My husband and I decided we were finally going to travel to Ireland for vacation. Specifically, to celebrate our second wedding anniversary. This trip is something we had been talking about for over 10 years, and it felt great to finally make the decision to go.
But what were we going to eat...?
This became the question from, well, everyone. When either of us mentioned we were traveling there, we heard many say "but that is dairy country...", "don't they eat a lot of lamb, like, a lot?"
So yes, it dawned on us that we could have an issue. We decided to book Airbnbs so that we could have a kitchen and shop if we needed to (TIP ALERT: Airbnb is the way to go). So you may think, geez two vegans in Ireland? Well, let me tell you...we found it to be EASIER to find vegan options in Ireland then here in the US. Let me tell you about it...
I wrote a note in my journal as we were flying over Ireland to Shannon Airport - "the sun was shining and the water and the land were...glistening. It was magical." As I was tearing up with happiness, I heard another passenger yell "oh my, look at that rainbow, it is spectacular!!!", my heart filled with joy - we arrived to Ireland.
Our trip included Kinsale, Dingle, Doolin, and Galway - and lots of stops along the way. Before heading on our trip I researched vegan options - using Pinterest, Google Maps (saving the ones we wanted to try), liking Facebook pages, etc. I had even started following "The Happy Pear" who are based in Wicklow Ireland! So let's dive in...
Kinsale
When we arrived to Ireland our first town was Kinsale. So we checked in to the Airbnb for our two night stay. The Airbnb was amazing - actually, that doesn't even explain it enough. It was a beautiful horse farm, well appointed, super clean and very well maintained. I did not want to leave, especially when in the morning you could hear the horses clacking in their stables before they were let out to run - and run they did!
Once we got acclimated to the area, we decided to drive into town (TIP ALERT: you need COIN for parking downtown). Given we did not have coin, we went back to the Airbnb, called for a cab and headed back to town. The cab driver was super friendly and helpful. When we asked for vegan food, he rattled off five places! So we headed to Kitty O'Shea's for some pints - I mean, we arrived to Ireland and had to grab a pint! Then we walked around and explored.
Ok, so food. We made breakfast at the Airbnb each morning (easier for us) plus the owners left us amazing bread, fresh fruit, fresh jam, plenty of tea and coffee! Lunch and dinner were plentiful - plus, lots of pints! Our first night we headed to a pub with great vegan options and a wonderful atmosphere.
We both had pints of Guinness (you know it's now vegan, right?!?) and started with fried mushrooms (very popular in Ireland), then we had the veg curry it was so delicious, but boy do they give a TON of food! But it is definitely a must try if you find yourself in Kinsale.
Our second night while in Kinsale we did not eat in Kinsale at all...let me explain.
On our second day in Ireland we decided to tour the Blarney Castle (TIP ALERT: it is a MUST see and do, don't worry about the long lines, you will regret not going). From there we realized we were not too far away from Cork or Cobh - two places we wanted to visit. So we drove first to Cork. And in Cork is where we had dinner and...dessert!
We wanted to be sure that we did not miss out on getting a vegan dessert at the English Market! Did you know that the Queen of England recently visited the market to shop?
So once inside the English Market, you are bombarded by - so many selections of fresh foods from produce to breads. Here we were able to snag a vegan Irish Soda Bread and a vegan Ciabatta loaf! And, of course, we headed to My Goodness for amazing vegan treats. We indulged with peanut butter chocolate fudge, orange chocolate fudge, and a mint chocolate fudge. OMG!
Food was amazing, atmosphere was classic with a modern feel. Wait did I say the food was amazing? They had many vegan options on the menu - like nut burger, falafel, and lots of other yummy eats. I totally failed at taking food photos here - we ate everything and realized "ugh...photos!" But I got these...
From the Liberty Grill we walked over to the Quay Co-Op - which has a large variety of vegan foods! Here we picked up yogurts, fruits, crackers, and many snacks for the drive to Dingle, Doolin, and Galway. We walked in on one side of the store and it was deceiving, I thought "no way could it only be this..." and sure enough there was another side to the store - in fact - the store was huge! So many vegan options, and the produce was amazing here too just like at the English Market.
Later that evening once we were back in Kinsale, we headed out to the Tap Tavern and the Spaniard. Interesting tidbit about the Tap Tavern - they offer Ghost Tours! Unfortunately, on the night we were there they were not offering them, but it will be on our things to do list next time! From here, we walked to the Spaniard, it was a bit of a walk, but worth it! It was an old, warm, classic Irish pub and had saw dust on the floors. What an amazing time we had - the music was fantastic and we also met lovely people from Kinslae and Innishannon. We look forward to visiting again.
Dingle
Well, off to Dingle we went. Goodbye Kinsale and County Cork, until next time. It was a just about a three hour drive to Dingle from Kinsale, but we took the scenic route most of the time and drove through so many quaint towns along the way. We stopped at Inch Beach (TIP ALERT: this is a MUST SEE!)
We made our way through the Dingle Peninsula and arrived at our hotel. We checked in and got settled and then headed out to explore! Wow, the beauty of Dingle (are you getting a theme here, Ireland has to be the most beautiful place on Earth). We stayed in Dingle for two nights and our first night we ate at our hotel. They had vegan options and it was very good. We had the Aubergine Roll which was super tasty! After dinner we headed out to find a few different pubs and we landed at Ashe's Bar. It was the most quaint place we had been to so far and we fell in love with the atmosphere and decided to make a reservation for the following evening for dinner.
The next morning we had a continental breakfast at the hotel in the Coastguard House and they had a variety of vegan friendly foods to choose from. Then off to explore - again! Onward to Slea Head Drive - AMAZING and absolutely breathtaking. Once we were done with our adventure, we decided to eat a light-mid afternoon lunch at The Boatyard. We enjoyed supper yummy vegan burgers and chips! The view was nice, the only issue we had was we went a little late in the day so service was a little slow, and it ended up being a very warm day and sitting in the sun made it a bit..."too warm".
For dinner on our second night we went to Ashe's Bar since we had made a reservation. Loved the food, although limited options, we had to eat here specifically because my husband's last name is "Ashe". But it was still amazing even though they offered one dish and salad. We had the mushroom risotto - super creamy with lots of flavor and deep savory notes.
After eating dinner at Ashe's Bar we followed our ears to The Dingle Pub where we listened to the Blowins and watched...David Geaney perform his amazing Irish tap skills! A little note, he works at the pub!
Doolin
We began our journey to Doolin which is a three hour drive from Dingle. Like I said early on, this was an adventurous trip with over 800km of driving (whoa). On our way to Doolin we stoped at Bunratty Castle and walked around a bit since we had some time before we ventured into Doolin.
Once we made it to Doolin, which is a coastal town right near the Cliffs of Moher, we checked into our Airbnb. We were here for a two night stay just as we were in Kinsale and Dingle.
We chatted with our host for a bit about food selections in the area, and she asked the curious question "are you vegan because or health of other reasons?" and she followed up with "because here we don't use antibiotics or steroids and other chemicals in our animals, and they are free to roam their land and stay with their young, it is definitely not like the US where it is a process and fast food driven society". I pondered that for a while following our conversation and I agreed with her - food in Ireland was definitely different - it was fresh, wholesome, and generally organic. Granted the animals seem to be treated "better" but there is nothing humane about slaughter. The other factor is the difference in population. The population of the Republic of Ireland is around 4.2 million people, here in Massachusetts alone, we have around 6.3 million people. More demand, the higher the supply. So if we had a higher demand for vegan foods here in the US, the supply for vegan foods would increase - supply and demand. But we seem to crave fast, processed foods, so herein lies the problem - we "crave" what McDonalds can deliver - which harms animals, your health and the environment. Ok, so off my soapbox for a bit...let's get back to it.
Once we were settled into the Airbnb, we decided to walk around a bit and grab a bite to eat at Fitzpatrick's Pub.
Doolin is very much like where we live, busy in the on season and quiet in the off season, for us we do prefer the off season! When we walked in it was quiet, so we got a seat at the bar, grabbed a pint, and looked at the menu. To our delight they had an amazing vegan burger on the menu with some other options, as well as a vegan dessert! So we went the the right spot - actually - as in all of the other towns, there were many places that served vegan food or food that could be veganized! So be sure to look around at the menus before deciding - it can be a challenge because it all looks amazing! Ok, back to Fitzpatrick's. Super friendly staff and the food was fantastic.
So the next morning we had a quick bite to eat because today was the big day - we were heading to the Cliffs of Moher! It was a bit rainy but that was ok, the Cliffs are absolutely breathtaking - it is a MUST do attraction if you are visiting Ireland for the first time.
After our Cliffs adventure we sure were hungry. We went back to our Airbnb and walked down the street to the Doolin Cafe. Which by the way is every vegan's dream!
So where to begin...
When we walked in we were welcomed with such warmth, and then I saw "VEGAN" on the board and menu! I just knew we were at the right place. Lots of variety to choose from but we decided to go with the "traditional Irish breakfast" - vegan of course. It was amazing. I realized why all of the food we had in Ireland was so delicious - it was because it was all fresh and organic.
Later that night, we just had to go to McDermotts - a place that had music seven nights per week - well, actually, all of the pubs in Doolin had music seven nights a week - it is the town where Irish music began in the first place! To our surprise, McDermotts was quite busy! (TIP ALERT: if you want to have a seat near the music, you need to make specific reservations, so be sure to do that, and music begins around 9pm) We finally got a seat, and at McDermott's you can share tables with others too, which makes it for a fun evening. I was surprised at the selections on the menu, and by the way, the menu online is not the full menu! I had stuffed peppers and my husband had falafel. Both were delicious and very filling and inexpensive.
Galway
On our way to our last stop, Galway. We took the advice of our host in Doolin to drive along the Wild Atlantic Way which goes along the coast. We saw so many beautiful towns and views - of course many a small roads. We were so glad we did the scenic view!
Once we made it to Galway, it was too early to check into our hotel (we stayed at the Forster Court Hotel which was just on the outskirts of the main part of the city, but everything was in walking distance). Of course it was lunch time, and I had a tough time deciding where we were to eat because there were many places to choose from.
So we were staying in Galway for only one night - so we jammed in a lot in our 24 hours! For lunch we decided to head over to the Spanish Arch and found a lovely place to eat - The Kitchen Cafe. The cafe is located at the Galway City Museum just at the Spanish Arch. Lovely place! With of course, lots of vegan food and a fantastic selection of teas. My husband enjoyed a tofu burger and I had dahl. Super tasty and wholesome. The dahl was so rich in flavor and I did not want to stop eating! My husband enjoyed the burger, even though he is not a huge fan of tofu, but he said it was tasty and that he would have it again.
After we had lunch, we checked into our hotel, got settled, and headed out to where all of the shops are in Galway. So many streets packed with old shops, pubs, and restaurants. We even stopped and chatted with a Husky Rescue organization who were out collecting donations with a few of their adoptable pups. Their organization is called "Sera Husky & Animal Rescue" completely run by volunteers and what started out as a small rescue is now a full time active organization. (Oh yes, and by the way, in the shopping bag on my wrist was a gift for one of our nieces, and we are still in the process of ridding our wardrobe of animal products).
So after our shopping and walking around Galway City, we got ready for dinner and pints and music. My husband found a fantastic place that had vegan bolognese!
Oh my. What a place. Small. Counter order. Homemade pastas! Of course when I walked in, I was struck by how cute it was and that it had vegan options and vegan dessert. Excited, we walked to the counter and dove into ordering. Two vegan bolognese, with vegan garlic bread, wine, and then vegan chocolate cake. OMG. Very hard to explain how good it was, but let's say this, since having the vegan bolognese, my husband has been on the search for perfecting the same flavors and textures by trying to make is own. When in Galway - go to the Pasta Factory!
After a wonderful meal, we headed out to find music, which of course is easy to find. We landed at the 1520 pub for a pint and to listen to some great music. This was our last night in Ireland.
Before checking out of the hotel and driving to the Shannon Airport we went out for breakfast. I found a place that just topped it off for the trip which was not only filled with so many adventures and fun, but so much vegan food!
OMG. This cafe was a highlight for me for a few reasons - vegan options, healthy, focused on mindfulness and good organic whole foods, with amazing service and atmosphere. We both ordered the "Pink Pancakes" which were hot buckwheat beetroot pancakes served with cool berrys, coconut cream, bananas and golden maple syrup. I mean, come on - these were so yummy!
Once we finished breakfast we headed out on the road to get to the airport. Our trip to Ireland was just about over. We had so much fun, we did lots of tourist things - Blarney Castle, the Cliffs, Bunratty Castle, the Burren, Slea Head Drive and beach, Dunmore Head, Inch Beach, listed to music and sang along, watched Irish dancing, visited towns and cities of Kinsale, Dingle, Doolin, Galway, Ennis, Cork, and Cobh. Whew, we did a bunch in just 7 short days!
We cannot wait to go back, ideally we would love to go every year, but for now it will need to be a bi-yearly trip. Next trip will feature Waterford, Wicklow, and Dublin.
So until then, be sure to visit Ireland if you are able, it is one of the most magical and beautiful places on Earth. Paired with hospitable people and a minimalist care free attitude.
If you do venture to the "ol'sod" and try out these restaurants, cafes, and pubs, be sure to leave a comment below, I would love to hear your opinion about the food. And do let me know of other places you try because there are many!
Sláinte!
My first trip to Ireland was in 1992 and I nearly starved to death due to the food being so bland and just plain old horrible. They have come a long way in providing really good tasting food!