Tere!

Even when you have been on a diet, on a trip you want to eat something you want to try, don’t you. Of course we were not able to afford eating at restaurants and cafes for every meal, but still we enjoyed many restaurants and cafes in Ireland. In this article I include some restaurants where you can eat something Irish!

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Table of Contents

     1. Dublin
          a. Boojum
          b. Wall & Keogh Superior Teas
          c. La Pausa Caffe
          d. Vice Coffee Inc
          e. White Rabbit
          f. Pho Kim
          g. Fibber Magees
     2. Galway
          a. Donnelly’s of Barna Restaurant & Bar
          b. Galway Cakery Café
     3. Mayo
          a. Maple Chinese Restaurant (Take away)
          b. Supermacs
     ★Summary

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1. Dublin

First of all, let’s talk about Dublin! Dublin is a capital city in Ireland like Tallinn in Estonia, but Dublin is much more urban and you can have a lot of international cuisines.

When I travel from Estonia, I want to eat something not only local but also international which is scarcely available in Estonia and with better quality (because it is not tasty and/or it does not exist in Estonia)…

a. Boojum

Boojum is an Irish burrito chain restaurant. My first burrito in my life was Boojum in Dublin. I still don’t know what super authentic burrito is, and it seems real Mexican burrito seems to be different, but still I like Boojum’s burrito as it tastes good. In Estonia, it’s not easy to get a burrito. (The portion isn’t enough, or personally I’m not satisfied with the contents of a burrito in Estonia.)

We happened to find a Boojum restaurant in Smithfield where we were supposed to stay, so we went there. In Boojum, you can customise your burrito. However, it might be difficult if you don’t know how to do it. (My boyfriend seemed to be struggling a bit, and when I ordered a burrito at Boojum for the first time, I struggled too.) Since it is a chain restaurant, they handle orders really fast.

He had never eaten burrito before, and wanted to compare it with kebab. 😂

The result: kebab is better. 😂

I like both.

They also have a menu called burrito bowl, and yet be careful as the portion is bigger than burritos. (In Estonia the portion of a burrito bowl was better than a burrito at a Mexican restaurant…)

b. Wall & Keogh Superior Teas

Wall & Keogh Superior Teas is a cafe that we dropped by for breakfast when we headed west from Dublin.

They had light breakfast as well as sandwiches. The sandwiches were hot. The portion was big enough. It was tasty though.

They have teas and coffees but it seemed they didn’t have many kinds of juice. I don’t basically drink juice, but he drinks. It appeared to be only juice with some kinds of vitamins.

As for teas, they have both English and Irish breakfast teas! Of course I chose the Irish one. You don’t need to tell them to give you a jar (?) of milk as they for sure give you with tea. By the way, they serve you tea in a pot, so maybe you can ask for two cups to share? Although It is normal to get served in a pot even for one person in Ireland and Scotland…

c. La Pausa Caffe

La Pausa Caffe is also a cafe we used for breakfast.

I searched some cafes in advance, and on Tuesday morning in Dublin, we went to a nice-looking one (as he didn’t care, I chose there), it was full. The cafe seemed to be small and popular, so we took plan B.

But, it was full too?

What on earth are they doing on Tuesday morning?

I had only 2 plans for breakfast, so I was a bit disappointed, but I immediately searched again on site, and we went to La Pausa Caffe.

Four days in a row, we had Irish breakfast at B&Bs, and he liked it, so he was about to order one again there. However, eventually he chose sandwiches, saying

“I don’t think they have a home-made one.”

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I understand that feeling. When it comes to something local, I want to eat the authentic one too.

By the way, later he asked my friend A’s husband and friend F if they have Irish breakfast every day. I felt like he had been asking Japanese people if we eat sushi every day, so I enjoyed that moment. (This is because he barely knew Ireland at that time.)

Unfortunately they have Irish breakfast only a few times a year.

I get it, we can’t eat that heavy stuff as a breakfast for 365 days. 😂

The breakfast at La Pausa Caffe was good, but since I have temporomandibular joint dysfunction, I had to close my mouth manually once. It happens regularly, so I know how to fix it and wasn’t surprised, but it bothered me, yes. My boyfriend was surprised. 😂

At La Pausa Caffe you can have bagels too. I chose a bagel. I didn’t have any energy to customise it, hence I selected simply the one with salmon, cream cheese and vegetables. When I came to Dublin in 2019, although it was a different place I had a bagel too.

This is because in Estonia bagels are not sold one by one, and it is not popular at all. LaterI found you can eat bagel sandwiches at a cafe called Ruby in Tallinn. However, I would say that is the only place you can get a bagel not in a dozen or anything. On the other hand Estonia’s neighbour – in Latvia bagels appear to be more frequently eaten. Perhaps due to such cultural differences (More Jewish are in Latvia), he had no idea what bagels were. That actually surprised me as Latvia is just over there for us.

The con in my opinion is that they served me a cup of coffee even before the meal. I wanted it after the meal. However, the overall was good.

d. Vice Coffee Inc

Vice Coffee Inc is a cafe where we met my friend F.

In 2016 when I lived in Dublin, I came here some times with my friends. Before going there, suddenly I asked my boyfriend “Do you know Irish coffee!?” and he was like what-the-heck-is-that.

For those who have no idea what Irish coffee is, it is

coffee with Irish whiskey.

It’s alcohol.

Therefore, at Vice Coffee Inc when we were about to order something, I asked him “Do you want to try Irish coffee?”, and he immediately said yes.

I don’t know the price of Irish coffee at Vice Coffeeto Inc as it was on my friend F, but in general Irish coffee is often a bit less than twice as expensive as normal coffee.

That day I tried an unfamiliar drink too: spiked hot chocolate. It’s not just hot chocolate but with Bailey’s (cream liquor)!

Both Irish coffee and spiked hot chocolate tasted good.

If you are not tolerant to strong alcohol or not a fan of coffee, the latter one might be better. Both are eventually alcohol though.

e. White Rabbit

A Korean restaurant that my friend F recommended to my boyfriend who wanted to eat something Korean is White Rabbit. It was also because White Rabbit is close to Vice Coffee Inc.

It was more like a canteen rather than a fancy restaurant, and it seemed partially the menu was a Japanese fusion.

We chose a bowl with sweet and spicy pork, vegetables, and egg, which were on rice. At White Rabbit you can choose a sauce, and we both chose gochujang.

We liked it!

It cost around 20 EUR for two.

f. Pho Kim

We went to Pho Kim with my friend A and her husband.

As per his request to have some Vietnamese cuisine, they selected a Vietnamese restaurant which was their favourite too. The only tasty Vietnamese restaurant that I know in Tallinn is Pho bar. I like pho, and Pho Bar’s pho is good, but they don’t have many varieties.

Since we had a late lunch, we ordered Vietnamese spring rolls and something like an omelette.

We (friend A, her husband and I) thought it’s called spring rolls nevertheless it is deeply friend or raw, but technically speaking it’s officially called summer roll or Vietnamese spring roll. (This is said to be because the fried one is Chinese.)

In Germany where my boyfriend once lived they call it summer roll.

We found this fact because he said “Is this spring roll summer roll? In Germany they called it summer rolls.”

I personally want to go to Pho Kim again, and want to try other dishes. They have lots of menus, and the restaurant appeared to be run by a Vietnamese person.

g. Fibber Magees

The place we spent the last night on this trip was a bar called Fibber Magees. My friend told my boyfriend who loves metal, and since we promised to go for pints a the last night, we went there.

He ordered Guinness twice. He said he loved it.

I had long-hoped Swmithwick’s! It’s red ale. While travelling in west Ireland, I couldn’t buy it as one can… On the final night, I finally could enjoy it! I chose cider for the second pint, but I thought I should have chosen Smithwich’s again or Guinness.

Fibber Magees also had Asahi beer (Japanese beer)!!

If you love metal, you should probably try this bar.

2. Galway

In Galway we went to only two restaurant and cafe! Our accommodation served as breakfast, and I bought microwave meals for one of the two nights.

a. Donnelly’s of Barna Restaurant & Bar

Donnelly’s of Barna Restaurant & Bar is a gastro pub 2 minutes by car from our accommodation in Barna in Galway. (A gastro pub is like a restaurant and bar.)

Perhaps since Barna is a countryside town, there were lots of old people, but they were having fun.

Looking at the menu, we said

“This is expensive…”

However, I thought that in the first place the price range was normal for me, and wanted to pay for his meal as he drove a car a lot, so we stayed there.

I ordered fish and chips, and he ordered a burger with Irish beef. His burger was slightly more inexpensive. The price to dine out in Ireland was as expensive as to do in Sweden. (That is, it costs 1.5 times more expensive than Estonia.)

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I like both fish and chips, but I’m not a fan of fish in fish and chips. I ordered it to enjoy malt vinegar. It’s very tasty to add malt vinegar on chips with salt.

In Estonia you can also get fish and chips, and bars have them as part of their menus, but they never have malt vinegar. That’s why I want to have it, and therefore I was satisfied.

b. Galway Cakery Café

Galway Cakery Café is a cafe when we were about to leave Moycullen.

I planned somewhere else, but since it seemed they offeufrred only takeaways, we went to Galway Cakery Café in the shopping centre.

At Galway Cakery Café we had an Italian menu. My boyfriend chose calzone, and I ordered panini with goat cheese and vegetables. It didn’t taste like goat cheese… It was good enough though.

In my case I had possibilities to choose cheese. The other option was perhaps feta cheese. (I don’t remember that much…)

3. Mayo

In Mayo we went to only two restaurant and cafe too. This is because on the first day we had sandwiches that the owner of the accommodation in Barna, Galway, for lunch, our B&B in Mayo served us breakfast, and we got food at a supermarket in Castlebar (Mayo’s county town) for one of the two evenings.

a. Maple Chinese Restaurant (Take away)

In Ballinrobe where we stayed in Mayo, there was nothing. We planned to get food at a supermarket, but the kitchen in our accommodation was not for guests, so we were not allowed to use it. In the dining room, there was no microwave either, so I chose Maple Chinese Restaurant where we still didn’t have to pay a lot.

I still don’t know why he selected Chinese, and he found one, but it offered only takeaway. Later we found another Chinese restaurant which was Maple Chinese Restaurant, and we went to the town of Ballinrobe.

However, they closed the restaurant, and they accepted only takeaway orders, so we eventually brought food to the accommodation.

They had lots of dishes though. He chose Chow Mein. I chose the one which I could select the main and the side for, hence I chose the stir fried beef and vegetables in a spicy way, and rice as a side dish. (Of course they offered chips as a side dish! It didn’t cost extra if the order was rice or chips, but it seemed to cost extra if you choose friend rice, etc.)

The price was the same as what he chose, but

“Yours looks tastier than mine…”

😂

The portion was quite big. I was satisfied with two thirds. He ate the rest. I’m glad he enjoyed it.

Personally it was okay, but since we didn’t have many options to get food itself, I don’t make any complaints. 😂

b. Supermacs

Supermacs is Irish McDonald’s. (Of course there are original McDonald’s in Ireland.) This is not in the west or County Mayo but on O’Connell street in Dublin, too.

I have known Supermacs since I lived in Dublin, but I’m not a huge fan of burgers or fast foods in the first place, so I had never been there, whilst my boyfriend loves burgers and sometimes goes to Estonian (or Blatic) McDonald’s – Hesburger. (However he’s not fat at all. How envious it is that he doesn’t have to care about it.) Therefore, as he had wanted to go to Supermac since I talked about Supermacs, we went to Supermacs in Castlebar for lunch.

Beides, he loves bacon. As I expected, he chose a burger with bacon. (Once he was told that the cholesterol level was high, and since then he less frequently had bacon.) I didn’t have anything specifically I wanted to try, so I ordered the cheese burger meal.

If it’s McDonald’s in Japan, we can choose vegetable-fruit mix juice, 100% fruit juice, coffee or tea, and yet in Supermacs they offer only sparkling soft drinks and water.

Me? I chose a bottle of water.

Although you may think “You should have chosen something else cos water costs nothing!”, I don’t like the afterwards of fullness in my stomach with fizzy drinks, so water was fine for me. (Plus, it was helpful for us to hydrate ourselves with that water. Everything was alright.)

The burgers were, even though he chose a big one, small unlike the images, so you don’t need to worry about the size and portions. Therefore, the cheese burger that looked normal size in the image was smaller than I thought so I wasn’t full at all.

In terms of chips, I do prefer McDonald’s. especially the saltiness. For some reason, Supermacs served a tiny bag of salt for chips separately. (They will give you even if you don’t ask.)

Overall I like McDonald’s better in my opinion.

★Summary

When I lived in my hometown, as a family trip, I went to Cairns in Australia and Guam in the US. Although we stayed in the hotels, we always had bread, cheese and fruits that we bought for breakfast beforehand at a local supermarket to enjoy local foods and get them like a local, instead of hotel meals, which was my mum’s idea. I was a teenager at that time, and I was interested in different cultures and felt different and special when it comes to non-Japanese foods which are different from Japanese products even though they were normal in local and normally available in local supermarkets. Therefore I liked this style of travelling.

Because of this, on this trip to Ireland, though I wondered if we would keep going to cafes and restaurants all the time or if we could get food in supermarkets as this was the first time to travel abroad with him, it was something middle of those styles, so I was comfortable. (I was like “Oh you are also okay with supermarkets’ ham and cheese only.”) Since I felt comfortable, I was rather glad that there was no impression that the “Random foods from a supermarket are fine” mentality was not frugal. (My main reason is surely financial. It’s too much in everything if I eat out every meal.)

Even on a trip with friends, the way of thinking about how to spend money is important, so it was good that ours are similar. I thought my solo trip was too frugal though.

In this article Included Irish foods and drinks, and yet those are just part of Irish culinary culture. There are more Irish dishes. Since I love Ireland too much, I want to cook Irish (or Guiness) stew or coddle now. 😂😂 It’s such a pity that I can’t get Irish sausages in Estonia though…

Aitäh! 🙂