- Glendalough Hotel (Glendalough): Decent, especially for a tourist location. I had a fish cake, and B had spring rolls.
- Cafe Sol (Kilkenny): Our favorite! I had a quinoa/roasted veggie/pumpkin seed salad, and B had Guinness bangers and mash.
- Lombard St. Take Away (Waterford): Surprisingly decent. I had curry fries, and B had bacon and cheese fries and a doner kebab.
- Trade Winds (Cobh): Liked it [N] / Decent [B]. I had beef stroganoff, which was fabulous, and B had a Gaelic burger. The service was mediocre, but on the plus side, we got to eavesdrop on Irish teens. Verdict: mildly less annoying than American teens.
- The Quays (Cobh): Decent. I had lamb meatball and scallop ‘tapas,’ and B had fish and chips. The death by chocolate for dessert might have been a little too much.
- The Bakehouse (Cashel): Decent. I had vegetable soup, and B had a brown sugar donut.
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The view from Cassidy’s Pub
Cassidy’s Pub (Carron): The food was decent, but the atmosphere was amazing. This place feels a little like it’s at the edge of the world. The view of countryside is beautiful, and there are even deck chairs from which to observe the cows and flowers, if you can take the breeze. The same family has owned a restaurant here since 1797 (unlicensed)/1830 (licensed), and they source local specialties – as well as doing an ‘Italian night’ and a ‘fish fry.’ I had something listed as poached salmon, but which was actually smoked salmon. B had a goat meat burger with goat cheese.
- McCambridge’s (Galway): Second favorite [N] / Decent [B]. I had the most wonderful Polish borsch here. I mean, amazing. They also had some great books to read at the table, but this is nothing compared to the borsch. B had a frittata, which clearly cannot compare to borsch. Did I mention the borsch?
- Ard Bia (Galway): Sorry Priya! Don’t kill us! But we didn’t particularly love it. We split a spiced lamb appetizer, and a vegetarian beet baklavah entree, and they didn’t do a lot for us. The ambiance is nice though.
- The Cellar (Galway): Decent. B had a burger, and I had stir fry, and it didn’t cost an arm and a leg, so we were happy enough.
- La Bella Donna (Donegal): Decent. We were quite late to our destination, so we got takeout pasta and inhaled it in the car. I got the kind with salmon, since the town is known for salmon, but it was mostly penne.
- The Old Castle Bar (Donegal): Passable. There were a lot of Americans here, sadly. I had oysters and crab, trying to get into the local seafood specialty spirit, and B had seafood pie. Nothing special, and their local beer didn’t particularly agree with him.
- Zen (Belfast): We were ready for some sushi. Some very little sushi, since pounds are a tough currency. Not too bad, but not the best we’ve ever had.
- Shimla (Belfast): Decent. The Indian tasted like it does in the US, which was good for us. We both liked our dishes, and the owner was *very* nice. There was a man there who I thought was angry and drunk and who B thought had some challenges; he was very disruptive throughout the meal.
- Treat Boutique (Belfast): Chocolate cake. Need I say more?
- The Dublin Airport: I managed to have a lamb dish from a cafeteria-like place, so points were won. I mean, if you have a choice…
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What We Saw in Ireland (Outside Dublin)
One of my favorite restaurants in the world – the Ard Bia at Nimmos in Galway. Get to it if you can! http://www.ardbia.com/
We’ll definitely try! I didn’t even know you had been to Ireland! ~N
Seems pretty diverse, which is a surprise because I dont think anybody writes about Irish food. Everyone (incl moi) just assumes “pub” and whatever intestines that entails.
Yeah, I avoided anything labeled ‘pudding,’ and crossed my fingers that the rest of it didn’t contain hidden entrails. Ick.