I’m having a hard time writing about Belfast. Belfast doesn’t have the kind of culinary vibrancy we saw in Dublin. Cork or Galway. The Troubles are just not that long ago and in fact, the gates are still locked each evening at Shankill and Falls Road. It’s getting better though.
There were 2 foodie highlights though: Bushmills and Farls.
Seahorse Restaurant Bread & Fancy Butter
We had one truly awful dinner at Fibber McGee’s and one very good dinner at Seahorse at the Grand Central Hotel, our home for a couple of nights where we discovered Irish Potato Bread or Farls at breakfast. Nothing like the potato bread we see in Canada, this is simply left over potatoes with flour, salt and butter added. Rolled out and fried, they are a sensation! We had a 15 minutes window before departing for the airport and spent it eating Farls.
The Antrim coast and the Giants Causeway are fantastic. We had truly awful weather but a visit to Bushmills for a couple of whiskey flights and a hot toddy warmed us up perfectly.
Bushmills Hot Toddy
Back home in Vancouver the weather is forcing me to work on perfecting my Hot Toddy recipe. Another good use of Bushmills is a shot in oatmeal. Try it, you’ll like it!
A few days on the Wild Atlantic Way including the Dingle Peninsula, County Clare, the Cliffs of Moher and Galway.
Dingle Peninsula
Dunmore Head on the Dingle Peninsula is 3,021 miles from Cape Spear Newfoundland the closest points in North America and Europe. I feel the connection in my bones like I feel my connection to cod fish. The bounty of the sea makes it onto the plate, but sadly the fish & chips is usually Hake, decent and usually well prepared but a sad replacement for Cod. However Newfoundland can’t compete when it comes to the chowder. The Irish make the most of the variety of seafood available and then perfect it with their amazing butter and cream.
We had the best mussels ever at John Benny’s Pub Dingle. Local Cromane mussels in white wine garlic cream sauce with more excellent brown bread. Order a side of fries too. Thumbs up for the fish pie.
It’s not often you get a restaurant this good in a hotel.
Pear and Walnut SaladSalmon CroquetteTurbot Grilled spicy Prawns, Celeriac, Asparagus and Cafe de Paris butter. Monkfish, Celeriac, Broccoli and White Wine Cream.
The salad was perfectly fresh and surprisingly delicious with a mustard seed dressing.
I’m not a fan of monkfish but David enjoyed it. I’ll take turbot any chance I get and I wasn’t disappointed.
We loved our day on the Dingle, the scenery, the people and the food.
On our way to Ennis we stopped at Bunratty Castle highlighted by a stop at Durty Nelly’s for our first and best Irish coffee.
Durty Nelly’sDurty Nelly’s perfect Irish coffee
We spent a Sunday night in Ennis at the Temple Gate hotel, home of Preachers Pub and another great chowder. There was traditional music from 8-10 musicians, including a young lass of about 12 and an older woman of about 75. Another great night.
Onward to the Cliffs of Moher with a stop in Ennistymon for a coffee and found The Cheese Press. Flat white coffee is the order of the day in Ireland and at the counter they told us the milk came from a cow that morning.
We also purchased a very stinky wash rind cheese that we carried with us the rest of the trip.
Gubbeen Cheese
It was trouble, emptying minibars and requesting fridges in hotels but a few weeks later we finished every bit of this delicious stinky treasure.
A couple of nights in Galway and proved why everyone loves it so much. Great atmosphere, great food. We couldn’t resist dinner both nights at The King’s Head. More great chowder and mussels. Live music in the pub if you have to wait for a table in the restaurant.
The King’s Head Galway.
A day trip to the Aran Islands and we said goodbye to the Wild Atlantic and headed north to Belfast.
It’s not just the butter, which is truly delicious, it’s the bread, chowder, cheese, whiskey and so much more that makes up the excellent culinary scene in Ireland. And the topper is the hospitality, consistently warm and welcoming.
Our first dinner in Dublin was at Sole featuring a great sole meunière but we remember it best for the first of many seafood chowders. Great potatoes, bread and butter. Expensive!
Delahunt was highly recommended. Unfortunately our server made several biggish blunders. The chef was particular about fixing a problem but we let most of the errors slide. Remembered best for the cheese plate with house made fig mustard. If they sold it by the jar my suitcase would have been full.
Chestnut Parfait with walnut bread and preserved grapes was a nice little starter for 2.
Chestnut Parfait, Walnut Bread, Preserved Grapes
The Jerusalem Artichoke with goat cheese frittata and mustard sauce was tasty but not pretty.
Jerusalem Artichoke and Goats Cheese Frittata
The Flamed Red Cabbage needed a sharp knife but the potato and truffle accompaniment was a winner.
Flamed Red Cabbage
The polenta fries with kimchi aioli, a side dish, stole the show.
Polenta Fries w’ Kimchi Aioli
Glas is a comfortable restaurant with a good wine selection. The food is tasty but lacked colour. Possibly just our choices. Those polenta fries though, well done .
On a great day trip up into Glendalough in the Wicklow Mountains we had a remarkable pear scone in the cafe at Powerscourt while we looked at the splendid gardens in the rain. Later we had an excellent lunch at Lynham’s in Laragh. David still claims it the best fish and chips of the trip. I had an excellent salad. The warm and welcoming room and hospitality were outstanding.
Lynham’s home of a good Fish & Chips
A visit to the Guiness Storehouse was better than I expected but at the end of the day the rooftop bar was too busy to enjoy. Go early, it’s a good spot to see Dublin.
Dublin was lively and inviting with great food everywhere. Our best meal was on a later one night stay at the Mayson Hotel in the Docklands a hip and vibrant area. Ryleigh’s Rooftop Steakhouse served these 2 pescatarian’s very well. Best truffle fries ever. The included breakfast was pretty fine too.
Cork is known as the food capital of Ireland and the bounty of produce, the cheese and the seafood chowder convinced us it deserves the title.
Dinner at Paradiso is the best vegetarian meal in memory. We did the full tasting menu with wine pairing and it was unforgettable. Casual service at its absolute best. The food was as beautiful as it was delicious. The wines matched nicely and came with interesting stories of the varietals and producers.
There were little surprises like the popcorn with the ravioli. It was our first taste of Coolea Cheese and a big hunk came home with us.
Paradiso was our best meal all of in Ireland and we had some seriously good meals.
David Celebrating Whiskey
We took a train to Midleton and did the Midleton Distillery Behind the Scenes tour with Bryan. It was one of the highlights of the trip. We learned about the history of whiskey in Ireland and how it’s made. Several tasting stations were set up along the way. A great day trip.
Irish Whiskey is Always Triple Distilled Whiskey Tasting Station Waiting for us.
We walked through the famous English Market. There were so may great things we wanted but couldn’t possibly eat. Locals are very lucky to have this market. We immediately had to go find a great chowder.
The Famous English MarketMr Hederman’s Smoked Fish
Quinlan’s Seafood Bar fit the bill nicely. Chowder was on our minds but it was time for Fish & Chips too. The F&C was good but the chowder was fantastic.
Cathy’s Taste @TheTravelGroup 