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Chosen and ranked by Dave Lang of Butcher Magazine, and checked by a master butcher.
In Dave's order
Belvidere Road, Dublin 1
Dave's number one is also the hardest shop on this list to find online. Brady's has no website and no social accounts we could track down. What it has is a counter on Belvidere Road and a farm behind it. Brady's describes itself as a third-generation family butcher and says all of its beef comes from the family's own Bord Bia-approved farm. Ask what came in from the farm this week.
Rathfarnham, Dublin 14
Wilsons is in Unit 7 of Rathfarnham Shopping Centre. It used to trade as Wilson Brothers, which is still the name on its Facebook page. The white pudding, the smooth old-style kind, has a following. One Boards.ie regular called it the nicest ever, which is a bold thing to say in a city with strong opinions about pudding.
Omni Park, Santry, Dublin 9
Ellen Cosgrave opened a butcher shop on Eden Quay in 1892. She also had 21 children, which makes running a shop look like the easy part. Her great-great-grandson Declan opened at Northside Shopping Centre in 1983, and he now runs four shops with his son Jeff, the fifth generation. The Omni shop is the Santry one. Bacon pieces and sausages for coddle are still the weekly staple.
Also at: Clarehall, Ashleaf, Crumlin, Ballybrack
Mount Merrion, Co. Dublin
John O'Reilly's shop on Deerpark Road is a neighbourhood butcher with no pretensions. The website is one page: phone number, opening hours and a promise of free local delivery every day. You can order by phone or WhatsApp and the meat comes to you, which in Mount Merrion and Stillorgan is about as convenient as butchery gets. Open Monday to Saturday, 8am to 6pm.
Cabra, Dublin 7
Etherson's has been on Cabra Road for more than a decade and has a second shop at Laurel Lodge in Castleknock. Some of the beef and lamb comes from the family's home farm in Westmeath. The rest comes from Irish suppliers they have dealt with for years. Cured bacon is the house speciality, and they make a point of keeping the salt low. They're members of the Craft Butchers of Ireland and also sell online, with delivery around the country.
Also at: Laurel Lodge, Castleknock
Moore Street, Dublin 1
Francis Xavier Buckley opened on Moore Street in 1930. Paddy Buckley, who joined his father at the shop in 1972, reckons the street had more than 20 butchers back then. By 2017 it had two. The beef is from grass-fed Aberdeen Angus and Hereford heifers under two years old, dry-aged on the bone for at least 28 days. Moore Street is also the place for the cuts supermarkets gave up on years ago: tripe, oxtail, tongue and beef cheek. FX Buckley won the Craft Butchers of Ireland national BBQ title in 2023, and the website does next-day delivery to the city centre and south county Dublin.
Also at: Nutgrove, Rathfarnham, Deansgrange, Barnhill Road, Dalkey
Portmarnock, Co. Dublin
James Smyth opened his first shop on North Strand in the 1930s, then followed his customers out to the Howth Road in Raheny in 1955. Willie Smyth took over in the 1970s and grew it to four shops, including this one on Strand Road in Portmarnock. The third generation runs it now. Both shops have their own prep rooms, and they mature selected beef in-store. There's also an online shop with delivery across north Dublin, plus a long list of €5.50 ready meals for nights when nobody wants to cook.
Also at: 407 Howth Road, Raheny
Marino, Dublin 3
Market Fair is a butcher and grocer on Philipsburgh Avenue in Marino. No website, no social media and almost nothing else online, so this is one where Dave's recommendation is doing the heavy lifting. The grocery side means you can get the meat and everything that goes with it in one stop. Ring 01 836 9256 or call in.
Blanchardstown, Dublin 15
Gleesons has been in the trade for more than 70 years and runs four shops, including this one in Blanchardstown Shopping Centre. The company says many of its butchers have been with it for over 20 years. Home-cured ham is the thing to try. For everyday shopping, the 4 for €21.99 range is good for filling a freezer.
Also at: Artane, Balbriggan, Navan
Finglas, Dublin 11
Midland Meats is in Clearwater Shopping Centre on the Finglas Road. The website says award-winning without naming the award. The thing it does shout about is Frank's Buffalo Sauce turkey burgers. Online orders go through Flipdish, the first one gets 20% off, and every 11th order is free, based on the average of your previous orders.