A waffley good time in Liosbaun

Thu, Jul 11, 2013

Mr Waffle has been popular from day one. Located on a very busy intersection, the flagship shop on Newcastle Road is convenient for both the university and the hospital. Both fine institutions, it's fair to say, but somewhat notorious for the poor quality food available to workers, students, and inmates. However, Mr Waffle's wide selection of crepes, sandwiches, quesadillas, and salads has saved many of them from a joyless lunch break.

Sunday lunch only €22.50 and children eat free at the Harbour Hotel

Thu, Jun 27, 2013

Bring the whole family together for a relaxing Sunday lunch in the heart of Galway. Enjoy a fabulous four course lunch for only €22.50 per person, including a glass of Prosecco. Children under 10 years can eat for free (offer is valid for one child per adult).

Some like it hot

Thu, Jun 27, 2013

Mexican food. I had no great love for it as a cuisine until a visit to Wahaca in London a few years back convinced me of its possibilities. Ex-MasterChef winner Thomasina Miers oversees branches of her popular canteen-style eatery throughout London, it won me over with the authentic and flavoursome fare, even though the heat was certainly dialled down for the English palate. In Ireland, we mostly get what passes for Mexican food from a yellow box in the supermarket. When prepared, it often appears on the plate to have already been eaten by someone else. This is not the case at Boojum, the new restaurant on Spanish Parade, here it is all aromatic, fresh, and zesty, a return to its street food roots.

Discover summer bistro delights at The Old Barracks

Thu, Jun 27, 2013

The Old Barracks Pantry and Bakery in Athenry, which has been open now for almost three years, has just extended its opening hours and added a new bistro menu to meet the growing demand for evening fare in Athenry during the summer months.

Boojum to bring the taste of Mexico to Galway

Thu, Jun 06, 2013

Boojum, Ireland’s first burrito bar, is preparing its opening party in Galway on Saturday June 8, to bring locals a true taste of Mexico.

Brendan Loughnane Butchers for quality and value

Thu, Jun 06, 2013

Enjoy the best lamb, beef, pork, bacon, and poultry from award winning butcher Brendan Loughnane.

Renzo Gallery Cafe now open for dinner

Thu, Jun 06, 2013

Renzo Gallery Café is an Italian-style café located just off Eyre Square. Situated beside Debenham’s, this coffee bar is now open for dinner on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evening from 6pm to 9.30pm.

When you think of Italy, you think coffee. Renzo baristas expertly serve renowned cappuccinos, Americanos, lattes, and espressos. Renzo’s much loved loose-leaf and herbal teas are a favourite for breakfast and afternoon tea.

The Book Shelf...

Thu, Jun 06, 2013

By this time of the year the first salads of the season should well and truly have been pulled and the second lot or subsequent sowing already developing along nicely. No better time then for the salad books to hit the shelves, although this particular ‘gem’ maintains it has a salad for every season.

On the Wine Shelf...

Thu, Jun 06, 2013

Marques de Alarcon Vino de la Tierra de Castilla Tempranillo/Syrah 2011 Spain (M&S, €7)

Kirby's Restaurant – the recipe for the perfect night out

Thu, Jun 06, 2013

Monday gets a bad rap, everyone goes back to work and school with silicon chips inside their heads switching to overload and whatnot. Only chefs and hairdressers seem to look forward to it, the most unloved day of the week. But at last there is a good reason to love Mondays, all thanks to Kirby's restaurant on Kirwan's Lane. And when you add The Black Magic Big Band and a complimentary drink in Busker Brownes into the equation you get one of the best nights out in Galway.

Celebrate summer with barbecue party packages at The Ardilaun

Thu, Jun 06, 2013

The Ardilaun hotel, Galway city, has the perfect setting for your summer barbecue this year. With superb landscaped gardens and outdoor Camilaun patio in a secluded setting, The Ardilaun is the perfect choice for socialising with work colleagues, family or friends, or sports and social outings, and you can choose from a selection of barbecue packages for as little as €15 per guest.

New summer menu at Kelly’s

Thu, Jun 06, 2013

Kelly's Bar on Bridge Street has launched its extensive new summer menus. Some of the regular favourites have returned and there are exciting new additions from the new culinary team. The famous Kelly’s breakfast makes a welcome return.

Fresh local food and old world charm at The Old Stone House

Thu, May 16, 2013

The Old Stone House was the market house in the town of Ballinlough, Co Roscommon. Now a fully licensed restaurant, the building has been restored to create a warm, old world, ambience with original stone walls, timber floors, and open fires.

PoppySeed — stirring it up for summer

Thu, May 16, 2013

The new menu at PoppySeed restaurants has landed and offers even more excitement and taste than before. In time for the warmer and more colourful summer season, PoppySeed has added more tasty salads and freshly prepared breakfasts to its array of treats.

“It is always a challenge to change but it is so much fun to spice things up every now and then,” says head chef Judy Forde. A talented, award-winning chef, Judy Forde believes in embracing simple produce and treating them well. “We love good food and we love to take our time both in preparing and in savouring it.”

L’Osteria Da Roberta makes a welcome return to Salthill

Thu, May 09, 2013

L’Osteria Da Roberta Restaurant has reopened due to popular demand. This restaurant is situated in the heart of Salthill, just a short walk from the Promenade and next door to its sister restaurant Da Roberta Pizzeria.

Cooking the books at Kai

Thu, May 09, 2013

The last outpost of civilisation before you reach Salthill, when Kai opened, it opened with a bang and very quickly achieved a cult following. It suffered not a jot from teething problems, it was a fully formed concept practically from the word go. Kai was unpretentious and fun with flower and seed strewn salads piled on boards, big Ortiz tuna tins filled with bread, and the sun spilling through the skylight even on the dullest of days illuminating the lunchtime altar of cakes. Everyone's favourite Kiwi chef Jess Murphy brings her own brand of kitchen voodoo and you know you are a regular when you grow to understand husband and partner-in-crime David Murphy's accent at front of house.

Aside from the best brunch in town every Sunday, it is always well worth the extra trek and the couple of extra euro for the short, seasonal, lunch menu. Six or seven options that always showcase the best the west coast has to offer, from potted crab to gurnard fish finger sandwiches on Kai’s own foccacia, I have yet to be disappointed. Dinner is an equally short and ever changing menu with about five 'beginnings', 'middles', and 'ends'.

Enjoy Italian food, wine, art and culture with Basilico

Thu, May 09, 2013

Renowned for providing customers with not only the taste-bud tempting aromas of its delicious dishes but also a relaxing atmosphere surrounded by fine art, Basilico Restaurant will be embarking on a new phase in its business by offering lovers of food, art, and culture, weekend breaks in Oranmore or longer painting holidays to Italy.

Bay roasted baby hasselbacks

Thu, May 02, 2013

Last year was my first time growing my own potatoes. I ordered a few heritage varieties from Seed Savers, varieties that would be difficult to find in the shops, some early and some main crop. I planted them late enough in the season so as to avoid any lingering frosts as we are prone to here in the west. They grew readily with the plentiful rain and flowered in white, yellow, and some in a glorious purple. When the leaves faded and died back it was time to harvest. It was lovely to see the children’s delight at sifting through the soil and discovering hidden potatoes, like a messy Easter egg hunt… potatoes with skins so thin that you could brush them off with your thumb. The taste of those freshly dug little earlies, with butter, ground pepper, and fat flakes of sea salt was amazing.

Even if you don't care to grow your own, be careful to read the country of origin on your potato because for most weeks of the year we should be buying Irish and eating our way out of recession one spud at a time.

On the Wine Shelf...

Thu, May 02, 2013

Bodegas Salentein, Numina 2010 Uco Valley (Independents, €22.99)

Made with a blend of Malbec (65 per cent), Cabernet Sauvignon (14 per cent), Merlot (eight per cent), Petit Verdot (eight per cent), Cabernet Franc (five per cent) in Argentina’s Uco Valley, this is a fine example of what Argentina is capable of, and one of numerous wines from that part of the world that are increasingly making up some of the space on our wine shelves. On the nose, it is a cornucopia of intense blackcurrant, blackberries, blueberries with a little cassis, vanilla and sweet spice. On the palate, it has got all of the above fruit with some stone cherry fruit, violets, and damson in what is a full-bodied, well-structured, wine with gentle tannins, all combining to offer a very satisfying and long, elegant, finish. In essence, a super wine that is perfect with barbecued steak or farmhouse cheese.

The Book Shelf...

Thu, May 02, 2013

Lorenz Books is without doubt one of the best publishers of glossy, picture-led, cookery books that generally have more than one photograph per recipe. Already this year it has published titles such as 500 Sensational Salads and 30-Minute Cookbook, offering much of what this particular publication is very good at providing. Thus, we have more than 500 pages of colourful, succinct, recipes that are enticing and easy to follow, beginning with an introduction that sets out the editor’s manifesto and the notion of clever cooking: The idea of buying and using ingredients that will enable the reader to create a fabulous meal for less than what it would cost to buy an ordinary sandwich in the shops.

E-paper

Read this weeks E-paper. Past editions also available from within this weeks digital copy.