51st & Green Review Dublin Airport
Quick Verdict on 51st & Green
51st & Green is my favourite lounge in Dublin Airport although the competition isn't that high. It's open, airy, with good runway views, a decent breakfast, good bar and showers. The staff are always friendly. But it does get crowded and the seats could be with some attention.
Score 7/10
51st & Green Dublin Airport location
51st & Green is in the US boarding gate area. This is after you go through US Preclearance area (US immigration/security). It's only accessible if you are flying to US.
Getting through US Preclearance is quite a process. When you get your passport by the smiling (not) US Border Control officer, you still have a good walk past all the boarding gates to the very end where you'll see the lounge on the left of the bathrooms.
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51st & Green Dublin Airport hours
Opening times: 7:15am-4pm
Maximum Stay: 2 hours
Timing Your Arrival
There are more than 20 flights a day to the US from Dublin, so it's busy and can be hard to time everything well. The bad news for business class passengers who are used to skipping lines, is that there's no priority line to enter Preclearance. Normally there aren't lines, but when there are, they tend to be bad.
My 12 Steps To Fly Through Dublin Airport US Preclearance guide has a lot more information.
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51st & Green Dublin Airport Entry
- US business class passengers
- Dublin Airport Club Members
- American Elite if flying American Metal. The rules are changing with EI joining Oneworld so I'd double check directly with airline.
- Buy a pass online from €39 per person (Current Summer 2025)
- Pay at the door for €50
- Note: Priority Pass is not accepted here
👉 Book Lounge Access with Priority Pass
51st & Green Dublin Airport Seating
The lounge is open and airy which is important for me. I don't like enclosed lounges that feel tight. 51st & Green is one big open plan circle. The lounge gets criticism for being too sterile, but it has excellent close up views of the planes. I'm a big AvGeek and could spend hours here.
51st & Green opened nearly ten years ago when there was a lot less transatlantic flights. Dublin has now become a hub with more than 20 US flights per day and the lounge gets crowded. I'm not sure it was designed with this expansion in mind.
All the lounges in Dublin Airport have two hour limits and you have to bear this in mind when comparing them with other airport lounges. This is not Doha here. People are in to relax before boarding, get a snack, maybe a shower. The seating is comfortable for this. There's round tables with seats pub style, high stools coffee shop style and individual high back chairs for solo travelers. Comfortable but you're not going to fall asleep in any of them.
Just like Dublin's T1 Lounge, the seats and furnishing are showing signs of use.
51st & Green Dublin Airport Food & Drinks
There is a hot food buffet and given that most US bound flights are earlier in the day, it's usually breakfast, but they do switch over to lunches later. Breakfast is better. They are the Irish kind, sausages, bacon, beans, potatoes. There are healthier options too but I always have one last breakfast here before I fly across the pond.
There are Irish soda bread, pastries, donuts (yum), cereal, fruits, pre-wrapped sandwiches along with the hot buffet. Recent reports mention the quality of food declining.
Unfortunately, they no longer have a barista here which I think is a shame and takes away from the premium aspect that they claim.
But there's a well stocked bar here. I lived in the US for a long time and have flown between the US & Ireland more than 100 times, so I never leave 51st without having one last Guinness on Irish soil!
Darragh
51st & Green Dublin Airport Bathrooms & Showers
Just inside the front entrance on the left are the showers. They are the same white & grey minimalist style as the rest of the lounge, but they do the job.
51st & Green Dublin Airport Bathrooms and Showers
How it compares to other Dublin lounges
It is my favorite lounge in the airport. Perhaps because I said so many goodbyes to Ireland from it. But it needs a refresh.
The Liffey Lounge is more comfortable but doesn't serve hot food. You can go to The Liffey Lounge when flying to the US if your tickets allows it, but it's before Preclearance and you never know how long that will take so I can never relax there.
The T1 Lounge is in the Ryanair terminal and reflects that.
Bottom line
Maybe I'm spoilt by the food with Air France, the table service at the Polaris lounge, Cathay's Asian flavors, everything in the JAL lounge in Tokyo but my most recent visit to 51st & Green left me a bit underwhelmed. It's fine by Dublin lounge standards though.
Score 7/10
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