Ireland 2010
Best and worst restaurants:
Best: Correction on the post below
Why: I posted yesterday that the restaurant in Kilkenny was the "Del Sol", I found out today that the actual name is the "Cafe Sol". Sorry about the confusion.
Jake in Queen Creek, AZ USA 10/25/2009
Best: Del Sol.....Kilkenny
Why: This place was on a side street in the city centre. When we read the menu on the window, we noticed that it was recommended by Frommers (sorry Rick). They have an "early bird" special until 7:30 p.m. so we gave it a try. It was, without question, the best food we had in all of Ireland. I would call the cuisine "Irish Fusion" for lack of a better term. Don't miss it when you're in Kilenny.
Jake in Queen Creek, AZ USA 10/24/2009
Worst: Fishy, Fishy in Kinsale
Why: Now here's a place that is taking Rick's recommendation waaaaaaay too seriously. They are pompous and borderline rude when you walk in, as if they are doing you a favor by seating you at a table. We took one look at the menu and said "no thanks" to the staff member and he said: "Well, we are totally booked later tonight, so you'd better decide now whether you're coming back or not." Guess what? We walked, and never looked over our shoulder at the place again.
Jake in Queen Creek, AZ USA 10/24/2009
Best: El Muretto
Why: It was a great change of pace from pub food with fresh veggies and an acceptable wine list.
Worst: Langton's
Why: It was a stuffy place that couldn't decide if it wanted to be a formal dining establishment or a pub. So it compromised and served mediocre at best food and high end prices served by fancy dressed staff with no food or drink knowledge, but did have a casual indiffence to our dining experience.
Dale in Libertyville, IL USA 10/11/2009
Best: Gallaghers Boxty House, Dublin
Why: We had wonderful service in a pleasant atmosphere. Even though it was mid day, they had two musicians playing. We had two different meals and both were excellent examples of traditional Irish food. I had the pork knuckle, with cabbage and champs, with parsley sauce.
Worst: Langton's, Kilkenny
Why: Poor service, bad food, odd experience. Not good!
Kimberly Lachamn in Libertyville, IL USA 10/11/2009
Best: McDonagh's Fish and Chips
Why: We had a sit down dinner (complete with waitstaff) on one night and then enjoyed fish and chips on the bench side another night. The served dinner was very good (I had salmon cooked to perfection) and the wine selection was well rounded. The fish/chips on the separate night was plentiful and the atmosphere in a public seating area was fun. You had to wait in line for both meals, but it was worth it.
Worst: McSwiggans
Why: Very, very loud. While the waitstaff was great, the choice of foods were not traditional Irish meals. Disappointed with this choice.
Pamela in Overland Park, KS USA 09/12/2009
Best:
Why:
Worst: Galway. Busker Brownes and McGonagh’s Fish-and-Chips
Why: Incredibly crowded. Across the street from Busker Brownes is Kettle of Fish serving a meal of fish and chips for 8.50 euros.
Mary Ann in Wilmette, IL USA 09/06/2009
Best: The Chart House in Dingle, and Botticelli's in Dublin.
Why: The ambiance is lovely, and food's delicious--Chart House; Botticelli's food was great, too.
Carol and Bob Hicks in Los Angeles, CA USA 09/04/2009
Best: Baskins Cafe, Dunkineely, County Donegal
Why: Reported to have the best fish and chips in Ireland, and we had to agree. Huge servings, fair price....tasty!
Daniel Murphy in Ocean Shores, WA USA 09/02/2009
Best: The Castle Arch Hotel in Trim
Why: The meal was delicious and very reasonable. the service was great, atmosphere as well. ALSO:the fish and chips takeaway on harborfront was absolutely the best we had in 3 weeks.
Susan and Lamar Robinette in Clemson, sc USA 08/23/2009
Best: Old Pier, Dingle
Why: While a little out of the way it is well worth finding. Best seafood of our trip.
Julia Strawley in New York, USA 07/18/2009
Best: O'Connor's Pub (Doolin)
Why: Craic. The music was special - local musicians. The fish was very good and so was the Guinness
Steve Ferrin in Naperville, Il USA 06/28/2009
Best: LaTaverna
Why: This was not on your list of restaurants. It was the best place we ate in Ireland. It had a good variety on the menu. It was the first time I orderd a pizza and it was server with scissors to cut it. The owner gave you plenty of personal attention. Prices on the menu were very reasonable. You should try this one out.
Cindy Christofferson in Poulsbo, Wa USA 06/17/2009
Best: Bar in Ennis/ Jim Edwards in Kinsale/ Adare Golf Club, Adare
Why: Brogans:Best Fish 'n Chips we had in Ireland/ Jim Edwards Bar:Excellent seafood casserole...hot, fresh and fun watching the Irish open/ Adare Golf Club:Change of pace from bar food...Best hamburger, Caesar salad and French onion soup.
Worst: Not actually the worst, but not up to all the raves in your book..Fishy, Fishy
Why: Tasty enough but the prices were high for what we got...a starter of scampi...6 small shrimp... and an order of haddock + 1 pint Murphy...This was for lunch and cost as much as most of our dinners at other places.
Marie & Bob Andel in Kirkwood, MO USA 06/16/2009
Best: Temple Bar
Why: Great food, great atmosphere, lots of choices and fabulous music!
Sarah Arehart in Minot, ND USA 06/12/2009
Best: Sean Cheibh in Kilronan
Why: Excellent portions. Great service. Best fish and chips we had in Ireland.
Gary Zekis in Little Rock, AR USA 06/09/2009
Best: Muddy Maher's
Why: We had a super friendly bartender and the food was good.
Laura Gilligan in Chicago, IL USA 05/25/2009
Best: Crown Pub In Belfast
Why: We had a terrific time over lunch at the Crown Pub. It was great food and the help were so fun.
Debbi Sharp in Blaine, MN USA 05/03/2009
Best: Gallaghers Boxty house
Why: lowkey, friendly
KevinMcKenna in Rancho Cordova, ca USA 04/24/2009
Best: O'Connor's Pub, and the Doolin Activity Lodge
Why: O'Connor's Pub has traditional Irish food at fair prices. Grand service. A good friendly place to get out of the wind and rain, feel welcome with friendly conversation. The Activity Lodge B&B has lovely Irish Breakfasts and during season lunch and dinner. Both are near the harbor.
Worst: N/A
Why: N/A
Kathleen H. Douglas in Yuma, AZ USA 03/16/2009
Best: Mc Donaghs Galway
Why: Great cod & chips and oysters the people serving us were very helpful and sent us to great bars with Irish music keep up the good work Rick.
Sean Joyce in BOSTON, MA USA 11/13/2008
Best: Chart House and Out of the Blue in Dingle
Why: Fresh and local cuisine. Loved the seafood!
Worst: McDonagh's in Galway
Why: Food was heavy and greasy.
Michelle Fogarty in San Francisco, CA USA 11/02/2008
Best: Ramore Wine Bar, Portrush; John Benny Moriarty's and Novecento Restaurant, Dingle
Why: Ramore is an unusual arrangement, but if you find a quiet spot around the corner from the bar, it is enjoyable. Good food. Moriarty's had a nice atmosphere and good pub food, and Novecento good atmosphere and great pasta. Note, the pasta dishes are huge; we could have split one, split a salad, and been satisfied.
Worst: Don Giovanni's, Portrush
Why: Nice decor, awful food. My margherita pizza was worse than a poor-quality frozen pizza. My wife's pasta dish was mostly dry ground beef.
Ron in DeWitt, MI USA 10/10/2008
Best: Stonehouse, Dingle
Why: Great food. Great people. Isolated but worth the trouble to find.
Mike in Redmond, WA USA 09/21/2008
Best: Ramore Wine Bar, Portrush
Why: Fantastic food, efficient service. I've been back for over a month and I'm still dreaming about the Chocolate Nemesis. Wow. And although it sounds gross, the fish pie was excellent.
Mary P. in St. Louis, MO USA 09/16/2008
Best: Porterhouse in Dublin
Why: A great place to have lunch after touring Trinity College. I wish we would have known about it.
Pauline Dravet in Marlton, NJ USA 09/13/2008
Best: McDonaghs in Galway City
Why: Heaven if you like your fish.
Rita Jones in Hartford, CT USA 09/02/2008
Worst: Chorus Cafe in Dublin
Why: Tasteless coffee and a mashed blueberry muffin was their idea of breakfast, at Temple Bar prices.
Eleanor in Belmont, MA USA 08/17/2008
Best: Finnegan's in Tralee
Why: The best steak I've ever had. The early bird special is a steal and it was conveniently downstairs from the hostel of the same name.
Kara Porter in Portland, OR USA 07/11/2008
Best: Gallagher's Boxty House; Bewley's Cafe; Porterhouse; Brazen Head; Chorus Cafe
Why: Wonderful atmosphere and good food values; mention Chorus Cafe's outdoor courtyard for dining al-fresco
Worst: Epicurean Food Hall
Why: I think I got sick from the greasy fish and chips - just a standard mall food court
Randy in San Francisco, CA USA 06/30/2008
Best:
Why: For dinner, Ashe’s (Dingle) and La Scala (Trim) were memorable. Lohan’s (Salthill) was very good. We had a tasty lunch at Arnold’s Hotel/Whiskey Fly Bar (Dunfanaghy).
Worst:
Why: Bushmills Inn (Bushmills) wasn’t terrible, but it was uneven (good salmon, not so good steak) and it was expensive
John, Monica, George & Tom in Towson, MD USA 06/17/2008
Best: Da Roberta, Salthill, Galway
Why: Not recommended but very good Italian food
Judy G in Paris, TN USA 06/15/2008
Best: Global Village, Dingle
Why: One of the best meals I have ever had - hands down. Amazing service, atmosphere.... everything.
Worst: O'Brien's in Dublin
Why: Not a great meal at all - the fish and chips were barely edible. It was a weird, cafeteria line in a pub, and EVERYONE there was American.
Annie in Denver, CO USA 05/28/2008
Best: Toscana and the Eagle House Pub
Why: Toscana is delightful Italian restaurant on the waterfront, everything that Rick Steves says it would be. We equally enjoyed our pub grub at the Eagle House Pub in the village of Glasthule. The staff there was very engaging to Americans, and willing to enter in discussions on many current events, while we were sharing a pint. The lamb stew was outstanding, not overrun by brown gravy as in the states.
Judith Medeiros in Naples, FL USA 05/28/2008
Best: Chorus Cafe in Dublin best value
Why: We found this cafe by the aroma before we saw it in the guide book. Great value. We talked with the owner who said he just started to do dinner. We came back that night. Just down the street from Jury's Christ Church. We had ended our trip in Dublin so had pretty much done the pub scene and found this a nice change.
Noel & Denise Underwood in Vienna, VA USA 05/25/2008
Best: Fisherman's in Portmagee
Why: Great fish! Great craic!
Mary E. Thanasouras in Palm Beach, FL USA 05/22/2008
Best: Out of the Blue, Dingle
Why: The best seafood I've ever had.
Mike Brown in Harford, NY USA 05/16/2008
Best: Fisherman's in Portmagee
Why: Great craic!! Wonderful fish!
M. Thanasouras in Palm Beach, FL USA 05/15/2008
Worst: Fishy Fish Shop & Deli, Kinsale
Why: We got to Kinsale at lunchtime and looked for the Fishy Fish Shop and Deli, but found ourselves at the Fishy Fish Cafe. It was a beautiful day, and the place was completely full inside and out with a long line. In spite of the hectic situation, we were favorably impressed that two busy servers took the time to direct us to the Shop. When we got there, we waited at the door for 15 minutes and were completely ignored. If there was a system, no one told us about it. Occasionally someone who appeared to be a hostess would glide by with a party of people but never made eye contact. At that point more than two thirds of the tables inside were empty. After ten more minutes, I went up to one of three shop workers milling around the counter (which had no customers) and asked how we might be served. She snapped back in a very surly manner that we had to wait in line. Even after being ignored and scolded, we waited five more minutes before heading out to find lunch by the water. That was definitely the most unfriendly and disorganized establishment we encountered during our month in Ireland.
Ron in Seattle, WA USA 04/22/2008
Best: Cayenne, Belfast
Why: This was our splurge meal of the trip. We weren't dissapointed. My husband favorite meal of the trip by far.
Worst: Yamamori, Dublin
Why: The atmosphere was highly distracting, the service discombobulated, and the meal bland and over-done.
Natalie in Martin, WI USA 04/08/2008
Best: The cafeteria at Bru na Boinne is superior for this sort of facility.
Why: Good lunch choices, well prepared.
Nelson Tennison in Mandeville, LA USA 12/09/2007
Best: Fenwicks in Edinburgh
Why: The cuisine was French/Scotish and excellent. Unusual dishes made up part of the menu (monkfish tail wrapped in Parma Ham and Red leg of Partridge)and the service was excellent. Very friendly.
Deacon Brodies in Edinburgh was a great deal of fun and we met some very nice people there.
Bill Sims in Encinitas, CA USA 11/27/2007
Best: Dublin -Chameleon (not in the book)
Why: Wonderful Indonesian restaurant in Dublin. We also enjoyed lots of pub food and other places the areas we traveled.
jlb49 in Houston, TX USA 11/26/2007
Best: Portrush Harbour Bistro
Why: The food was excellent. It was our most expensive meal, but worth every euro!
Also, all the pub grub we ate was always good, like home style cooking.
Deborah Wehunt in Mesa, AZ USA 11/12/2007
Best: 55 North in Portrush
Why: A gorgeous view out to the harbor from the very large windows, and a delicious dinner with excellent service. We enjoyed the beautiful sunset at we casually ate our dinner!
Worst: Roly's Bistro in Ballsbridge-Dublin
Why: Very upscale - but poor service, incorrectly cooked food, and head waiters who were haughty! Sorry we went there!
Linda in Kailua, HI USA 11/01/2007
Best: Fentons Restaurant in Dingle
Why: Good food-- good service-- reasonable priced [for Dingle]
Rachel Bivins in Virginia Beach, VA United States 11/01/2007
Best: “Mange 2” in Derry
Why: A popular restaurant with the locals selling excellent food in a friendly atmosphere. We ate there two nights and one of the chef co-owners, Mr. McGuinness, nicely went out of his way to treat us as special guests.
Worst: McDonagh’s Fish & Chips, Galway
Why: Very popular with the locals, as you note, but we were disappointed by our dinner meals in their restaurant.
Richard Pine in Rockville , MD USA 10/12/2007
Best: Fishy Fishy in Kinsale - Bulman's in Kinsale
Why: Kinsale has about 5 restaurants that are excellent. Fishy Fishy has great seafood, and Bulman's great beef and atmosphere. Had the best steak I've had in years. Both of these places were recommended by a Irish friend in Dublin. Also the Spinaker in Dumore East - had great Irish beef
Worst: Beware of pub food
Why: Some pub food is great, some terrible. Always have a brew and watch the food leaving the kitchen. Then select. Also Irish sausage links are terrible!~
Steve in Poulsbo, WA USA 10/09/2007
Best: Mc Donagh's Fish and Chips in Galway
Why: Excellent seafood. Great Oysters.
John and Anita Dumire in Chicago, Il USA 10/08/2007
Best: Blu Haven - Kinsale
Why: Wonderful food, atmosphere and staff. Very friendly place. We enjoyed many pubs where good food, drink and music were offered.
Theresa in Walnut Creek, CA USA 10/01/2007
Best: James Ashe Pub in Dingle
Why: Great meal. Nice atmosphere.
Mark & Kathy in Santa Clara, CA USA 09/24/2007
Best: the exchange restaurant in Derry
Why: great ambience, service, the menu (I had the vegetarian selection) was creative and the food was very good
chris and jim helman in berea, oh USA 09/22/2007
Best: Old Smokehouse (Dingle)
Why: The best meal I had my entire trip
Worst: Ramore Restaurant (Portrush)
Why: Had dinner at the upstairs restaurant and not the wine-bar, big mistake. Extremely expensive and below average Chinese food.
Scott Joiner in Santa Clara, CA USA 09/21/2007
Best: Rain City in Belfast
Why: Great food, didn't have room inside but got us a table outside immediately. It was right down the street from where we were staying which was perfect! Food was great and service was wonderful!
Sara Curran in St. Louis, MO USA 09/17/2007
Best: John G. Ashe Pub and Restaurant
Why: Great food and friendly staff.
Tom Fraher in Chicago, IL USA 09/16/2007
Best: Stonehouse (Dingle) and Bruach na haille (Doolin)
Why: great service and excellent seafood. Best scallops I have ever eating at Stonehouse in Dingle and it makes a great stop over.
John McGuire in Minneapolis, MN USA 08/27/2007
Best: Two Dog Cafe in Clifden, Co Galway
Why: Cute little cafe with wondeful paninis and desserts with an internet cafe upstairs.
melissa in mason, oh USA 08/13/2007
Best: Langton's in Kilkenny. the gift shop cafeteria at Muckross House in Killarney, Toscana in Dun Laoghaire.
Why: Langton's is huge and very classy with good food and wonderful music, very popular with locals, too. Muckross is lovely and the cafeteria has everything; salads, deserts, hot foods, soup, very pretty atmosphere and looks out at the gardens. Toscana is in an adorable row house with a great view of the water and wonderful Italian food that I craved after much good Irish things like brown bread, potatoes, beer and beef; you can't beat a good bottle of wine and some pasta! (and it's reasonable, too)
Melissa in Mason, OH USA 08/11/2007
Best: Busker Brownes in Galway City
Why: The food was delicious and service was great too
Mary Wise in Bay Village, OH USA 08/02/2007
Best: Old Smoke House in Dingle, and Bollard's Inn in Kilkenny
Why: The food at the Old Smoke House was excellent as well as the service. It is located along a small stream and we had a great view of the stream and the people as they passed through town. I would reccommend the lamb shank and sticky toffee pudding. One of the few places we ate at that actually had brewed decafe coffee. Bollard's Inn had great publ food and a wonderful atmosphere. Looks like a favourite of the locals.
Worst: None
Why: All of the places we ate were very good.
Paul Stanley in Maple Ridge, BC Canada 07/19/2007
Best: Wm. Ryan's
Why: Best food we had in Dublin and didn't even get a mention in your book (shame on you!) The lamb stew was superb; beef & guinness stew also great. Thankfully, as we are Ryan's we stopped into all places Ryan and found a few gems. After seeing the not to be missed Rock of Cashel, we stopped in Cashel town before short run back to Kilkenny. Ryan's Daughters restaurant on the main road was tiny but fabulous (we gave it 5 stars in our memory book)We all had a different main course and couldn't decide which was best. Thanked the three hard working ladies in the kitchen for their great food: served with cabbage, potatoes,carrots and turnips
Worst: Paris/Texas Restaurant in Kilkenny
Why: Really skimpy sandwiches.
Kathy Ryan in Rockaway Beach, NY USA 07/18/2007
Best: Bruach na Haille in Doolin
Why: Excellent seafood and fresh vegetables without heavy sauces.
Brooke Serres in Salem, OR USA 07/11/2007
Best: McDonaughs (sp?) in Galway
Why: Superb Fish & Chips--best I've ever eaten.
Pete Lee in Portland, OR USA 07/10/2007
Best: O'Flaherty's Pub
Why: Fabulous cuisine,lovely interior and good craic.
Karen Platt in Cardiff, n/ Wales 07/02/2007
Best: Chart House, Dingle & McSwiggan's, Galway
Why: Chart House was wonderful, but expensive. The food was fresh and absolutely delicious. We also had a great dinner at McSwiggan's in Galway. It's a lively place and the food was excellent.
Debra Camastro in Gilberts, IL USA 07/02/2007
Best: Fishy Fishy Cafe; Lime Tree; Out of the Blue
Why: All three were outstanding in quality and ambiance; would have liked to have had an opportunity to come back for multiple meals
Worst: Gallagher's on Temple Bar in Dublin
Why: Food looked bad and smelled worse; we turned and walked on to find a better option (and did: nearby Fitzers at 40 Temple Bar Square, Dublin 2; 01-679-0440; www.fitzers.ie)
Bob Lata in Paso Robles, CA USA 07/01/2007
Best: Most Irish pubs
Why: Grub was good and fairly priced, great atmosphere.
Worst: O'Connors Pub in Doolin
Why: The very over priced (14 euro per order) fish and chips we had consisted of what looked like frozen fish and basic chips. Disappointing.
Linda Jacobsen in Perry, IA USA 06/29/2007
Best: Hoby's Restaurant
Why: Great food and value. We had the early bird special. It was 25 Euro for 3-course meal. Excellent!
Worst: Jim Edwards Steak and Seafood
Why: Staff was disorganized and food was overrated. Portions were small compared to other Irish restaurants.
William Lavey in Wakefield, MA USA 06/24/2007
Best: Chez Hans near rock of cashel
Why: So good it made me moan out loud!
Kevann Lamkin in Azusa, USA 06/15/2007
Best: Foley's Pub, Merrion Row, Dublin
Why: The food, especially the soup and seafood chowder, was absolutely wonderful and so inexpensive! It is close by to St. Stephen's Green, across the street from the VERY POPULAR O'Donoghue's where drinks can be had after dinner.
Elizabeth in Burlingame, CA USA 06/11/2007
Best: Coffee shop
Why: Following our tour of Dublin Castle, we stopped at "Castle Vaults Patisserie and Bistro" for coffee and sweets. It was a most delightful experience.
Robert McNaughton in Middletown, CT USA 06/10/2007
Best: Zuni
Why: What a gem. Great dinner, very reasonable deal for two nights stay with dinner included. Kilkenny is worth two days..or at least 1.5
McNeil's On Canda 06/04/2007
Best: Ramore Wine Bar, Portrush
Why: Definitely the most energetic pre-season atmosphere (outside of Dublin)
Worst: Leo's Tavern, Bunbeg area
Why: There was no one there locally, and the musical instruments stayed in the corner the whole time. It wasn't til much later we were told that the music was only on the weekends during the off season - - a truth we encountered too often, never hearing any live music until we returned to Dublin for our last night. It was a real shame - Celtic music of all sorts has long been my joy, and we never were able to find any live, anywhere, in the last week of May except on the weekend. That's a note I'd highlight a bit more throughout any subsequent revisions.
Colleen in Bloom, MD USA 06/04/2007
Best: Jim Edwards
Why: Cod prepared with blue cheese was outstanding.
Karen in Chicago, IL USA 05/27/2007
Best: Great food all over.
Why: Some favorites were Crackpots, Fishy-Fishy in Kinsale. The Lime Tree in Kenmare. Chart House and Out of the Blue in Dingle.
Judy Johnson in Alexandria, MN USA 05/11/2007
Best: The Wine Vault, Waterford
Why: the food and service were perfect
Worst: John Benny Moriarity's, Dingle
Why: The food was cold and the service was terrible and I did follow the hint from the book and sat at the bar since I was alone.
Kathleen Surrette in Stratford, CT USA 05/07/2007
Best: B&B Owner's Recommendations
Why: The locals always pointed us to the right places!
Meg Young in Colorado, USA 04/15/2007
Best: Carrigans - Kilkenny
Why: While in Ireland last October, we had dinner at Carrigans in Kilkenny on High Street. There is a bar downstairs and the restaurant is upstairs. The food was reasonably priced and delicious.
Margie in Valencia, CA USA 03/24/2007
Best: Everywhere we ate was fantastic.
Why: We really had no bad experiences. We had awesome fish and chips, delicious Italian pizzas, romantic dinners and we also did fast food. No complaints about the food at all.
Grecco's in Toledo, OH USA 01/22/2007
Best: Busker Browne's and Thai Garden (Galway)
Why: Friendly staff, great food at a reasonable price (at least by Euro standards).
Worst: Jury's Inn for breakfast
Why: The food was perfectly fine, but unremarkable. The kicker was the cost--nearly $15 per person. Travelling with kids (and mother in law), I quickly learned to go out early and buy bread, milk, cheese, etc. at quick marts like Spar, where I saved a lot.
Brett Fleitz in Carmel, In USA 01/10/2007
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