This is long overdue. My apologies... life interruptions... etc, etc... Withour further ado...
Dublin
Gallagher’s Boxty House
Saw this one on Somebody Feed Phil. As the name suggests, the menu prominently features Boxty, a hearty Irish traditional potato dish of several forms. At Gallagher’s Boxty is the side dish or base of choice for a variety of items. The server upsold us to get the Boxty fries to share, in addition to our entrees, which also included traditional forms of Bosxty. And boy, were we glad we were upsold! They take fried Boxty pancakes, slice them into strips and deep fry them. They are super crispy and amazingly addictive!
https://www.boxtyhouse.ie
D’Olier Street (pronounced Duh Lore)
1 Michelin star, found through the Michelin Guide, and best value I’ve ever gotten at a Michelin starred restaurant; they should be at 2 stars in my estimation. €118 13 course tasting menu (they actually served 14). Very nice, yet relaxed, contemporary atmosphere. Wonderful meal with the typical diversity of tasting menus. A particular highlight for me was a seafood bisque served with a kaffir lime foam, that just exploded with flavor in the mouth. Booked the Chef’s Counter, overlooking the kitchen area. A highlight of the meal was interacting with the chefs. At one point I fumbled a small stainless serving piece, dropping it to the marble counter. It of course rang like a bell, reverberating throughout the restaurant. The restaurant went silent with all eyes on me. I turned beet red and profusely apologized. The staff assured me it was okay, that they just assumed it was Doug (I think, I’m terrible at remembering names) because he’s always dropping things. There was a bit of laughter from the chefs, and the chef in question laughed along and shrugged with a little blush. About 5 minutes later there was a small crash in the kitchen area and I said “It wasn’t me! Was that Doug?” and the entire staff roared in laughter. It was a truly wonderful evening. Incidentally, both Apple and Google Maps will lead you wrong with directions to the restaurant, leading you instead to the other end of the block… just walk around the block until you will see the end with building as shown on the restaurant’s website.
https://www.dolierstreetrestaurant.com/
Dingle
Solas
Michelin Bib Gourmand listed, found through the Michelin Guide. Spanish style tapas restaurant with a constantly changing menu. We had a bruschetta, Iberico chorizo croquettes, Blasket Island crab tartlets, lamb empanadas, a torta and Baked Chocolate Sponge, Dingle Sea Salt Caramel, Caramelised White Chocolate & Hazelnut Crumble. The experience was enhanced by the happy coincidence of being seated next to a gregarious English couple in town for a family wedding. We shared travel stories and menu suggestions, it was great fun. And everything served was absolutely delicious.
https://www.solastapas.com/
Murphy’s Ice Cream
Another I saw on Somebody Feed Phil. Multiple locations we visited including Dublin, Dingle and Killarney. Somewhat pricy but wonderful ice cream. Sampled a variety of flavors including Teeling Whiskey Chocolate, Dingle Gin, Dingle Sea Salt and Brown Bread. Have to say that the Brown Bread is a traditional Irish flavor and maybe you had to grow up with it to appreciate it. But the Whiskey and Gin ice creams were standout.
https://murphysicecream.ie/
Castlegregory
Spillane’s Bar & Restaurant
This was an “only game in town” choice for us, within walking distance, while staying well outside town, while walking the Dingle Way. How lucky can you get?! It was a wonderful meal, with a delightfully warm and engaging staff. We had a sun-dried tomato stuffed chicken breast in a sun-dried tomato cream sauce and I would happily order it again.
https://www.spillanesbar.com
And as it happens… just this last month, The Kitchn posted a recipe that turned out strikingly similar, without the pain of stuffing a chicken breast:
https://www.eatyourbooks...7/tuscan-chicken-gnocchi
Glengarriff
Garnish Restaurant at Eccles Hotel and Spa
Saw on Ireland: Coast and Country. There is a whole story here, which ultimately speaks to deep integrity on behalf of the restaurant. We were staying at the hotel, and had made reservations in advance for the tasting menu for our second night. The first night, we dined off the regular menu and had very nice meals. The second night when we arrived at the restaurant, they had our reservation, but it was not booked for the tasting menu. They were profusely apologetic, but the tasting menu was planned in advance for the number of bookings, etc. We were disappointed but understanding. We were asked if we wished to proceed from the menu and we said we did. A manager came out to apologize again for the mixup and asked to see our confirmation and I showed them the email chain booking the tasting menu. They apologized profusely again. Complimentary appetizers were brought out. As we were enjoying those, the manager returned and asked us if were open to a truly unique dining experience — the chef and his staff wished to honor our tasting experience booking, but they would be making it up as they went along, a one-off experience. The meal was wonderful, in a beautiful setting, overlooking Bantry Bay. For me the highlight of this meal was multiple uses of Samphire. I’ve heard it talked about here on EYB and on British cooking shows, but I’d never experienced it in the United States. It’s a truly wonderful vegetable — crisp, grassy and salty, and I hope I can someday buy it in the San Francisco Bay area. But the bottom line here is that they gracefully recovered from previous administrative errors and delivered a wonderful dining experience.
https://www.eccleshotel.com
General Notes:
- Many locales had their own stout equivalent to Guinness. They were all pretty damned good, and well worth the try. Murphy’s is of note.
- Part of our trip was a week hiking the Dingle Way. Parched, after a day of walking, a pint of stout can be a bit on the heavy side. There are a number of excellent Irish hard ciders as well, which are quite refreshing.
- Do not attempt to order a Margherita Pizza in Ireland (sometimes, something different just sounds good). Multiple attempts were made, all failed miserably. In Ireland, Margherita Pizza means a cheese pizza, period… PERIOD. No fresh tomatoes. No basil. Just a cheese pizza. Don’t go there. Other pizzas can be fine.
- In Dublin, everyone knows about seeing the Book of Kells at Trinity College, and it is worth it, mostly to see the library. As far as the book goes, you’ll see 2 pages in a very overcrowded ‘Mona Lisa’ type experience. On the other hand, the Chester Beaty Library by Dublin Castle is a spectacular multi-cultural experience, with many gorgeous volumes across Europe and Asia on display. Special thanks to our server at The Duke pub in Dublin for recommending it, when we stopped for lunch after the Book of Kells — she rolled her eyes and said we needed to see the Chester Beaty Library, and she was SO right.
- We arrived in Dublin on the day Dublin was hosting a contentious soccer match. Central Dublin was thick with Garde (police) to prevent problems. To an officer, they were cheerful, happy, friendly and helpful. Props all around.
- A dusk walk in St. Stephen’s Green Park in Dublin was a pleasant end to the day.
- Double thumbs-ups for OPW (Irish Office of Public Works) guided historic site tours. Partook at the Ross Castle and the Rock of Cashel; both tours were spectacularly informative. Both my traveling companion and I have done many of these tours, and generally prefer the self-guided options based on experience. But the OPW tours were well worth it.
- General guidebooks overplay how easy it is to stumble on pub music. It’s NOT easy. Don’t pass it up when you find it. And go early to get a seat.