I was in Ireland in June, here is everything I ate. Seriously.
Day 1: Dublin
Wuff
Irish breakfast
1 sausage, bacon, black and white pudding beans and an egg
Wuff was a fancyish restaurant, so the Irish breakfast was not the nitty and gritty oil fest I had imagined. The sausuage was very tasty and the beans had a strong rosemary flavor but was otherwise underwhelming.
Beshoff Bros Fish & Chips
Chowder
Smoked haddock and chips
I love chowder, so this was the first of many. It was raining so we just went to a nearby franchisey place. The chowder was nice and thick and the smoked haddock had a really amazing flavor to it since it was smoked. The portions were rather large and I didn’t finish.
Day 2: Dublin/Galway
3space
Irish breakfast
Yet another Irish breakfast, this one was a bit more basic and the restaurant had a nice cafe feel to it. Nothing special and it was mostly just too salty for my taste. The coffee was good though.
Loam
Everything.
Loam is a Michellin star restaurant in Galway and served us some fancy ass shit. It was easily my favorite meal of the trip. The food at Loam is all local and some of it is foraged. The place is so precious it gave me a copy of the menu. Here is what we ate
and here is what it looked like:
The squid soup was ridiculous, and I honestly had the best carrots of my life here. It was carrots of three types, roasted, dehydrated and one more. The sauce it came with was reduced carrot juice and buttermilk. It was awesome. I also had this flower pedal which was super tasty as well. Maybe I’ll go forage now.
McDonald’s
Filet o fish & fries
Supermacs
Curry fries
Drunk Ricky had two meals at 3 am. Filet-o-fish, which is the best thing you can get at McDonalds and also Curry Fries from Supermacs, which is like Irish version of McDonalds. A great way to follow a 130 euro meal just a few hours later.
Day 3: Galway
Piemaker
Chicken pie with salad
You gotta have pies in this neck of the world. Mine was a classic chicken and leek pie that had the comfort I needed after a long night. Surprisingly, the highlight was actually the salad which had intensely flavored beetroots.
Dail
Sunday roast – lamb leg
The Sunday roast is a great tradition. The lamb was good but there was a severe lack of gravy for me to eat the potatoes with. The steamed veggies provided looked pretty sad and uninspired, which was a downer. Vegetables, as we would learn, are not a priority in this country.
Napoli
Pizza – Spinach and stuff
I wasn’t even hungry but the pizza place smelt so good I had to get a slice and it was DELICIOUS. Thin crusted with lovely cheesiness to it, this pizza was as good as any slice I’ve had in a walk in restaurant.
Day 4: Galway/Aran Island
McDonald’s
Mcmuffin
You do what you do
Dock1
Chowder
Oysters
Crab dip
Seafood platter
It was a long day, going to Aran Islands so we were starved by the time we got back. I had the most amazing white fish chowder here, and then we followed it up with a feast of the sea. The seafood platter’s portions were quite small given what we paid but it was still good. The chowder was the star though. Creamy, meaty and flavorful.
Napoli
Pizza
So good we had to go back again to get it.
Day 5 Galway
Grind
Croissant
This is just fuel for my body
Tea Room at Kylemore Abbey
Salmon quiche
Tourist spot, not too many options but this quiche had a lot of salmon which I like. Fun fact: They catch salmon in the lakes of Ireland. Who knew?
Morans cottage
Oysters
Chowder
Crab legs
One of the most famous restaurants in the west of Ireland, Moran’s had plenty of seafood. The oysters were okay, but I’ve had better. The chowder was fantastic – a lighter none creamy version that was more like an elevated seafood broth. The lightness was a good change as I was fearing that I was having too many chowders. The crab legs came recommended and were tasty, but I think that this place, while good, was maybe overrated.
Day 7 Limerick/Bruff
Story Cafe
Irish breakfast – 2 sausage, pudding, bacon
Limerick is not a glamorous town, and this was the perfect meal for the working man town. This was the cheapest Irish breakfast and was actually pretty good. I wish I had tried the 5 egg omelet, which seems very excessive.
Chervil
Fish n chips
In the town of Doolin, our tour stopped here for lunch. A very average fish and chip, I actually wish I had ordered the chowder.
Bake house (Bruff)
Salad
Steak
My friends wanted to stop in a random town, and we picked one called Bruff. It’s off the beaten path, they say. Anyway, I saw a lot of cows on the countryside so I figure they would have good local beef, but my steak was cooked a tad more then I wanted, which dampened my experience.
Day 8 Killarney/Cork
Killarney
Spaghetti Bolognese
Killarney is a complete tourist trap and I really like spaghetti bolognese. Fun fact: I only started liking this two years ago in Africa, when our tour guide would make it for us for dinner once in awhile. It was super tasty and now I got the liking for the bolognese. This version was very average, unfortunately. It lacked umami, as they like to say.
Market Lane
French onion soup
Lamb Dish
I love soup, as evident by my ordering so far this trip. Market Lane is a very popular restaurant in Cork and it was nice to have a change. The French Onion soup hit the spot after a long day of hiking. I would have preferred more cheese, but honestly, that will always be the case because cheese is amazing.
Day 8 Cork
English Market
Irish lamb stew
English Market is like a smaller version of St. Lawrence market. There’s a restaurant in there that is rather popular, and I decided on the traditional Irish stew. Irish stews are actually a lot lighter then the stews you are used to, which is a good change. The lamb was tender and non-gamey, so score one for the big boys.
Son of a Bun
SOB Burger
We originally wanted to eat at a nice Irish place, but Irish restaurants close VERY early and we had to get the nearest thing that was open, which was a hipster burger spot. I did not enjoy my burger (you know I’m picky about that shit), but the fries were good. Probably the least favorite dinner the whole trip.
Pizza
I had this at 3 am to soak up the alcohol. Probably wasn’t good.
Day 9 Cork/Dublin
Breakfast – Smoked Salmon
I had the hotel breakfast at Cork, and there was smoked salmon there, which was impressive, but it’s hotel breakfast so wasn’t overly special.
Dinner – Some Pub
Chowder
Chicken and leek pie
After the super disappointing Guiness tour, we went to a pub and I had chowder once again, and then another pie. I did not come close to finishing the pie, but it was standard fare. The chowder was good but probably the last favorite chowder I had this trip.
Day 9 Dublin
Airport
Irish fry
Airport meals are never good unless you are in Chicago.
