Food and Drink in Ireland: A Traveler's Guide to Eating Well

Signature dishes to try

Irish food is hearty, comforting and built around superb dairy, seafood and lamb. Start with these classics:

• Irish stew - lamb or mutton slow-cooked with potatoes, onions and carrots.
• Coddle - a Dublin favourite of sausages, bacon, potatoes and onions simmered together.
• Boxty - a potato pancake from the northern midlands, served fried or with fillings.
• Bacon and cabbage - the everyday Sunday dinner long before corned beef.
• Seafood chowder - thick, creamy and packed with mussels, salmon and smoked haddock, best on the Atlantic coast.

Don't miss soda bread, made with buttermilk and bicarbonate of soda, and slathered with Irish butter.

Street food and casual bites

Markets are the best place to graze. The English Market in Cork and Galway's Saturday market are institutions. Look for:

• A breakfast roll - sausage, bacon, egg and pudding stuffed into a baguette, the fuel of the nation.
• Fish and chips - try fresh cod or ray; Leo Burdock in Dublin is a long-standing name.
• Spice bag - chips, fried chicken, peppers and Chinese five-spice; a modern Irish takeaway icon.
• Drisheen and white pudding at Cork's market for the adventurous.

Drinks worth ordering

• Guinness - a proper pour takes about two minutes with a settle and top-up. It genuinely tastes better in Ireland.
• Irish whiskey - try Jameson, Redbreast or a Teeling from the Dublin distillery.
• Irish craft beer - O'Hara's, Galway Bay and Kinnegar are widely poured.
• Tea - Barry's or Lyons, taken strong with milk. Expect to be offered a cup everywhere.
• Irish coffee - whiskey, hot coffee, sugar and cream, invented at Foynes.

Practical dining tips and etiquette

• A main course in a pub runs roughly 15 to 22 euro; a pint is about 6 to 7 euro in Dublin, less in the countryside.
• Tipping is around 10 to 15 percent in restaurants for table service. Tipping is not expected at the bar.
• Order and pay at the bar in many pubs; there is rarely table service for drinks.
• A round system is sacred - if you are in a group, take your turn buying drinks.
• Pubs often stop serving food by 9pm even if drinks continue, so eat early.
• Sunday roast and traditional music sessions are best booked or arrived at early.

Stay connected in Ireland

A HelloSIM eSIM keeps you online for maps, menu translation and table bookings with no roaming fees the moment you land. Activate before you fly and you are connected at the airport.