Galway - Ireland 2014 - page 449

Kirwan's Lane Restaurant & Seafood Bar is considered Galway's best dining ex-
perience. The seafood bar downstairs and the restaurant up top have the same hours. Both
are dressy places where reservations are required (€16-22 lunches, €24-30 dinners, daily
12:30-14:30 & 18:00-22:00, no lunch on Sun, on Kirwan's Lane a block from Jurys Inn,
tel. [phone], http://kirwanslane.com ).
Busker Brownes, with three eateries in one sprawling block, is popular for its good,
cheap food. Enter on Cross Street for the restaurant and walk to the back for better seating,
or enter on Kirwan's Lane for the ground-floor pub; the third section is upstairs from the
pub (€11-22 meals, daily 10:30-21:30, cleanse your palate with jazz sessions Sun at 12:00
and Mon at 21:30, Cross Street and Kirwan's Lane, tel. [phone]).
McDonagh's Fish-and-Chips isafavoriteamongresidents.Ithasafast,cheap,all-day
section and a classier dinner-only restaurant. If you're determined to try Galway oysters,
remember that they're in season from September through April only. At other times, you'll
eat Pacific oysters—go figure (€12 lunch, €15-25 in restaurant, €20 two-course early-bird
special served 17:00-18:45; chipper open Mon-Sat 12:00-22:00, Sun 16:00-22:00; restaur-
ant open Mon-Sat 17:00-22:00, closed Sun; 22 Quay Street, tel. [phone]).
Nimmo's Wine Bar Bistro and Ard Bia Café peacefully coexist in an old stone ware-
house behind the Spanish Arch. The upstairs is a mellow hangout with great cheese plat-
ters and wine. The candlelit ambience is great any night, even for a cup of coffee (€15-24
meals, café lunches Tue-Sat 10:30-15:30, wine-bar dinners Tue-Sun 18:00-21:30, closed
Mon, Long Walk Street, tel. [phone] or 091/539-897).
Near Eyre Square
(See “Galway” map, here .)
Elwood's Grill, conveniently located next door to the TI, is closest to my College Road
B&B listings. Its friendly modern pub (up front) serves better than average pub fare, while
the restaurant out back offers relaxing dinners (€11-16 lunches, €18-24 dinners, daily
12:00-22:30, Forster Street, tel. [phone]).
McSwiggan's, with a downstairs pub and upstairs restaurant, is a maze of wooden
stairways, brick walls, and hidden alcoves, serving hearty traditional Irish meals (€12-18
lunches, €17-25 dinners, daily 12:00-22:30, Eyre Street, tel. [phone]).
The Galway Bakery Company (GBC) is a popular, basic place for a quick Irish meal
(€12-17 meals in ground-floor cafeteria, pricier restaurant upstairs, daily 12:00-21:00, 7
Williams Gate, near Eyre Square, tel. [phone]).
Supermarket: You can get to Dunnes through the Eyre Square Shopping Centre
or around the corner at tiny Castle Street, off the pedestrian Williams Gate (Mon-Sat