Hawksmoor plans its first Dublin restaurant in 2023

Steakhouse restaurant group Hawksmoor is planning to open its first restaurant in Dublin in spring 2023.

The group has requested planning permission to transform the former National Irish Bank building on College Green into a restaurant space.

This will include restoring original features such as ornate plasterwork and a 40ft cast iron dome in the former banking hall, and reinstating elements such as cast-iron railing similar to those used in the 1880s.

The site previously housed clothing brand Abercrombie & Fitch, which did not reopen its store after lockdown.

Hawksmoor co-founder Huw Gott said: “Our goal is to restore [the building] to its former glory, enhance features that have been shielded from public view in recent decades, and enable as many people as possible to enjoy this beautiful historic building.”

The Dublin site will be the first restaurant in Ireland for Hawksmoor, which was founded in London in 2006 and has since expanded to seven sites in the capital, and one each in Manchester, Edinburgh, and New York. The first Hawksmoor in Liverpool is due to open in the Grade II-listed India Buildings later this year.

Co-founder Will Beckett said: “We’ve been coming to Dublin for years to spend time in one of our favourite cities for food and drink, always keeping an eye open for a beautiful space.

"When we saw the former National Irish Bank on College Green we fell in love. It’s only taken us 16 years to finally get from London to Dublin, but we can’t wait to open Hawksmoor in what we think is one of the most hospitable cities in the world.”