Galway Food Festival is on this weekend, and I was lucky enough to be invited to preview some of the pubs, restaurants and cafés involved in this weekend's festivities. Me and my mum stayed in Hotel Meyrick for the night, which is a gorgeous 4 star hotel with an even more gorgeous outdoor hot tub - heaven. We enjoyed the beautiful views of Galway as we relaxed in the sunshine.
It was time for our first stop - Aniar. I've heard rave reviews about Aniar and was delighted to meet JP McMahon. All of the tasters here were something else, really special and definitely a different experience! The meat eaters had ox tongue, smoked hay mousse with ants (yes, the insect), and cheese custard tarts. The vegetarians of the group (including me) enjoyed the cheese custard tarts, which were topped with fermented yeast and were absolutely delicious, smoked hay mousse with crystallised fennel (minus the ants!) and a mushroom crispbread topped with dehydrated carrots. All of the dishes were so interesting and very tasty.
It was on to our next stop - McCambridge's. If you've ever been to Galway you'll probably have heard of - or been into - McCambridge's. It's an amazing shop that stocks so many beautiful, local and handcrafted treats - they even sell a bottle of whiskey that costs €11,000! We were invited to sample some Green Spot whiskey, apple Brandy, Aran Island goat cheese and some gorgeous dark chocolate from Hazel Mountain, a company in Burren who make bean-to-bar chocolate. Divine.
We made our way to Bunch of Grapes pub to, ahem, cleanse our palate - in other words, it was time for another drink! I just had a vodka and white lemonade but others in the group had gin as the Gin Festival was in Galway, it would've been rude not to ;-)
Next on the menu was Kappa-Ya, a sushi place I've heard great things about from vegetarians and fish eaters alike. It did not disappoint - the chef offered to make some vegetarian sushi rolls and miso soup for us veggies. I love sushi, and this one was so fresh and tasty. The others had various types of fish sushi. Dessert was cherry blossom and Camembert ice cream - yep, cheesy ice cream! Two of my favourite things in one - and it was actually incredible. We also sampled 3 different types of Sake.
From there, we got a taxi to The G Hotel, and it was magical. We were greeted by Suzanne and some of her staff all wielding bright pink umbrellas - I felt like I was in a movie! The G Hotel is something else, it's like stepping into a mermaid's home. The G Hotel was designed by Philip Treacy with the sea in mind, and this is reflected through the scale decal on the wall, the shell shaped chairs and door handles, and the overall feel of the hotel. Just beautiful. We ate our meal in Restaurant Gigi's, the hotel's eatery. To start, we ate delicious bread with red pepper hummus, and for mains I was served gnocchi with deep fried Brie which was honestly heaven on a plate. I've never had gnocchi that was rectangular shaped before! Everyone else had a lamb dish and we all left with happy faces and happy tummies. I would love to stay in The G Hotel in the future, it's just gorgeous.
Next, we were dropped at a secret location. We headed up the stairs which were surrounded by castles, and into a candlelit, atmospheric room - a speakeasy! We were treated to cocktails made with Micil Poitín, which was delicious, and we were given a very interesting talk about the drink.
Our last stop of Friday night was back to the Meyrick for Prosecco and cake - what better way to end the night? We went to bed with full bellies and big smiles on our faces, anticipating the next day.
We awoke bright and early next morning to have a lovely breakfast in the Meyrick. You could choose from porridge with walnuts and honey, smoked salmon, eggs, fresh fruit salad, pastries, fruit and a traditional fry up, as well as fabulous scones. After a light breakfast we headed to the House Hotel to meet the rest of the gang to start the day. The House Hotel is another place I'd love to stay in, it looks so quirky and cool and I love the sound of their Afternoon Tea. One day!
Every good day must start with coffee, so we headed to Coffeewerk & Press for a pick-me-up. The coffee there is delicious and I love their little shop and printed cups. We hopped on a bus to Spiddal which is just gorgeous - it reminds me of Strandhill but a bit more serene. We headed to Builín Blasta, a café owned by Heather Flaherty. Heather seems so passionate about cooking and real food made from real ingredients. She told us about the various vegetarian and vegan options she has in the café - I must go back! Some of the other food writers/bloggers had a go at hand rolling baguettes, and then it was time for the hot, fresh cinnamon rolls Heather had made. We enjoyed them with plenty of fresh cream and they were just melt in the mouth divine.
We headed back into Galway for the market, where Sheena of Galway Food Tours talked us through the various stalls. We tried vegan sushi, vegan curry, the most delicious fresh handmade doughnut, and the others tried fresh oysters. It truly was a taste of Galway!
After that, we were parched ;-) so it was off to Tigh Neachtain’s, one of Galway's oldest pubs, to try some drinks. We sampled Galway Hooker and an almond milk stout called Cosmic Cow which was amazing, unfortunately the people who make it are 'gypsy brewers' so they travel around meaning their brews are only available exclusively in certain places.
Our final stop was Tomodachi Sushi Bar. They have a sushi conveyor belt which is really cool, and traditional Zabuton seating cushions. I was given a whole platter of vegetarian sushi for myself. The sushi included tofu and avocado and was amazing, I love sushi and could eat it all day. We also sampled some traditional teas and algae salad which was beautiful! Everyone really enjoyed the sushi and we agreed it was the perfect end to the weekend.
From sampling just a handful of the different places involved in Galway's Food Festival I can undoubtedly say there's something for everyone, and Galway certainly knows how to do food and give a warm welcome! I'm heading up there again on Friday to check out some of the festival so I'm very excited to see what else is on offer.
A massive thank you to Gwen, Sheena, Aoife, Heather and all of the team who made this happen, and to the wonderful cafés, pubs, restaurants and of course the Meyrick, who were so welcoming and accommodating!
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