The 2025 edition of 101 Great Irish Restaurants, produced in partnership with Nespresso Professional, showcases the depth and breadth of Ireland’s food scene, from casual bistros to Michelin-starred fine dining restaurants. Here are the venues in Connaught that should be on your radar this year.
Lignum, Bullaun, Co Galway, lignum.ie
This year - finally, hallelujah - the tyre company saw fit to award this ambitious and uber stylish restaurant its first Michelin star. Chef Danny Africano says he has moved on from his experimental phase to embrace the flavours and techniques he knows best and which he believes work best at Lignum, where the majority of the menu is cooked over fire.
In a new move for the family-run restaurant, there will be less reliance on fresh produce, particularly vegetables and fruit, being flown in from the Amalfi coast. A kitchen garden is under construction at the restaurant, and in addition, Leaf and Root farm in Loughrea will be growing exclusively for Lignum.
You won’t find a menu to peruse on the restaurant’s website, but rather a list of the contents of its well stocked larder, from which the kitchen creates its seasonal tasting menus.
Moran’s Oyster Cottage, Kilcolgan, Co Galway, moransoystercottage.com
As Ireland falls ever deeper into its devotion to the briny oyster, the thatched and picture-perfect Moran’s Oyster Cottage is the place to get an education and appreciation for the mollusc.
Have them naked (the oysters, silly, not you), baby or big, grilled or thermidor-d, native or pacific, mixed, matched and paired with creamy pints of the black stuff. However you eat yours, there is simply no better oyster palace in Ireland than this. Chase them with a classic and excellent fish and chips, steamed local mussels or warm and buttery crab claws. Fishy heaven; pearly paradise.
Wa Sushi, Galway city, wacafe.net
Paddy Phillips may hail from Clare, but during his time working with Yoshimi Hayakawa, the owner of Wa on Dock Street in Galway city, he has immersed himself in the cusine of her native Japan. You can drop in for a quick lunch or linger over superbly-fresh sushi, but the best way to fully appreciate what Hayakawa and Phillips have to offer is to try the omakase menu. Translating as “I leave it up to you”, the word essentially means that the chef will feed you what’s good that day.
In Wa, that might include a steamed egg custard of Aran Island crab, sea beet and Goatsbridge trout caviar, or a piece of Clare Island salmon that’s brushed with a soy sauce reduction, infused with smoked bonito flakes and kombu seaweed, then blowtorched by Phillips before he hands it over.
Sage, Westport, Co Mayo, sagewestport.ie
At Sage, the dining room is always buzzing with regulars and blow-ins primed to mingle over perfect plates of seasonal delights. The specials board always hits a home run - think barbecue salmon and crab ravioli, or lemon sole with crayfish tails - alongside a la carte goodies like lamb and aubergine roulade with pulled lamb and mint croquettes.
Dinner is astoundingly good value given the quality of cooking and provenance on the menus. There’s always a cheeky palate cleanser and a petit four course which includes the legendary Sage house schnapps. If you’re visiting Westport, dinner here is a must-do.
Blackrock Cottage, Salthill, Galway, blackrockcottage.ie
Blackrock Cottage is an all day delight, from the crispy wild mushroom shawarma on the breakfast menu, to the grilled brown butter plaice with smoked potatoes and Jerusalem artichoke on the dinner selection.
Its location - a renovated and extended stone cottage bracingly close to the ocean - attracts plenty of attention, but it’s the consistently good food and great service that brings back locals and visitors alike.
The Fisherman’s Pub and Ranji Room, Ballynahinch Castle, Recess, Co Galway, ballynahinch-castle.com
Some might be surprised at our choice of the more casual dining option at Ballynahinch Castle - the Fisherman’s Pub - over the higher-end Owenmore restaurant. Don’t get us wrong; the Owenmore, with its beautiful river views, is a delight. But there’s just something about this pub that we can’t pass.
Is it the cosiness? The open fires? The gloriously creamy pints? Well, yes. But it’s also about a menu that is packed with the kind of dishes we would crawl over hot coals to eat - an Andarl Farm pork chop with mash, Ballinakill Bay oysters with a Micil poitin mignonette, a caramelised brown bread ice cream sundae.
Danni Barry, Ballynahinch’s head chef, is a flavour machine, and to eat her food in this room after a day spent exploring Connemara is a true pleasure.
The George V at Ashford Castle, Cong, Co Mayo, ashfordcastle.com
The presence of full vegetarian and vegan menus - both tasting and table d’hote - on the selection offered in the George V might be a surprise to some. This, after all, is one of the most traditional dining rooms in the country, located as it is in this storied resort in Cong.
But it’s an indication of the outward-looking attitude of the kitchen team, lead by executive head chef Liam Finnegan, and the management of this historic estate, who recognise that preserving it in aspic is not an option.
Carnivores will find 28-day dry-aged beef and Thornhill duck on Finnegan’s menu, along with superb local fish and seafood, and he makes maximum use of the produce grown by gardener Alex Lavarde in the estate’s kitchen garden. Sommelier Paul Fogerty will guide you through the world-class wine list, while service is overseen by Bobby Bowe, one of the true stars of Irish hospitality.
Daróg, Galway city, darogwinebar.com
“An engaging, dedicated man who is clearly so passionate about the wine list he has curated here”; not our words, but those of the Michelin inspectors, who named Zsolt Lukács of Daróg the sommelier of the year in February. All of them are true, but the wine isn’t the only attraction at this gorgeous spot run by Lukács and his wife Edel. The food, by Attila Galambos, is a joy, and the service is note perfect.
Kai, Galway city, kairestaurant.ie
Jess Murphy has been right all along. Her cooking is consistently ahead of the curve, leaving all necessary flash off the plate and serving perfectly understated food that is nothing short of pure pleasure.
Eating in Kai feels at times holistic, because the level of consideration within the food is second to none, Murphy’s approach to seasonality and sustainability has won her the one and only Michelin green star in the country, and yet, it’s always fun and approachable.
Fermented Buckfast hot sauces and throwback plates of ploughman’s lunch leave the preaching at the door, while a heaping counter of the most beautiful cakes and bakes implore you to stay a while longer. Lunch is more casual than dinner, and we heartily recommend trying both.
The Pullman at Glenlo Abbey, Galway, glenloabbeyhotel.ie
Greek native Angelo Vagiotis worked in Noma in Copenhagen and Manresa in California before moving to Ireland to take up a role with Vincent Crepel in Terre in Castlemartyr. Now he’s in Galway, leading the small team responsible for elevating the food experience at The Pullmann, the restaurant located in two former Orient Express carriages on the grounds of the Glenlo Abbey hotel, just outside Galway city.
The owners of the property have invested significantly in this unique dining space, spending €2 million on refurbishing the carriages themselves, and building a full kitchen alongside.
The latter has allowed Vagiotis to introduce a tasting menu that includes elegant dishes like Goatsbridge trout with beetroot and horseradish, and Burren venison with preserved berries and a kampot pepper sauce.
Aniar, Galway city, aniarrestaurant.ie
Author, conference organiser, educator, chef - JP McMahon never sits still, and his most recent initiative reflects his commitment to the spreading of the Irish food story down the generations. Under his young diners initiative, McMahon is this month offering a free 12-course tasting menu at Aniar, his Michelin-starred restaurant in Galway city, to kids aged from seven to 15 when dining with an adult.
The food continues to explore the best of the Irish larder in sometimes challenging, but always intriguing ways, while a juice pairing leans into ingredients like meadowsweet, rosehip and beetroot. Thirteen years after first winning a Michelin star, Aniar continues to evolve and surprise.