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Eating Out in Limerick

Limerick is a thriving and busy commercial centre with an interesting history and a lot for tourists to see, but frankly it isn't at the top of the pile when it comes to food and restaurants.

Things are pretty good in the middle range, doable on a budget, thanks mainly to a number of pubs serving good food, but there is less choice at the top end. Fortunately there are a number of very good restaurants within a relatively easy drive of the city, so all is not lost.

Photo by decsrambleIf you are fortunate enough to visit in the first week of  May, the annual Riverfest includes, among other food related events, a great European food market,  where you can taste and buy both local delicacies and those from further afield.

For those keen to try a local speciality, baked Limerick Ham is the thing, the key ingredient in the ubiquitous "hang sangitch" (ham sandwich to the non-local). Traditionally this is a doorstep affair with thick slices of white bread surrounding home cooked ham slathered with mustard but upmarket versions on panini or with different accompaniments are widely available.

Eating Out in Limerick on a Budget

The Green Onion ( 353 61 400710) in the Old Town Hall in Rutland St is something of a Limerick legend, always busy serving excellent snacks, sandwiches and light meals during the day and more substantial fare in the evening, with notably good salads and pasta dishes. The food is really terrific and the prices amazingly low.

The Wild Onion ( 353 61 440055) is an American style cafe deli on High St which serves fantastically yummy breakfasts, great deli style sandwiches at lunchtime and has a good range of breads and cakes available to take away.

The Old Quarter ( 353 61 401190) on Little Ellen Street, Nestors ( 353 61 317333) on O' Connell St and Finnegans ( 353 61 337338) on the Dublin Road, though not all that cheap, are among the better pubs in Limerick when it comes to food (if its a great pub you want, South's at the top of O'Connell St cannot be bettered).

Papa Ginos Pizza ( 353 61 229588) on Denmark Street is good value - properly cooked pizzas with a very wide range of toppings.

Donkey Fords is the best chipper in Limerick and the place to go for a bargain basement feed of fresh battered cod and thick vinegary chips, almost compulsory eating after a night in a Limerick pub.

Middle Range Restaurants in Limerick

Freddy's Bistro ( 353 61 418749) in Lower Glentworth Street, is a family run place serving a mixture of traditional Irish and Italian dishes in surroundings that are full of character. The food is a little on the expensive side, but always reliable and occasionally outstanding.

Aubars ( 353 61 317799) in Thomas St is a very stylishly decorated bar, nightclub and restaurant that serves well above average food both at the bar and in it's slightly more formal restaurant. The food is, like the surroundings, stylish presented and contemporary but not in a bad way, the cooking is careful and inventive and the prices keen.

The Jasmine Palace ( 353 61 412484), is a really excellent Chinese restaurant in the O'Connell Mall, O'Connell Street, which serves Cantonese food with a modern twist that really works. They are especially strong on seafood dishes and the noodles are excellent.

Copper & Spice ( 353 61 313620) on Cornmarket St (look for the bright orange front!) serves both Indian and Thai food, which seems an odd mix but it works. There is a great choice for vegetarians here and the chocolate truffles for dessert are sinfully delicious.

Bella Italia ( 353 61 418872) is a small Italian bistro and pizzeria on Thomas Street with a very loyal clientele who return again and again for the unfussy but carefully prepared and keenly priced pizzas and pasta dishes.

The restaurant at the Hunt Museum, DuCartes ( 353 61 312662), is a little on the pricey side, but the food is excellent, using local ingredients to create light meals and snacks such as Bruschetta and excellent salads. If the weather is good a table outside overlooking the river is highly recommended.

The River Bar & Restaurant ( 353 61 401883) on Georges Quay is French run and it's as though that perfect little local French place was transported whole to Limerick. Well priced Gallic dishes are served with style and panache and it is a place you will want to linger in and return to often. A gem.

High End

Brulées ( 353 61 319931) at the corner of Henry Street and Mallow Street is a well established restaurant which specialises in seafood, though there is plenty more on the menu. The cooking might be described as Modern Irish, using the best ingredients cooked in an inventive way that owes a lot to Italian and Mediterranean styles. It works, and is consistently excellent. The early bird dinner menu is great value, but it is difficult not to be tempted away from it by the treasures on the A la Carte.

After that, you will need to travel outside the city for more high end restaurants. There are some reasonable restaurants in the better city hotels, but they are nothing special, so a few miles of driving to a couple of real gems is well worth the effort.

From aperitifs in the library, to wonderful food in the restaurant and after dinner drinks around a roaring log fire, the Mustard Seed at Echo Lodge ( 353 69 68508) in Ballingarry, about 20 miles from Limerick, is an experience of pure indulgence. Many of the ingredients are not just local, they are produced in the organic kitchen gardens right outside.

The cooking is described as 'modern Irish'; whatever it's called, it is just fantastic. Every meal here is a memorable one. This is right up at the top of up of my personal list of favourite restaurants in Ireland. Unmissable.

Adare, 12 miles from Limerick, is home to the Wild Geese Restaurant ( 353 61 396451), in a very pretty cottage in the centre of the village. It's a small, warm and friendly place with great food and service. The emphasis here is on using simple ingredients, perfectly cooked. There are always a range of really good seafood dishes on the menu, the rack of lamb is to die for and the desserts are heaven. Well worth the short drive.

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In This Section

• Eating Out Guide
• History of Irish Food
• Restaurants in Belfast
• Restaurants in Cork
• Restaurants in Dublin
• Restaurants in Galway
• Restaurants in Killarney
• Restaurants in Limerick
• Irish Recipes

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