3 Best Restaurants in County Clare, Galway, and the Aran Islands, Ireland

Set in a peninsula on Galway Bay's Flaggy Shore, the enterprising Brid Fahy opened this farm-to-wafer parlor experience back in 2006. Made with milk from the Friesian and Shorthorn herd from her five-generation farm, the ice cream here is fantastic, and for good reason: the cows cross between the mainland and a small island to graze and this gives the cow's milk a unique and varied flavor. This delicious cow's milk is combined with locally sourced ingredients such as hazelnuts, wild berries, rhubarb, and apples that are spiced with the taste of the ocean to create unique flavors that alternate with the changing of seasons. All to say, it makes for great ice creams.

For soup lovers, this modest, brightly painted café on a square in the heart of Ennis will hit all the right notes. With daily changing specials and a range of paninis and sandwiches, it's the perfect pit stop for a quality snack or budget lunch.

This surprising find in a cottage on the northern ridge of the Burren is not only a refreshing place for a soup-and-sandwich break, it's also home to the boutique Hazel Mountain Chocolate Factory, which produces chocolate using the same techniques employed by the monks who once occupied nearby Corcomroe Abbey. Vegetables are grown on-site and the cakes baked star in their own cookbook.