3 Best Restaurants in The Northwest, Ireland

A Carrick institution, this gastropub is very popular, so advance reservations for dinner are usually needed. Main-course dishes may include glazed pork belly, Hereford beef burger, 12-hour slow-cooked beef daube, or sustainable fish such as ling. Try some of the craft beers or ciders, including its own Oarsman lager, Galway Hooker, or Anderson's red ale. Save room for the lemon posset, or cotton-candy dessert. There's a resident guitarist Tuesday through Saturday evenings.

Take a seat upstairs overlooking the serene waters of Donegal Bay and feast on some of the area's best produce. The early-bird (5--6:30 pm) is the best value with two courses for €19.95. Although there's a crossover between the menus, a much wider selection is on offer for dinner where you'll find steak, chicken, Guinness-braised shank of Donegal mountain lamb, or fisherman's pie made up of a robust combination of cod, hake, shellfish, and smokies (smoked haddock) straight from the boats. Round off your meal with a Boozy Bailey's: an espresso coffee and a shot of Bailey's Irish cream liqueur with a vanilla ice cream float, all topped by a dollop of softly whipped cream.

Huge steaks and fresh, locally sourced fish dominate the dinner menu in the renovated upstairs restaurant in the Nesbitt Arms Hotel. Decor still harks back to the days when Ardara was Donegal's foremost weaving and wool center; tweed throws and blankets will keep you warm on a night of wild Atlantic weather. Ask for a "lunch on the go" package if you wish to keep moving, or settle in with a creamy and smoky Donegal Coffee, made with Silkie whiskey and blended at the Slieve League Distillery. The whiskey's name was inspired by the Gaeltacht legend of the silkies, or selkie seals, which came ashore as beautiful sea maidens with long dark hair and soulful brown eyes. There's music in the bar every Saturday night.