Mark Dunne
Sales and Events Manager
Can you tell us about No. 25 Fitzwilliam Place is for those unfamiliar with it?
No.25 Fitzwilliam place is a beautifully restored Georgian townhouse offering high end fine dining in an exclusive hire setting. Standing on the younger end of Dublin’s Georgian Mile, the building’s history has taken it from a historical family home to a contemporary venue hosting and private dining events, corporate events and weddings.
The building underwent a large refurbishment just prior to the pandemic, can you tell us about that?
Since the Kelly family became custodians of No.25 in 2005 it has undergone extensive renovation. Past works have restored the building and its beautiful features to their Georgian heyday. Work in recent years has focused on the accessibility and useability of the house as a luxury venue, this work will never be fully complete as we continue to change and adapt to customer tastes and demands. The addition of the Stapleton Bar prior to the pandemic has been a firm favourite with all visitors to No.25. The key element to refurbishment and restoration is to preserve all of the Georgian grandeur that the building possesses.
Could someone access The Stapleton for a drink with an advance booking?
The business has evolved over the years to become an exclusive hire venue. No.25 is totally unique to Dublin city centre, offering guests their own door private venue in a beautiful period property, we feel it’s very special and best reserved for special occasions. We do however have our neighbouring sister restaurant Suesey Street which is led by our general manager John Healy. Suesey Street offers guests the same love of seasonal Irish cooking, fantastic cocktails and excellent customer service.
Is the building only available and accessible to larger bookings events?
The venue is surprisingly adaptable to different party sizes, we host up to 60 guests for a seated meal but the house works just as well for an intimate dinner of 20 guests. The multi room layout over two floors allows our guests to use different areas for different stages of their event. The typical event starts with drinks in the Stapleton bar, moving to the Gandon Room for dinner and retiring to the Eileen Gray for post dinner drinks and live entertainment. It’s very much a home from home for guests.
Can you tell us a bit about the food offering? Is this connected to Suesey Street?
Yes, the culinary team at No. 25 Fitzwilliam Place also look after our sister restaurant Suesey Street. We are committed to using seasonal ingredients and supporting Irish producers across both venues. The food is confident and sophisticated, and we have been very lucky to build an exceptional team in recent years.
Are there any discernible trends you are evidencing in terms of bookings and clientele demands?
The business mix at No.25 is an even split between corporate client entertaining and weddings. Both have seen notable changes in recent years and despite being very different events the most common demand we see is that clients are looking for a quality experience for their guests. Our corporate clients are asking their guests to take time out of their busy work or family time to attend, so there is a real need for an experiential event. The same can be said with our wedding couples, we have seen the trend of smaller intimate gatherings continue but couples are looking to offer more to guests in terms of food, beverage and entertainment.
