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Because the West provinces have a brief high season—from mid-June to early September—and a quiet off-season, it doesn't have as broad a choice of small, owner-operated restaurants as do other parts of Ireland. Often the best place to eat is a local hotel. But some places landmark the region, including Moran's Oyster Cottage in Kilcolgan near Galway City, where the fare is simple, served in traditional pub surroundings, but sea-leaping fresh. At the other extreme are more dazzling experiences, like when you splurge to dine in style like the superb formal restaurant at Dromoland Castle. For truly adventurous contemporary Irish cooking, head to happening Galway; the town center is so compact you can meander around and read the menus on display outside before making your choice.
The industrial facade and simply furnished interior of this Michelin-starred restaurant and wine bar just off Eyre Square betray nothing of head chef Enda McEvoy's daily creations; he scours, forages, and travels the coast for the finest and most offbeat indigenous ingredients like reindeer moss or trout caviar. Plates are imaginatively presented, and the tasting menu has a cult following across the country (but is fairly priced at from €85 for seven courses).
