{"id":104102,"date":"2025-10-05T14:48:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-05T14:48:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/104102\/"},"modified":"2025-10-05T14:48:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-05T14:48:11","slug":"the-best-places-to-eat-and-drink-in-clare-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/104102\/","title":{"rendered":"The best places to eat and drink in Clare \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every October, while Alpine farmers bring their cows down the mountain for winter, the Burren<\/a> does the opposite. Here, cattle are marched up the hills \u2013 an annual reversal that sounds like madness but makes perfect sense once you\u2019ve stood on the limestone. What looks like bare rock is in fact 720 square kilometres of karst, porous enough to drain in minutes, warm enough to hold summer heat. In winter, frost sweetens the wiry grasses, springs bubble back to life, and the cows, apparently satisfied with the arrangement, settle in.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s this unlikely system \u2013 officially recognised in 2019 as part of Ireland\u2019s Intangible Cultural Heritage \u2013 that the Burren gathers to celebrate each October with The Winterage Weekend. On Sunday, October 26th, Frank McCormack, a local farmer, will lead his herd through the stone-walled passes, trailed by hundreds of walkers in the annual cattle drive. Around it, farm walks, Burren beef burgers from food trucks and the Burren Food Fayre make a festival of the region\u2019s produce, from Linnalla ice cream to Burren Blossom honey.<\/p>\n

The beef, raised on winter pasture and fattened on limestone grass, ends up on the \u20ac125 tasting menu at Homestead Cottage<\/a> \u2013 a 200-year-old thatched house outside Doolin where Robbie McCauley and his French wife Sophie have turned low beams and turf smoke into Michelin-star dining. They opened in 2021; by 2023 the inspectors had already found their way up the boreen and handed over a star.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0\u2018It is a bit scary\u2019: How the couple behind Homestead Cottage won a Michelin starOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

The food is rooted in place \u2013 Flaggy Shore oysters on the half-shell, mackerel cured with blackcurrant and horseradish, Liscannor crab brightened with radish and buttermilk. Burren beef \u2013 Angus, Hereford and Shorthorn \u2013 is dry-aged on site for up to three weeks. McCauley favours these slower-growing breeds for their marbling and flavour, and says they taste of the Burren itself \u2013 deeper, more complex than the high-yield crosses that dominate Irish beef. Vegetables and fruit come from the restaurant\u2019s three-acre garden, closing the loop from limestone pasture to plate.<\/p>\n

At Gregans Castle<\/a>, in a beautiful diningroom that looks out on to the Burren, head chef Jonathan Farrell offers a \u20ac110 five-course menu with plenty of choice. Mackerel tartare is brightened with fermented gooseberry, scallops arrive with beets and blackcurrants, and chicken thighs are pressed into a sauce supreme that could have come straight from Escoffier\u2019s notebook. The Thornhill duck is a staple, dressed differently each season, and anything the gardeners can\u2019t get on to a plate in time is pickled or preserved.<\/p>\n

From the manicured gardens of Gregans it\u2019s only a short hop to Lisdoonvarna, where Birgitta Hedin-Curtin<\/a>\u2019s Burren Smokehouse<\/a> offers tours that end in a tasting of their distinctive smoked salmon. Along the same stretch, her husband, Peter, brews on a tiny commercial scale at the Roadside Tavern \u2013 Burren Gold, Amber, Black and the wild-yeast Euphoria, a gruit beer made without hops. Order the lamb stew with a pint of Burren Black and you will be set up for the day.<\/p>\n

Once you\u2019ve had your fill in Lisdoonvarna<\/a>, the coast isn\u2019t far. At New Pier, boats land lobsters straight to Linnane\u2019s Lobster Bar, run by Conor Graham and Mark Commins, where they head straight to the kitchen. The menu stretches from their own Flaggy Shore oysters to seafood platters, but the real highlight might be the Flaggy Shore Oyster Experience (\u20ac55) \u2013 a 90-minute immersion in oyster bays, seaweeds and marine life that ends with a shucking lesson and oysters washed down with wine.<\/p>\n

Clare stretches the season further than Kerry<\/a>, west Cork<\/a> or Connemara <\/a>\u2013 Linnane\u2019s and Homestead Cottage stay open year-round, and Gregans Castle shuts only for a couple of months from late November. North Clare has its destination restaurants and a touch of luxury at Gregans, but more and more it is somewhere people come simply to switch off.<\/p>\n

For those who like their escape absolute, Summerage, Aoibheann McNamara\u2019s Burren retreat, dispenses with wifi and street lights altogether. Cattle graze her 32 acres through winterage while an orchard, vegetable garden and greenhouse keep her Galway restaurant, Ard Bia, in produce. The idea is to rest with the rhythms of the land \u2013 though the absence of a signal may be what convinces you most quickly that you\u2019ve really left the world behind.<\/p>\n

\"LisaLisa Shannon bringing her herd of cattle up the mountain to at the Burren Winterage Cattle Drive. Photograph: Eamon Ward \"RobbieRobbie McCauley, head chef of Homestead Cottage in Doolin. Photograph: Brian Arthur \"RogerRoger and Brid Fahy at Linnalla Ice Cream, New Quay, Co Clare. Photograph by Eamon Ward \"Linnane’sLinnane\u2019s Lobster Bar in Co Clare \"SinéadSin\u00e9ad N\u00ed Gh\u00e1irbhith in The Cheese Press, in Ennistymon, Co Clare. Photograph: William Hederman <\/p>\n

The planting is overseen by Ciara Patterson, who also works with Common Knowledge<\/a> in Kilfenora \u2013 a 50-acre social enterprise where sustainability is practised in the soil, the workshop and the kitchen. Founded by Harrison Gardner, Erin McClure and Fionn Kidney, it runs courses in building, furniture-making, cookery and fermentation, the sort of practical skills that make life more hands-on. There\u2019s a 12-room guest house if you want to stay \u2013 either for a course or simply as a base \u2013 and a kitchen led by Andrew O\u2019Halloran, whose Land & Lore dinners gather people monthly around whatever the garden and local producers are offering.<\/p>\n

In the old market town of Ennistymon, where the river Inagh pitches itself over the Cascades, the same spirit runs through. You can lose an afternoon in the Salmon Bookshop for an eclectic selection of books and the occasional poetry reading, or stop for a crepe in Ooh La La. The Cheese Press<\/a>, Sin\u00e9ad N\u00ed Ghairbhith\u2019s cafe and deli, may be best known for its cheese toasties, but the shelves will keep you browsing, with artisan cheese, organic sourdough, local coffee, wine, assorted treats and interesting cards. It is as much a gathering place and hub for the community as it is a shop.<\/p>\n

At Pot Duggan\u2019s, a 19th-century pub where Darren Kirwan is head chef, the day starts with a cafe menu of breakfasts, coffee and light plates. Summer brought a series of melting-pot menus, but the focus now is pizza. It\u2019s a relaxed place to eat \u2013 inside, in the covered courtyard, or in the riverside yard where people linger long after the plates are cleared.<\/p>\n

Kirwan also runs L\u00fa Fermentation, which has been brewing kombucha for a decade and is now upstairs at Pot Duggan\u2019s. It behaves less like a soft drink and more like a p\u00e9t-nat or farmhouse cider \u2013 dry, complex, lightly carbonated with 0.5-1% alcohol. Each batch develops its own character: Salted Verde, a grassy green tea with herbs; Bloom, fragrant with jasmine and rose; and Soura, a berry-fermented mix that shifts with the season. You\u2019ll find them at Pot Duggan\u2019s and on the shelves of the Cheese Press, nearby cafes and Design Bank in Miltown Malbay.<\/p>\n

Aoife O\u2019Malley\u2019s Design Bank began as a pop-up and has since become a daily market \u2013 part gallery, part food hall \u2013 where artists, makers and an increasing number of Clare food producers set up side by side. It is as much about exchange of skills as it is about selling, with four local farms now among the regular traders.<\/p>\n

One of these farmers is Fergal Smith, once a professional surfer from Mayo, who settled in Lahinch for its waves. Farming followed. With his wife, Sally, he runs Moy Hill Farm, four kilometres from town. What began as half an acre of scrub has grown into 67 acres, with another 40 rented, worked to biodynamic principles that fold livestock into the cycle. Vegetables are still the backbone, but there are now Dexter cattle, Jacob sheep and 400 hens, their produce reaching markets, restaurants and a CSA scheme where households sign up in advance for weekly boxes. Farm Walks open the gates to visitors, offering a glimpse of how the place works day to day.<\/p>\n

\"Lobster,Lobster, chips and salad and prawn po’boy at Julia’s Lobster Truck at Pot Duggans in Ennistymon, Co Clare \"Hugo'sHugo’s Bakery Lahinch. Photograph Liam Burke\/Press 22 \"DodiDodi Lahinch, Co Clare. Photograph: Corinna Hardgrave \"Vaughan'sVaughan’s on the Prom, Lahinch. Photograph: Corinna Hardgrave <\/p>\n

Hugo Galloway, another surfer who swapped the science lab for dough, is originally from Cork and trained as an environmental scientist before deciding he preferred to work with his hands. He opened Hugo\u2019s in a small Lahinch outlet (now a surf shop) before moving to larger premises, where queues form for his sourdough made with Wildfarmed flour, pastel de natas, Viennoiserie and Anam coffee roasted in Kilfenora.<\/p>\n

Surfing and golf keep Lahinch busy year-round, and the town has cafes to match. Dodi Cafe, run by Peter and Doria Cush, turns out award-winning coffee and pastries, while their Stockroom across the street deals in low-intervention wines.<\/p>\n

For lunch, Vaughan\u2019s on the Prom<\/a> is the prize spot \u2013 a glass-fronted diningroom looking straight on to the beach and its surfers. Lunch is walk-in only, so arrive early; dinner can be booked. Order the fish and chips, among the best in the country. Local potatoes are hand-cut, steamed, then fried in beef dripping, served with haddock, hake or cod in their special sourdough batter. Takeaway is available from Spooney\u2019s, their casual outlet, and you can finish with their \u201ccow to cone\u201d ice cream. Later, head to Kenny\u2019s pub. It\u2019s everyone\u2019s favourite.<\/p>\n

Nearby in Liscannor, Vaughan\u2019s Anchor Inn has held its ground for more than 40 years, serving lobster bisque, foie gras, steaks and freshly caught fish from a menu backed by a 200-bottle wine list. Dennis Vaughan passed it on to his son James after opening Vaughan\u2019s on the Pier in 2021. For something simpler, Dolly\u2019s \u2013 Elaine Slattery\u2019s cafe in a restored 200-year-old cottage \u2013 serves Hugo\u2019s pastries, Anam coffee and L\u00fa kombucha. It shares the same Burren spirit as the markets and farm shops nearby \u2013 a place where food and community sit side by side, with a serene upstairs room open to yoga, poetry and whatever people want to bring through the door.<\/p>\n

What runs through it all in Clare is connection \u2013 to land, to food, to one another. Whether you\u2019re at a Michelin-starred table, a pub terrace with fish and chips, or a cafe sharing coffee and kombucha, the Burren insists on reminding you where you are \u2013 and why it matters.<\/p>\n

Corinna Hardgrave was a guest of Vaughan\u2019s and Linnane\u2019s<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Every October, while Alpine farmers bring their cows down the mountain for winter, the Burren does the opposite.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":104103,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[75],"tags":[7486,18,117,3276,19,17,361,5281,33645],"class_list":{"0":"post-104102","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-clare","9":"tag-eire","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-food-production","12":"tag-ie","13":"tag-ireland","14":"tag-magazine","15":"tag-restaurant","16":"tag-restaurant-guides"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104102"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104102\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/104103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}