22 Best Restaurants in The Southwest, Ireland

Bringing his classical training to County Limerick, critically acclaimed chef Wade Murphy opened 1826 Adare with his wife, Elaine, in 2013. Since then, his elegant comfort food has been in high demand, served in a pretty thatched cottage with whitewashed walls and cozy decor. Menus change with the seasons and are filled with the best ingredients from Ireland’s top farmers and producers. Wade’s 12-hour treacle braised beef short rib with Roscoff onions and Boulangere potatoes is one of his most popular dishes, though you’ll find delicious and creative seafood and vegetable dishes too, all accompanied by a great drinks offering.

Host Jim McCarthy is often found in the early evening leaning over the red half door of this low, cabinlike stone building. The atmosphere is pleasantly informal (nautical artifacts complement the rusty-red walls and matching tablecloths), but both food and service are polished and professional. Top choices include pan-roasted monkfish with chana masala, toasted almonds, mango and red onion salsa or rack of Kerry mountain lamb. Finish the meal with a selection of Irish cheeses, served with a glass of port, or choose from a range of homemade desserts.

Previously a pub, the wood-clad restaurant is intimate and contemporary chic with brown leather seats at small wooden tables, and a menu starring fresh Irish produce and Asian influence. Start with sushi and sashimi, or wild-mushroom pearl-barley risotto with aged Parmesan, and follow with roast halibut with mussel, bacon, and clam cream or veal cheek ravioli. The food is plated with flamboyance and highly Instagrammable. Chef Bruce Mulcahy runs a tight ship, and many people in the know reckon he is one of Ireland's most talented chefs.

Innovative, exciting, and original, No. 35 is a laid-back little restaurant with big ambition. Proprietor Dermot Brennan is a pig breeder of note, whose rare-breed free-range pedigree saddlebacks are the stars of Tony Schwartz’s menu, which is spangled with the best of Irish ingredients. Pork collar, Stonewell Cider--braised cabbage, apple purée, and a savory pickled mustard jus might follow a starter of Dingle Gin--cured Goatsbridge trout with coriander, lime, and apple or maybe a vegetable dish of wild and cultivated mushroom lasagna with St. Tola goats’ curd.

Every fishing port should have a simple waterfront bistro like this one, serving the best seafood (the owner won't open up if there's no fresh-caught seafood available—which is almost never). Lobster, scallops, and crayfish are specialties, but also expect turbot, black sole, plaice, brill, monkfish, and even the humble pollack on the daily blackboard menu of this unpretentious shack. There's a short but well-chosen wine list, and basic dessert selection.

It's not just the food that's made this restaurant the most popular in town: guests also like to drink in the views of King John's Castle (particularly when lit up in the evening) from under the heated terrace over sea bass served with crab beignets, salsa verde, and baby potatoes. Scampi comes with big planks of chips and lemon sole arrives in a bed of leek and onion. Burgers, steaks, and vegetarian option are aplenty on the menu, along with a good selection of beers on draft. Before or after dining, wander around the corner to see the Treaty Stone, the site where the Williamite-Jacobite war ended.

Chef Derek Fitzpatrick creates a refined and concise menu from local ingredients that have been foraged, or grown by local artisanal suppliers or on the restaurant's rooftop garden. There's a choice between an evening tasting menu (sensibly priced at €60 given the options) with six courses that could include scallops, beef, or fresh catch. Top-notch à la carte menu choices include venison loin with maple squash, spiced lentils and sausage, or wild halibut with crubbeen chorizo, peas, and mussel sauce. The setting is full-on white linen in one of Ireland's finest country mansions, with views through sash windows across the wooded countryside or over the tumbling waters of the Shannon. Allow time to view the Visual Art Collection at Plassey House, which includes the works of Jack B. Yeats and Paul Henry.

The dramatic location of this simple bar on the windswept waterfront of the tiny fishing village of Portmagee has led the Bridge to feature in ads as "the quintessential Irish pub." A simple menu with the emphasis on local seafood, fish-and-chips, and lamb is served in the low-beamed bar's rustic pine interior. From May to September the pretty, adjoining Moorings restaurant serves a more ambitious, pricier menu most evenings. There are also 17 rooms overhead and an ace craft shop next door, as well as set dancing every Tuesday and Friday evening during summer and live music on weekends.

Call to confirm availability of bar food between October and April, as the kitchen closes some days during the off-season, depending on how many visitors are around.

Located in a former church, 10 Bridge Street is a spacious and atmospheric restaurant and wine bar with beautiful stained-glass windows illuminating the room. The menu is split into nibbles, small plates, and larger portion sizes and features quality Irish produce like hake, braised beef, and Glenbeigh mussels---and mixes contemporary regulars such as skewers with old Irish favorites like colcannon or Guinness bread. An exciting wine offering includes stars from lesser-known Spanish varietals.

This pub has been sitting here since it opened in 1849 as a drapery with a liquor license, and its history over the years has included its location as the unofficial base for the cast of Ryan's Daughter, which filmed in the town in 1968. In fact, it was for this crew that Ashe's first started serving food, and while the bar has expanded to accommodate more visitors with two additional cozy, no-frills rooms, the fare served on the plain wooden tables remains the freshest seafood, cooked to order, and a small selection of meat and vegetarian dishes---all hearty and good. Reservations are advised.

Candles and an open fire cast a warm light on Persian-style rugs and dark red walls hung with antique engravings of Killarney at this cozy little eatery set above a ground-floor craft emporium on the main street, while simple country-style wooden tables and stick-back chairs are set within "snug" areas created by stained-glass panels. The good-value menu features boxty (Irish potato pancake) with a choice of fillings, including vegetarian. Other options include baked salmon stuffed with crabmeat, char-grilled beef fillet, and roast rack of lamb. And, in the unlikely event you didn't hit a craft shop in Killarney, you can browse the shelves before making your way to the restaurant.

Paul William's smart, low-key restaurant in a pretty part of Georgian Limerick is all about good food, sustainability, and coffee. Flahavan's porridge with organic yogurt and fruit, organic eggs, and locally sourced onion sausage and bagels feature in the breakfast menu, while wraps, salads, freshly made soups, and vegetarian dishes are some of the other options available. 

An open fire, stone walls, and a minstrel's gallery above the main room lend considerable character to this restaurant, while the chef--owner’s imaginative ways with local produce result in memorable fare. Built in 1823 as a schoolhouse, it is located in its own leafy gardens near the Park Hotel (where many of its staff trained). The food is elegantly plated and served on plain wooden tables set with white Irish-linen napkins. In the long summer evenings light streams in from tall windows. Try one of the creative vegetarian options, such as goat's cheese croquettes with beetroot chutney, or roast rack of Kerry lamb, with warm crepes with vanilla ice cream and butterscotch sauce to finish. 

Whether you buy from the deli or restaurant, the focus here is freshness---as in cut out the middle man and go straight to the table. All dishes have been sourced locally and whipped up on the premises from scratch, displaying the culinary legacy that's lasted over 60 years. 

One of Ireland's more unusual culinary success stories, Murphy's has won international awards for its delightfully creamy ice cream, including flavors like Dingle sea salt and Irish brown bread. Grab a scoop or two at this flagship parlor.

Cutting the supply chain to the minimum, Quinlan’s fleet of vessels transports its catch from ocean to plate on the same day. The cod, squid, and scampi are fresh and cooked to order with light panfry options. Exposed brick premises and wine-barrel tables set the casual tone.

A fishmongers, deli, and seafood café all rolled into one, Spa Seafoods is a short trip out of town, on the road to Fenit. One of the area's best restaurants, it's a casual, buzzy spot with a thriving deli and fish shop and a restaurant upstairs. Daily specials are determined by the local catch, but you'll always find excellent seafood chowder, fish cakes, fish pie, and fish and chips, alongside a great little wine list.

This busy Victorian-style pub (with guest rooms) was once the coaching inn for the national network of horse-drawn coaches known as Bianconis; today, it serves local seafood and traditional Irish food. Its dark-wood interior has a rambling barroom with a tile floor, leatherette banquettes, and ancient stuffed animals above the booths. The menu includes such favorites as Dingle Bay prawns, local oak-smoked salmon, a steaming pot of garlic mussels in white wine broth, and braised shank of Kerry lamb.

Advance booking is advisable in summer and on weekends.

This eatery is very popular, with a predominantly local clientele, so book ahead or arrive early before the queues. Sensible pricing, fresh organic food, and a social buzz come with good service and a quick turnover of guests. The all-day weekend brunch is particularly popular; the wording and presentation may be fancy, but the old-fashioned full Irish breakfast is there, along with trendier choices, and freshly squeezed orange juice and strong coffee.

The Buttery café was once known as The Independent Chapel, and on November 21, 1845, Frederick Douglass, the famous African American statesman, civil rights campaigner, and social reformer, delivered a stirring antislavery talk to rapturous applause from a large audience at the end of a visit to Ireland.

If you like good, old-fashioned country service from a bygone era, with a tried and tested traditional menu that pleases guests across the generational divide, the Maigue Restaurant fits the bill. It offers some of the finest local ingredients in a short but crowd-pleasing menu. Rib of beef, a speciality, arrives on its own time upon a trolley (of course!) for carving, along with other local favorites such as in-season game, like pheasant or wild salmon. Similar to its home setting in the Dunraven Arms Hotel, the Maigue is stuffed with antiques and other paraphernalia and has retained the very essence of a provincial village inn.  

Owner Aileen d'Arcy named her restaurant after her grandfather, one of County Kerry's most famous sons, the Antarctic explorer Tom Crean. His backstory sets the scene in this simple blue-plastered pub---with memorabilia aplenty. The menu uses local produce, with an emphasis on vegan options as well as local seafood. Top bets include Sneem black pudding with apple and tomato chutney, baked in phyllo pastry, and local duck breast, panfried and served with roasted root vegetables and Puy lentils, or Sneem lobster, grilled or poached. Known for her warm welcome, Aileen learned her trade at Kenmare's famed Park Hotel and shares the chef duties with her two sons. Ask them about their attempt to follow in Tom Crean's footsteps in the Antarctic: it's a great story. Check out the brewery tour if time permits and there are four simple rooms above the restaurant that can be booked for B&B.

Step behind the Victorian arched facade here and you'll discover a buzzing contemporary restaurant, masterminded by the two Treyvaud brothers (one a popular TV chef), that features classic Irish dishes (e.g., fish cakes, sausages, or bacon and cabbage) with a continental twist. The interior is simple—pine floorboards, wood-beam ceiling, lines of red-back chairs—so the food takes center stage. To start try the local smoked salmon, or deep-fried calamari. Follow with bacon and cabbage Treyvaud-style (smoked loin with buttered cabbage and whole-grain mustard sauce), or half a roast guinea fowl with wild forest mushrooms, or the renowned homemade fish cakes with whole-grain mustard, chives, and garlic aioli.