California Food and Wine Blog

After exploring a little of Killarney on 10/16/2012, we eyed some of the menus along the street for a balance between hearty and reasonable prices and found Salvador’s

Nathan ordered the Farmer’s Mixed Grill for €17.95 that came with a variety of meats and traditional irish pudding. Sadly they were out of the liver that Nathan was really looking forward to, but they substituted a second filet mignon cooked rare to perfection. The poachedegg could have been cooked a little softer to really enjoy the flavor, but overall it was a great plate of meat!

Jessica ordered the curry that seemed a little out of the norm for an Irish restaurant, and the chips served on the side didn’t go too well, but the curry itself was so savory and flavorful I was very happy with my order.

We finished the meal with a bowlful of icecream!

Flavor: 4.5/5

Price: 3.5/5

Service: 4/5

On the way to the Cliffs of Mohr, we stopped in a small town for breakfast and to potentially take a look at the caves. Fitz’s bar was prepping for the day and had beer and soup ready to serve which was perfect.

We both ordered the soup of the day which was served with a couple slices of hearty rye bread for €4.95. It was a cold morning and the chowder and bread were perfect to warm us right up and the flavors left us licking the bowl.

We thoroughly enjoyed the craft beers that were available on tap which is something we didn’t see at many of the pubs throughout Ireland and the UK. We tried an Irish Red and a Stout that had the creamy consistency of a guiness. Both were very good and worth the €4.

Flavor: 4.5/5

Price: 4/5

Service: 4/5

After an eventful day of pub crawling in Gallway we ended our evening on 10/15/2012 at The Dail Bar which came highly recommended by our hotel staff and on Foursquare.

Nathan ordered the Fish and Chips for €12.95 to try the traditional Irish fare vs our UK experience at the Hip Chip, and Jessica ordered the Vegetarian Special Quiche for about €9. The menu offered several options for vegetarian and gluten intolerant customers and shared all their local suppliers of meat and produce. Very friendly staff, but very difficult to tip – they tend to run quickly away.

Nathan enjoyed the light and flakey batter on the fish, but the overall flavor of the fish was sub-par to the Hip Chip. The mushy peas were an interesting experience; part of a tradition to serve with fish and chips, but I probably wouldn’t order it again especially not without a little more salt.  

The Vegetarian Quiche was good and filling with nice flavors.

Flavor: 3.5/5

Price: 2.5/5

Service: 4/5

We arrived late to the Glenlo Abbey Hotel but received great service from the belman and receptionist who gave us a voucher for discounted prices at the hotel restaruants.

We visited the Oak Cellar Bar and Nathan ordered the Homemade Beef Burger for €13.25 and Jessica ordered the Pasta Special.

The burger was very good especially in the flavor of the beef; you can really tell a difference between the Irish grass-fed cows versus the standard American beef. The portion size was significantly smaller and left still a little hungry, but it was a decent meal.

Jessica’s pasta was filling and had good flavor, but nothing too exciting.

Flavor: 3.5/5

Price: 2.5/5

Service: 3/5

Overall: 3/5

**Not bad if you’re staying at the hotel, but probably wouldn’t drive out for it.