For pizza in Dublin, PI is a convenient city-centre choice, Cirillo's suits a fuller Italian restaurant meal, and Rascals works when a brewery setting is part of the outing. Reggie's adds a Rathmines neighbourhood option. The right choice depends as much on location and dining format as toppings; these recommendations use published menus and practical details rather than claimed firsthand tasting. [1][2][3][4]
PI: central locations and a compact price comparison
PI publishes two city-centre addresses: 23 Essex Street East in Temple Bar and Unit 10, Castle House, 73–83 South Great George's Street. Its official menu lists wood-fired pizzas, including a €13.95 Margherita, an €11.95 Marinara and a €16.50 Nduja pizza. [1][5]
The two locations are useful for different parts of a day, so choose the branch that fits your actual route. Do not travel to an address remembered from an older article without comparing it with the current restaurant listing. Send the precise branch to anyone meeting you for dinner.
The menu also makes it possible to control spending without reducing the decision to the cheapest item. Marinara is a tomato-led pizza without cheese; Margherita is a different purchase, not simply an upgraded version of the same meal. Choose the style you want before comparing the cost.
PI's Mediterranean pizza is explicitly marked vegan, while the Nduja combines spicy sausage with honey and cheeses. [5] Those descriptions help distinguish a plant-based option from a meat-led signature dish. They do not establish allergy suitability; that requires a separate conversation with the restaurant.
A useful two-person baseline is two Margheritas at €27.90 before drinks, dips or other additions. That calculated starting point gives you a realistic comparison with another restaurant, provided both people genuinely want that meal. Adding multiple extras can erase a small difference in the original pizza price.
Cirillo's: pizza within a broader Italian meal
Cirillo's is at 140 Baggot Street and serves antipasti, pasta and wood-fired pizza. The restaurant describes its pizza approach as following Vera Pizza Napoletana standards and says the dough is slow-proved for 30 hours. The current menu lists Marinara at €14, Margherita at €16.95 and many topped pizzas at €19.95. [2]
This is the stronger choice when one person wants pizza and another wants pasta, or when dinner should include starters and dessert rather than a quick main course. The additional flexibility is part of what you are paying for; it is not sensible to assess the whole restaurant only through a single pizza-price comparison.
At the published prices, two Margheritas cost €33.90 before extras, €6 more than the equivalent two-pizza calculation at PI. That difference does not establish which dough or restaurant experience you will prefer. It simply helps put the budget discussion on a consistent footing.
Cirillo's published hours include a weekday break between lunch and dinner, different weekend arrangements and closure on bank holidays. [2] A restaurant that opens for both lunch and dinner may still be unavailable in the middle of the afternoon. Make the meal a deliberate stop instead of relying on continuous service.
When choosing toppings, consider the rest of the order. A rich starter and a heavily topped pizza can make dessert less appealing than expected. A simpler pizza may be the better choice when the broader Italian meal is the attraction.
Rascals: pizza as part of a brewery outing
Rascals is in Goldenbridge Estate on Tyrconnell Road, Inchicore. Its menu lists The Saints, a tomato, cheese and basil pizza, at €13.50; Meat Me in Inchicore at €18; and the vegan French Connection at €15. Children's pizzas and a range of sides are also published. [3]
Choose it when you want the brewery setting and the trip west of the centre is intentional. It is less useful as a last-minute substitute when you have a fixed appointment elsewhere immediately after dinner. Compare the entire journey, not only the difference in the price of a pizza.
The menu's use of named Irish producers gives a different angle to the meal from a strictly Italian-ingredient narrative. [3] That can be a reason to choose a topping you would not ordinarily order. It is not evidence that every ingredient is Irish or that local sourcing automatically produces your preferred pizza style.
There is also an important dietary distinction. Rascals offers a gluten-free base supplement but explicitly warns that all pizzas are cooked in the same oven and contamination remains possible. [3] Do not treat the availability of that base as a promise of coeliac-safe preparation. Someone who needs strict avoidance should discuss the requirement directly and choose another meal or venue if necessary.
The restaurant publishes weekday opening from 4pm and weekend opening from 1pm. [6] This makes it a possible weekend lunch plan but not an automatic answer for a weekday midday meal. Plan around the restaurant service rather than the general idea that a brewery is open to visitors.
Reggie's: a Rathmines alternative
Reggie's gives its address as 221/223 Rathmines Road Lower and provides an official menu and reservation route. [4] It is a useful option when you are staying in the area or want to make dinner the reason to spend time outside the most compact tourist centre.
The practical advantage of a neighbourhood choice is not a guarantee of lower prices or shorter queues. It is that the meal can fit naturally into where you are already spending the evening. A good restaurant across the city may be less convenient than an equally suitable one near your accommodation.
Use the current menu to price your intended order rather than relying on a launch review. Restaurant coverage often preserves the prices and dishes from a particular early visit. A booking decision months later should be based on what the restaurant is offering now.
For a planned evening, reserve through the restaurant's own route and note any table-duration or cancellation terms shown during booking. A reservation is especially useful when a detour depends on getting a table, even though it does not replace arriving on time.
Match the pizza to the occasion
For a straightforward central meal, start with PI. For a mixed group wanting pizza and other Italian dishes, consider Cirillo's. For a brewery-and-pizza outing, choose Rascals. For a Rathmines evening, investigate Reggie's. Each recommendation solves a different practical problem rather than presenting four interchangeable winners. [1][2][3][4]
Order the style you actually enjoy. A tomato-free pizza, a cheese-free Marinara and a rich sausage pizza create different meals even when their sizes look similar. Read the ingredient list instead of treating a familiar-sounding name as a complete description.
Finally, compare the full bill and the route. Drinks, dips, supplements and transport can matter more than a small difference between two Margheritas. The best pizza choice for a short Dublin visit is the one that gives you the meal you want without turning dinner into an unnecessary logistical exercise.
