and left totally satisfied.

Dax is a great new restaurant that feels a little bit like an exclusive club.
They have tapas served at the bar, then it’s on to the main event! The food is expensive but it’s very, very good. It’s fresh and where possible, sourced in Ireland.
To start I had gorgeous scallops with cauliflower purée, something I would never put it with, but it was divine (€ 17). In a place like this, you have to have the steak. It was a fillet of beef with red wine marmalade and fondant potato (€ 33) — mouth watering yet? I love being a carnivore.
Thankfully I wasn’t paying, it was a really gorgeous (but expensive) meal.

In my opinion, one of the best restaurants in Dublin. Dax is a great french restaurant, pricey but affordable, this is an alternative way to experience french gourmet food without breaking the bank.
Lunch and dinner are offered, along with an early bird menu and a tapas menu at the bar, which is stocked with a large variety of european wines.
The food is excellent, the staff are friendly (and french!) and you’re sure to have a great evening in this charming restaurant.