2 Best Restaurants in The Northwest, Ireland

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Reviews Updated by

L
Shane Leavy

Donegal mountain spring lamb, Glen Bay crab, Donegal Bay oysters and mussels, Lough Swilly wild salmon, Enniscrone lobster, freshly baked scones, crusty homemade brown bread, and Guinness cake are just some of the delicious reasons why you will not go hungry traveling through the Northwest. Sligo Town has established itself as a sort of last stop for food lovers, with a number of tempting shops promoting local produce that are well worth a visit. The Sligo Food and Cultural Festival, held each May, is brimful of activities. You're likely to find the finest food at the higher-quality country houses, where chefs elegantly prepare local meat, fish, and produce in a hybrid Irish-French haute cuisine. In Donegal Town, be sure to ask for what are officially Europe’s top sausages, made by McGettigan’s butchers.

Bistro Bianconi

$ Fodor's Choice

In the heart of Sligo's busy Italian Quarter, Bistro Bianconi has built on its long-established reputation for top-class pizzas baked in a wood-burning oven. Inventive gourmet pizzas include the Michelangelo (goat cheese, caramelized onions, pepperoni, and a sprinkling of Parmesan), the Vegetariano, and the perennial favorite, Quatro Formaggi. The menu is heavy on classic fresh pasta and lasagna, while the signature dish, chicken bocconcini (with glazed ham and cheese), is as popular as ever. Steaks, burgers, and Mediterranean king prawns are also on the menu. If you fancy a cocktail, try the Wild Atlantic Way martini.

Italian Fodor's Choice $ Dinner
Tobergal La., Sligo, Ireland
071-914–1744
www.bistrobianconi.ie
Known For
  • Irresistible pizzas
  • Affordable prices
  • Chicken bocconcini (with glazed ham and cheese)

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Coach Lane Restaurant

$$$ Fodor's Choice

This bustling eatery—deservedly one of Sligo's most popular and established since 1994—divides itself into two culinary halves: a relaxed downstairs bar (from 2 pm daily) with red-checkered tablecloths, serving fish pie and steaming bowls of beef-and-Guinness stew; and a more formal (and expensive) upstairs dining room (5:30–9 pm), where lamb, salmon, and steak, including fillet, strip loin, and tomahawk (all the restaurant's beef is air-dried for 45 days), share space on the menu with pasta, trout, scallops, seafood platters, or fine herb gnocchi with wild earth mushrooms. Reservations are required for both bar food and the dining room.