Hilan Chinese and Korean Restaurant

You'll walk past Hilan a dozen times before noticing it properly - the modest shopfront on Capel Street doesn't exactly scream for attention. But step inside and you'll find one of the northside's most reliable spots for proper Chinese and Korean food, run by people who clearly know what they're doing in the kitchen. The menu spans both cuisines without any of that fusion nonsense - just solid, authentic dishes done well. The Korean fried chicken arrives properly crispy, the mapo tofu has actual heat, and the noodle soups are the kind of thing you'll crave on a miserable Dublin day. It's not fancy, the service is efficient rather than chatty, and you'll be eating off basic tableware. But when your bibimbap arrives sizzling in a stone bowl and tastes exactly like it should, none of that matters.