Vegan tourist in Ireland

CicerArietinum

Hello everyone,

I'm planning my first ever visit to Ireland sometime in the next few months (still not sure exactly when and exactly where in Ireland), and I would very much like some tips about finding vegan food in Ireland. I've checked the big sites of vegan restaurants in the world, so I found a few names of restaurants and stores, but I'd love to hear from actual Irish vegans. How is being a vegan in Ireland? How easy is it compared to other places in Europe? Is there anything I should be especially prepared for?

sweet-rasmus

Hello and welcome I am a vegan living in Dublin. There are no completely vegan restaurants but there are a few vegarian cafes/restaurants that cater well for vegans. Will you be staying in a hotel, or accommodation where you can cook? I find that the best hotels can do for vegans is a vegetable stir-fry, but if you have the facilities to cook you will be able to find plenty.

Compared to other places in Europe, I'd say it's pretty good. There is generally a large selection of speciality vegan foods in health food shops and even in large supermarkets. The 100% vegetarian restaurants is a huge plus.

Once you know whereabouts you will be staying let us know so we can give you advice about shops that will be closest to you

If there is anything you want to know, ask away

sweet-rasmus

We have a few threads about the veggie restaurants in Dublin...
Dublin restaurants
health food stores
Shops for veggie food
more discussion about stores in Dublin
more about Dublin restaurants...

There are of course restaurants all around Ireland that cater well for vegetarians and I imagine if you gave them a day or two notice they should be able to provide a delicious vegan meal.

CicerArietinum

Thank you,

I'm probably going to be staying mostly in Dublin, Killarney, Galway, and Cork (and by the way, general Ireland tourism tips will also be welcome...). I'm planning to be staying in hostels, so I expect at least some primitive cooking options.

sweet-rasmus

You have chosen a good route for vegan options!

Dublin has Juice, Cornucopia, Cafe Fresh and Blazing Salads (100% vegetarian restaurants) that will provide good vegan meals on their menus. Govinda's I would be sceptical about as to what is vegan as I was given conflicting information by members of staff on my last visit to Abbey St (there is no set menu there), but don't let that put you off if you would like to try some Hare Krishna food. They also have another store off George's St. Galway has a cafe on Lower Abbeygate street, Food 4 Thought that offers a vegan shepard's pie (tastey!), but it is not a 100% veggie restaurant and if you ask them if their salads/soup is vegan you may run into trouble (I once did, as the staff member serving me didn't know what veganism entailed, oddly enough). Galway also have a Govinda's stand at the weekend market (just off Shop St) which many members of this forum will praise, including myself. The different Govinda's stores are run separately and the man who runs the stand in Galway is brilliant; there is always a big long queue waiting to order food from his stall. And Cork has Cafe Paradiso (which I have not visited, but I'm sure the veggies here living in Cork can help you out there). It is a fancy well-to-do establishment which is 100% vegetarian, though after reading reports here I would recommend you contact them perhaps the day before to ensure you will be catered for as a vegan (they are a busy restaurant and they do focus on vegetarian food rather than having vegan dishes on the set-menu, as far as I know, though there should be no problem in requesting a dish). Killarney I once visited, but don't know of any restaurants to recommend. You may need to investigate this yourself.

As for health food stores, there are plenty in Dublin City centre (Nourish, Down to Earth, Health Matters, Holland and Barrett, etc). Note that the Nourish on Wicklow Street has a good freezer section, including the Fry's range (vegan) and vegan ice-creams. Blazing Salads also sells little tubs of Booja Booja vegan ice-cream, nice to eat while wandering the shops. There are two main ones in Galway; Healthwise on Lower Abbeygate street, and Evergreen (there are a few in Galway, but the one on Shop Street and the one beside the Tesco would be closest for city centre locations). All of these are well stocked and I find them quite a delight! For Cork and Killarney; you will need a recommendation from someone else in the forum

All of the large cites have large Tescos and Dunnes supermarkets which have a wide range of foods and you shouldn't have trouble finding things to buy to cook in the hostel.

And as for tourist recommendations... I'm not so good on that aspect! All that comes to mind is that where the Corrib River meets the sea in Galway there are generally loads of swans and they always look beautiful Hmmm and maybe for Dublin, take the DART from the city centre to Bray just to admire the views of Dublin Bay; beautiful and breathtaking, especially on a sunny day.

CicerArietinum

Thank you
You've been extremely helpful. Sounds like I will definately have some things to try there.

sweetoblivion

Hey there, if you check out www.veganbackpacker.com there are a few posts on visiting Dublin as a vegan - Jill & John who run it are really lovely and their posts are really informative!

I'm from Cork originally and there are three places I'd definitely recommend - for cheap and cheerful vegan food try the Quay Co Op www.quaycoop.com it's also a health food shop with lots of vegan options. The restaurant is upstairs and is open late.

Liberty Grill isn't a veggie restaurant but you can get a delicious tempeh salad - it's the San Fran salad - or a tempeh burger. They also do a falafel but I think it might have egg in it, it's worth checking. They also do a nut burger but again you'd need to check if it has egg in it. They are super friendly and very helpful (and on twitter @libertygrill) so you could always drop them a line. They are on Washington St.

Further down Washington St is Café Paradiso, it's an upmarket vegetarian restaurant that's pretty much world famous. If you want a top class meal go there! They do lunch and dinner.

There are lots of health food shops and most big cafés or restaurants will cater for vegans but your options might be limited. The English Market has a health food shop & some vegan food - it also has lots of butcher and fish counters so if you're sensitive about seeing those types of counters you might want to be aware of that

rantyface

I stay in hostels too because I can cook for myself then. Restaurant food can be a bit too heavy three times a day, and eating out in Ireland is very expensive. For veggie and vegan food Ireland is much better than most of Europe. I usually just go hungry on holidays, especially in eastern europe.

Hostels are always good if you're on your own. I go with friends, but we usually get chatting to strangers which is nice.
Irish towns are just nice to wander around. Dublin has more to offer if you're into history and museums etc, but the other cities are prettier and less busy. Galway is mostly tourists and students- basically people enjoying themselves.

If the weather's good I'd also recommend Donegal, and while you're in Galway do a tour of the Burren, it's a very strange and lovely place. It's definitely worth seeing the Irish countryside.

Breezer

rantyface wrote: »

while you're in Galway do a tour of the Burren, it's a very strange and lovely place.

Just to clarify, in case of confusion, the Burren is in Co Clare, but easily accessible from Galway Definitely worth a look, check out the Ailwee Cave in particular.