Food Experiences around Ireland and Northern Ireland

We thought that Kinsale had the best restaurants of our trip to Ireland. Enjoy all that seafood.

In Belfast do NOT miss having mussels and the seafood chowder at Mournes Seafood Bar next door to the Kelly Cellars pub.

Trust me. It’s been 3 years and I still dream about that seafood chowder!

If you want dessert while in Galway, I highly recommend the Pie maker

I like the way you think about restaurants. In Galway, we loved Hooked - a reasonably priced seafood restaurant out of the tourist zone in the West End on Henry St. In Dublin, our favorite pub meal was at the Hairy Lemon (recommended also by Rick Steves). In Cork, I am not sure what you will find at the English Market for dinner. I don't think the Farmgate Cafe is open for dinner and most of the vendors will be packing up by the dinner hour. If you want to go for adventurous vegetarian cuisine to take a break from all the meat and fish, Cafe Paradiso is the place in Cork.

Enjoy!

I am so following this thread......yummmmm

Thanks for the recommendation, Claudia! I had Mourne's as an option to John Long's. I think what I'll do is go to John Long's for lunch one day and add Mourne's to dinner list. Thanks again!

Thanks for your reply, Sharon. My dessert, if I indulge, is usually cheese. I'm not much of a sweets person - although I do love an almond croissant for breakfast here and there…. Hope other readers appreciate your tip!

Gradevine, I appreciate your input! The Hairy Lemon will be added to my iten. Glad it also has Trad music. Sometimes it seems like restaurants with extensive menus, though great for groups, might not do a good job on any one thing. This place doesn't appear to suffer that trait - lots of happy eater reviews! I'd love to dive into their beef and guiness stew right now....

I am REALLY HAPPY you steered me in a different direction from The English Market. I totally had no clue everything there shuts down so early. Thanks for the rec on an alternative.

-Mary

Well, I've only been once, but I was underwhelmed by Fishy Fishy on our visit this past spring. I was expecting more of a fine dining experience with good to very good fish. What we experienced was rushed, pretty poor service, and forgettable seafood dishes. My wife and I used to live in the Pacific Northwest, and the experience reminded us of a Newport Bay restaurant, which is a local chain to that area similar to the national chain Red Lobster.

If I were to return to Kinsale, and I probably will because my wife loves Ireland, I'll definitely be looking elsewhere for seafood.

We've only been to Galway once, in 2011, but are returning in 3 weeks. A real treat we stumbled upon in Galway the first time was Sheridans Cheesemongers. They carry artisanal cheeses from Ireland and elsewhere in Europe, and can fix you up with a glass or bottle of wine and something else to go with the cheese. Our last night in the Galway area (actually at a B&B west of the city), when it was pouring rain, we stayed in our room and had a wonderful cheese picnic dinner, with the cheese and crackers we'd planned to take on our bike tour the next day. Looking online recently, they've grown and have a shop now in Westport and other towns. Worth going there for either an on-the-spot snack or some cheese to take with you. Happy traveling and eating!

I generally like to have a nice meal one night ($100 US for one, tax and tip and wine included)

Bear in mind that the price you see on the menu (or in the shop etc) is inclusive of tax (gets me every time I return to the US!)

The Pie Maker in Galway (previously recommended by Sharon) also serves savory pies, if you're not a dessert person. I had one when I was there and enjoyed it. It is a TINY restaurant so seating can be an issue.

Pies in the UK and Ireland are typically savoury therefore the default expectation for a pie shop will be one of savoury pies rather than sweet ones.

Great tips on the pies - thanks! Sheridan's Cheesemakers looks like a good option for a long train ride. Regarding The Pie Maker, it might be difficult to fit it in - would have to knock off Aniar. I did run across this review, and thought some might like to read it:

https://galwaygrub.net/2018/04/16/the-pie-maker/

Bob, I was taken by surprise by your review on Fishy Fishy. There are so many great reviews on this restaurant, and also awards, although in looking closer it appears most were from 2013 and before. I wonder if maybe they have become a victim of their success? I will have to decide whether to go and hope that your experience was not the norm, or fall back on my alternate, the Fish Market in the Blue Haven Hotel. I generally steer clear of hotel restaurants, but this one looked really good.

I give a thumbs up to Fishy Fishy, was there this July. It is very nice, a pleasant experience, superb seafood. Given your emphasis on restaurants throughout the country, I think you will be disappointed if you don't try it.

Thanks for this post! We arrive in a month and I’m working on our restaurant list for Westport, Galway, Dingle and Dublin. We have the 8 day RSTour plus extra time in these towns. The Pie Maker in Galway looks awesome. Anyone been to An Port Mor or Sage in Westport? Both on my list, we only have two nights there. What about Hooked in Galway?

A friend referred me to this link on the best seafood in Ireland - thought I would share:

https://lovin.ie/travel-1/these-are-the-15-best-seafood-restaurants-in-ireland

We really enjoyed our meal at Jim Edwards in Kinsale during our trip to Ireland in September 2017. I still dream of the sticky toffee pudding I had for dessert there. Also, I had the best Irish coffee I’ve ever had at the Brazen Head in Dublin. It was a crisp but sunny afternoon and we sat outside in the courtyard....just lovely

Another vote for Fishy Fishy in Kinsale! I had the mussels and they were excellent. Everyone in our group enjoyed their food and it was a nice change from all the pub food we had been eating. We went last October and we weren't rushed and had a very good experience with the service. If they have pavlova on the dessert menu, try it. It was excellent! It was the first time we had heard of it and we enjoyed it so much that we make it for company now.