THINGS TO DO
Recommended Restaurants
La Strada | Italian, Pizza
59 Parnell Street | 065 684 8708 | https://lastradarestaurantennis.business.site
Not your ordinary Italian for, alongside the usual pasta and pizza dishes, the menu includes such gems as their Cajun Salmon. Also Ennis’s only ‘bring your own wine’ restaurant. Takeout and delivery service with Just-Eat (www.just-eat.ie)
Lana | Asian Street Food
Unit 3 Gort Road Shopping Centre | 065 679 7373 | https://lanathai.ie/restaurants/ennis-gort-road/
Out-of-town eatery only five minutes in the car from Ardilaun. Great value and wide selection of Asian dishes with tastes, colours and aromas to match. Takeout and delivery service with Just-Eat (www.just-eat.ie). Also at 59 O’Connell Street in town centre.
Red Onion | Indian, Thai
Although Red Onion’s two chefs, Ram and Prem, come from different culinary traditions, they both worked in award-winning restaurants before joining forces. The result is the unusual concept of serving up both Thai and Indian dishes that are a cut above the rest. Takeout and delivery service with Just-Eat (www.just-eat.ie).
Henrys Bistro & Wine Bar | Irish, European
Upper Market Street | 065 689 9393 | www.henrysbistroandwinebar.ie
A stylish, some would say up-market, restaurant in the town centre with an excellent reputation locally.Known for the quality of what it calls its ‘progressive modern Irish cooking’ using local produce.
Coco | Chinese, Asian
5 Barrack Street | 065 686 8188 | www.cocorestaurant.ie
Combining traditional Chinese cuisine with innovative European fusion dishes, Coco offers a superb oriental culinary experience. Catch the Early Bird menu between 4pm and 7pm or, better still, the fixed price, eat-as-much-as-you-like buffet lunch on Sundays. Takeout menu available.
Town Hall Bistro | Steakhouse, Cafe
O’Connell Street | 065 682 8127 | www.oldgroundhotelennis.com/town-hall-bistro.html
Located in what was formerly Ennis’s Town Hall, with a backdrop of original art, the Town Hall Bistro creatively reinvents traditional dishes using locally sourced ingredients. Early Bird menu from 6pm.
Recommended Pubs with food
Brogans
24 O’Connell Street | 065 684 4365 |
Brogans is one of Ennis’ oldest family-run pubs, its extensive range of traditional pub grub a cut above the norm ... and at prices that won’t break the bank. Lunch menu is superb value Great drinks selection and traditional Irish music sessions.
Knox’s Bar & Storehouse Restaurant
18 Abbey Street | 065 682 2871 www.knoxs.ie
Though originally a pub when built in 1864, Knox’s went through several incarnations before becoming a pub again in the mid-1990s. Now a local institution, Knox’s combines an excellent first-floor restaurant with a vibrant ground-floor pub where you can also eat and tap along to traditional Irish music.
The Market Bar and Restaurant
Merchant’s Square | 065 684 9935 | www.themarketbarennis.com
Tucked away between two of the ‘bow-ways’ that link Parnell Street and Upper Market Street, the Market Bar serves food all day long, including breakfast; some would say it’s the best full Irish in Ennis. Also gained a bit of a reputation for the range and quality of its cocktails.
Recommended Bars
Mickey Kearn’s Bar
Lifford Road | 065 682 0582
Almost the closest ‘town’ pub to Ardilaun, just opposite the Law Courts. No frills bar that caters for both the lunchtime legal clientele from across the road and the locals in the evening. The sort of place where someone will produce a fiddle and set the ball rolling for an old-fashioned knees-up.
Kenn’ys Bar
Carmody Street / Drumbiggle Road
Within living memory in Ennis there were several pubs that doubled as grocery shops ... milk and corn flakes at the front, Guinness and whiskey around the back. Kenny’s Bar is the town’s sole survivor of this tradition, a real step back in time with the cheapest Guinness in Ennis and probably the best too.
Paddy Quinn’s Bar
36 Upper Market Street | 065 682 8148
A traditional Irish pub that also has a modern ambience. A cracking place for a bit of the craic, a place where the regulars are happy to embrace the fresh face. A TV-less space where you can hear yourself talk as well as think.
Clare Eateries
Bofey Quinn’s
Main Street, Corofin | 065 683 7321 | www.bofeyquinns.weebly.com
A family-run bar and restaurant serving traditional Irish dishes in a relaxed and friendly environment. Traditional Irish music sessions are a regular evening addition to the ambience.
Crotty’s Bar
The Square, Kilrush | 065 905 2470 | www.crottyspubkilrush.com
Founded by renowned concertinist, Elizabeth Crotty, this is an authentic, traditional Irish pub offering great food and drink and the best in Irish music, carrying on the traditions of Elizabeth Crotty.
Fanny O’Dea’s Pub
Kilrush Road, Lissycasey | 065 683 4143 | www.facebook.com/fannyodeas/
One of Ireland’s oldest family-run pubs, famous for its 200-year-old, secret family recipe for egg flips (made with whiskey, brandy or Baileys) ... as well as its element-proof beer garden and food.
Gus O’Connor’s Pub
Fisher Street, Doolin | 065 707 4168 | www.gusoconnorsdoolin.com
Established in 1832 as a tiny pub holding no more that 20 customers, Gus O’Connor’s has blossomed into one of Ireland]’s best kept secrets, a welcoming pub with great Irish food and traditional music sessions.
Monks
The Pier, Ballyvaughan | 065 707 7059 | www.monks.ie
Originally a bar, grocery and drop-off point for boats to and from Galway and the Aran Islands, Monks now marries the old and new in a restaurant with the emphasis on the sea’s varied bounty.
Pepper’s Bar & Restaurant
Feakle | 061 924 322 | www.peppersoffeakle.com/index.html
Established in 1810 and famous for its traditional music and song, Pepper’s of Feakle serves food all day and has a reputation not only for the quality of its home cooking but also its affordable prices.
Tasty Station Restaurant
Church Street, Lahinch | 086 235 4462 | www.tastystation.ie
A family-run business owned by a Polish couple who offer homemade food that fuses traditional Irish cuisine with the subtle flavours of eastern Europe ... including cakes and desserts baked in-house daily.
The Long Dock
West Street, Carrigaholt | 065 905 8106 | www.thelongdock.com
Award-winning eatery famed for its fresh seafood; their renowned chowder is packed with mussels from the mouth of the Shannon and the best of local fish. All this and traditional Irish music too.
The Old Bakehouse Restaurant
Main Street, Miltown Malbay | 065 708 4350 | www.theoldbakehouse.ie
Unpretentious, culinary creativity and locally-sourced produce, with an emphasis on seafood, are the key ingredients, an informal and buzzy atmosphere the result. Craft beers breed on site an optional extra.
The Roadside Tavern
Kincora Road, Lisdoonvarna | 089 981 6801 | www.roadsidetavern.ie/roadside/
The award-winning food menu, with several smoked salmon dishes pride of place, is complemented by a variety of wines and whiskeys and stouts, ales and lagers, three of which are brewed under the same roof.
