AQUA THE RESTAURANT AND THE BUILDING
I VISITED AQUA ON A REGULAR BASIS UP UNTIL 2020 [HOWTH 25 NOVEMBER 2025]
It has been quite some time since I last stepped foot in Aqua. My history with this restaurant dates back to January 2009, when my mother first asked me to take her there for lunch. It quickly became a cherished tradition; we visited four or five times a year right up until 2019.
We were actually invited to help celebrate the restaurant's 20th anniversary in 2020. Aqua originally opened with a private party on New Year’s Eve 1999, welcoming its first paying guests on January 10, 2000. Sadly, we missed that 20th-anniversary celebration. By then, my mother had turned 100, and due to Covid-19 restrictions, we were unable to celebrate her birthday on May 14th or visit the restaurant.
The building itself is steeped in maritime heritage. It served as the original home of the Howth Sailing Club (formed in 1895) and was extended in the late 1960s. After the club moved to new premises in 1986, the structure fell into disrepair until 1998, when the current owners—keen sailors themselves—began the complete refurbishment that created the Aqua we know today.
The owners take great pride in that upkeep. Even outside of pandemic times, it has been their policy to close annually in January for staff leave and maintenance. I recall a significant refurbishment in January 2014, when the dining room was beautifully sanded, painted, and reupholstered—a testament to their dedication to this historic venue.
It has been quite some time since I last stepped foot in Aqua. My history with this restaurant dates back to January 2009, when my mother first asked me to take her there for lunch. It quickly became a cherished tradition; we visited four or five times a year right up until 2019.
We were actually invited to help celebrate the restaurant's 20th anniversary in 2020. Aqua originally opened with a private party on New Year’s Eve 1999, welcoming its first paying guests on January 10, 2000. Sadly, we missed that 20th-anniversary celebration. By then, my mother had turned 100, and due to Covid-19 restrictions, we were unable to celebrate her birthday on May 14th or visit the restaurant.
The building itself is steeped in maritime heritage. It served as the original home of the Howth Sailing Club (formed in 1895) and was extended in the late 1960s. After the club moved to new premises in 1986, the structure fell into disrepair until 1998, when the current owners—keen sailors themselves—began the complete refurbishment that created the Aqua we know today.
The owners take great pride in that upkeep. Even outside of pandemic times, it has been their policy to close annually in January for staff leave and maintenance. I recall a significant refurbishment in January 2014, when the dining room was beautifully sanded, painted, and reupholstered—a testament to their dedication to this historic venue.
AQUA IN HOWTH