Overrated & Underrated in Galway

beagle001

overrated:
Quays
Front door
Charcoal grill

underrated
Merlin woods
NUIG

Sergeant

Overrated:

McDonaghs - Oily batter, greasy chips, small plates. Any local Dublin chipper does a better fish and chips than this place.
The Blue Note - Not as cool as the regulars think it is.

Underrated

Charlie Byrne's bookstore - a gem of a place.
Galway Hooker Beer - The fear some people show in trying a pint of this delicious liquid.

KylieWyley

@Nuggles, everybody else can't be wrong...
See, http://walking.about.com/od/beginners/a/safewalkingrule.htm
But if you insist on being so stubborn and foolish, I will happily run you over with my car and you won't even see me coming

Overrated:
CPs
Karma

Underrated:
Javas cafe
The Salthouse

civis_liberalis

KylieWyley wrote: »

Underrated:

The Salthouse

Love the place, everyone I know seem to turn their nose up at the place.

axiom32

overrated : ryan tubridy**

that interview with rhys ivans and howard marks u cud see from the off they were stoned
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXi8OG0jCz8

** not off topic cos he is in eyre square right now:D

dolphin city

OVERRATED

the whole new "Latin Quarter" (snigger) area. Its just a few pubs trying to con people into thinking there's a great atmosphere on these streets - when in fact they are just trying to fleeze people with their overpriced overrated restaurants and pubs, by giving it a fancy name - steer clear.

Galway Arts Festival - again, a crowd of upstarts conning people into overpriced acts that they can see any other time of the year at half the price.

Galway being called a "City". hilarious.


UNDERRATED

The West i.e. dominic street/sea road area - the real left bank of the town.

Kebab Shop on Dominic Street - has been there in some form or other for the last few decades - before a lot of ye had the guts to taste that big lump of meat spinning around in the window, while sitting on the winding stair inside the shop (remember?). Still the best no matter how many other kebab shops opens up on the corners in town.

Taking a walk through the canals and waterways of Galway - everyone rushes to salthill where you have to push the crowds out of your way- ever try the canal walks and waterways in town - fabulous.

philbo

dolphin city wrote: »

Kebab Shop on Dominic Street - has been there in some form or other for the last few decades

that was the nearest chipper when I was going to school. I remember it being closed down a number of times for hygiene/rats, or so the story was told. never been able to go near the place since!

Sleepy

Under-rated: Sally Longs - one of the best afternoon session pubs in Ireland

dolphin city

philbo wrote: »

that was the nearest chipper when I was going to school. I remember it being closed down a number of times for hygiene/rats, or so the story was told. never been able to go near the place since!

LOl I think people may have just been afraid of something that wasn't authentic irish cooking at the time. A bit like the restaurant that opened near the hospital - I think it was french or italian - marcel's or something - the story was that they couldnt' be trusted as they were cooking cats. :D

brianthebard

beagle001 wrote: »

underrated

NUIG

How so?

A lot of these underrated are actually really popular from what I can see, Charlie byrnes came up several times, its always packed, the salthouse likewise. I guess that should make people happy to see these businesses doing well but curious why they are considered underrated...

The Nutty M

brianthebard wrote: »

How so?

A lot of these underrated are actually really popular from what I can see, Charlie byrnes came up several times, its always packed, the salthouse likewise. I guess that should make people happy to see these businesses doing well but curious why they are considered underrated...

Because they are not well known to anybody other than locals yet pu holes like CP's and Karma and Halo (I could go on and on and on:D) are famous.I'd have a 50% knowledge of the city and have never heard of the salthouse or charlie byrnes or place's like that.Who's at fault for that?Me coming from mayo,lack of marketing by places like the salthouse etc,or clever marketing by CP's and the likes.I'll pick number 3.
These places are underated because the wider public dont know about them.

On a side note,why was that beanpole ryan tubs in Eyre square today?I was in and around there this morning and didnt see much activity.
Cheers

brianthebard

The Nutty M wrote: »

I'd have a 50% knowledge of the city and have never heard of the salthouse or charlie byrnes or place's like that.Who's at fault for that?Me coming from mayo,lack of marketing by places like the salthouse etc,or clever marketing by CP's and the likes.I'll pick number 3.
These places are underated because the wider public dont know about them.

If you're not living in Galway or only recently came here then obviously you won't know about places. But Salthouse is part of a fairly large group of pubs and resturants that are very well known, and holds well publicised events and are regularly blogged about by people who are interested in their beer. Sure you might not find a front page article in the indo about the salthouse but I don't think it warrants the underrated tag. I'm just trying to understand the criteria people are applying, it seems very wishy washy. Obv it makes no real difference to my life before some smart arse writes something to that effect, but I'm genuinely confused about how people can think the salthouse or NUIG is underrated?? Like its an internationally known university which hosts international conferences often and has speakers from numerous disciplines visiting on an almost daily basis.

philbo

brianthebard wrote: »

If you're not living in Galway or only recently came here then obviously you won't know about places.

I'm from Galway, but only found the Salthouse for the first time around 2 months ago. People can say something is underrated purely for the fact it's not as widely known as it should be. Just because it gets a crowd in, doesn't mean it's well known.

Then again, part of the appeal of some places is that they're not well known, and you won't be spending the night with your nose in someones armpit.

Steyr

civis_liberalis wrote: »

Love the place, everyone I know seem to turn their nose up at the place.

Thats because The Salthouse does not do Kopparberg!!!

Lapin

Overated - The western rail corridor. 2 and a half hours to get down to Limerick City 60 miles away. It didn't take that long 100 years ago.

The Quays Pub. Tourist trap superpub that lost all its charm when it was extended back in the day.

The Cathedral. Its an uninspiring archictectural eyesore resembling a giant grey toad plonked in the heart of the city. Bloody awful.

Underated - Galway Airport. Quick and handy for hopping over to London or Dublin but the runway is to short to allow the airport to achieve its full potential. Although if it was extended, O'Leary would move in with his 737s and finish off Aer Arann altogether. Under utilised might be a better description here.

The Druid. Ireland's real National Theatre.

fergiesfolly

Overrated-Galway Underrated- Cork. Down there at the weekend and while I hate saying it, the place puts us to shame. Proper city, not just one main street full of British shops. Great shopping, lovely markets, wide spectrum of pubs, restaurants and entertainment. Why people come here for the "craic" is beyond me.

dolphin city

brianthebard wrote: »

If you're not living in Galway or only recently came here then obviously you won't know about places. But Salthouse is part of a fairly large group of pubs and resturants that are very well known, and holds well publicised events and are regularly blogged about by people who are interested in their beer. Sure you might not find a front page article in the indo about the salthouse but I don't think it warrants the underrated tag. I'm just trying to understand the criteria people are applying, it seems very wishy washy. Obv it makes no real difference to my life before some smart arse writes something to that effect, but I'm genuinely confused about how people can think the salthouse or NUIG is underrated?? Like its an internationally known university which hosts international conferences often and has speakers from numerous disciplines visiting on an almost daily basis.

i have a friend from galway born and bred, and did not know where the salthouse was, where the crane was, where massimo's was - and she living here for over forty years on the east side - once she did find out about this area and these pubs, she hasn't left, so yes, they are very underrated. but I hope it stays like that, so that all the numpties can queue for halo, cp's and get fleeced in quay street, and leave the underrated places for those who know better.

dolphin city

civis_liberalis wrote: »

Love the place, everyone I know seem to turn their nose up at the place.

is that because they are rushing to be seen in the "latin quarter" :D:D:D let them off. The salthouse is better off without them.

dolphin city

ErnieBert wrote: »

Deep fried battered rat tastes no different to a curried coleslaw Snackbox or a Doner Kebab made out of condensed waste meat extracted from stray dogs.

sounds like what people said about the non-irish restaurants in Galway in the 70's and 80's. Basically if it wasn't a cruubeen with hairs on its toes, or a sunday roast that you could wear as a pair of shoes, then it just HAD to be a dog/cat/rat. Thankfully our taste in food has broadened (well, some of us anyway).

dolphin city

fergiesfolly wrote: »

Overrated-Galway Underrated- Cork. Down there at the weekend and while I hate saying it, the place puts us to shame. Proper city, not just one main street full of British shops. Great shopping, lovely markets, wide spectrum of pubs, restaurants and entertainment. Why people come here for the "craic" is beyond me.

Galway cannot be compared to Cork as Galway is not a city. Okay a crowd of eejits can call it a city but in the real world it is far from a city - its a market town. A bit like the quay street area now being called "the latin quarter" to try and fleece people. We all know it is anything BUT a latin quarter, but all of a sudden that's what it is.

Mrs OBumble

dolphin city wrote: »

i have a friend from galway born and bred, and did not know where the salthouse was, where the crane was, where massimo's was - and she living here for over forty years on the east side -

I'm kinda picking that the folks who like the Salthouse, Massimos, and especially the Crane won't be much into CPs, Halo etc.

Horse for courses, so to speak.

The whole overrated / underrated thing is much like "sound" - it has a unique meaning to the person who uses it.

fergiesfolly

fergiesfolly wrote: »

Overrated-Galway Underrated- Cork. Down there at the weekend and while I hate saying it, the place puts us to shame. Proper city, not just one main street full of British shops. Great shopping, lovely markets, wide spectrum of pubs, restaurants and entertainment. Why people come here for the "craic" is beyond me.

I'm living in Cork at the moment and yes its good for going out but its not as good as Galway imo. For shopping they have a slightly better selection but I usually stick to the main shops anyway which are in galway too. Whats wrong with british shops anyway (which there are very few on shop street actually) and Id wager there are more in Cork than Galway, H&M is in Cork and not in Galway for instance.

dolphin city wrote: »

i have a friend from galway born and bred, and did not know where the salthouse was, where the crane was, where massimo's was - and she living here for over forty years on the east side - once she did find out about this area and these pubs, she hasn't left, so yes, they are very underrated. but I hope it stays like that, so that all the numpties can queue for halo, cp's and get fleeced in quay street, and leave the underrated places for those who know better.

But you cannot just say people are numpties for going to certain places. I know every pub in Galway and as I have said on the thread before quay/cross street and cp's and Halo are where I and my friends like to go out, I'm not a fan of going out in the "west" at all. Its just not really my scene.

dolphin city

apologies for using the word numptie - no malice intended. Its just that I see people queueing outside these places and I don't really understand it when there are lots of great late bars in town now with much more atmosphere. but, as you say, each to their own. apologies.

dolphin city

dolphin city wrote: »

apologies for using the word numptie - no malice intended. Its just that I see people queueing outside these places and I don't really understand it when there are lots of great late bars in town now with much more atmosphere. but, as you say, each to their own. apologies.

Your alright, I wasn't offended at all.

Wompa1

dolphin city wrote: »

apologies for using the word numptie - no malice intended. Its just that I see people queueing outside these places and I don't really understand it when there are lots of great late bars in town now with much more atmosphere. but, as you say, each to their own. apologies.

Different strokes for different folks. I feel ya though, I wouldn't be the biggest fan of CPs or Halo. At the same time I feel really out of place in The Blue Note or Roisin most times too. I don't know where I really like! If I had to go to a club it would have been Cuba and that would be if I was forced, haven't been there in over a year and I hear they did away with alternative music upstairs so it's got nothing to set it apart anymore.

On that point the amount of money I have saved from not going out is insane. I'm going to Vegas in a few weeks with the money I saved. Maybe I can find a bar I like there.

brianthebard

dolphin city wrote: »

i have a friend from galway born and bred, and did not know where the salthouse was, where the crane was, where massimo's was - and she living here for over forty years on the east side - once she did find out about this area and these pubs, she hasn't left, so yes, they are very underrated. but I hope it stays like that, so that all the numpties can queue for halo, cp's and get fleeced in quay street, and leave the underrated places for those who know better.

Fair enough I obviously give pubs far more attention than is healthy.

Pamplemousse19

fergiesfolly wrote: »

Overrated-Galway Underrated- Cork. Down there at the weekend and while I hate saying it, the place puts us to shame. Proper city, not just one main street full of British shops. Great shopping, lovely markets, wide spectrum of pubs, restaurants and entertainment. Why people come here for the "craic" is beyond me.

I used to live in Cork and,while it's a nice city, Galway has a much more original feel to it. Cork is a bit like a smaller Dublin in my opinion. Also, the nightlife is awful there for students! As well, despite it being a much larger city than Galway, it isn't great for shopping- but I like what it's done with the Oprah Lane area recently.
Underrated: the atmosphere while walking through the pedestrian streets- the only noise pollution is buskers
The number of options for tourists and locals- beach and Connermara right on your doorstep, good nightlife and fairly good shops for a small city.
Overrated: the Cathedral.
Don't know why people are getting so annoyed about whether or not it's a city or if things were originally underrated or overrated. It's only a frivolous discussion!

Steyr

fergiesfolly wrote: »

Overrated-Galway Underrated- Cork. Down there at the weekend and while I hate saying it, the place puts us to shame. Proper city, not just one main street full of British shops. Great shopping, lovely markets, wide spectrum of pubs, restaurants and entertainment. Why people come here for the "craic" is beyond me.

Have you heard the Cork accent.................:pac:

bhovaspack

Not so much underrated as rarely commented upon: certain walkways in Galway. The walk around by nuns island is a delight, and I will often go that way even if not the shortest route. As are the walkways that flank, divide and traverse the various waterways and parts of the mouth of the Corrib, made extra appealing by the charm of some of the old buildings on the banks of the river. This area also seems to be under-utilised, and could possibly be opened up more to picnics, coffee-drinkers and busking, though maybe the lack of shelter is a deterrent. The cleanliness and vigour with which the Corrib flows through the city itself might be quite underrated, especially when you consider the equivalent rivers in other cities, or even in smaller towns.

rivalius13

THFC wrote: »

The Kettle of Fish? Only good thing in there is the battered Mars Bar (which is heavenly) and I heard that has nearly 2,000 calories! I remeber the day I had 3 and a half... Nearly needed a new toilet!

A mars bar has 230 calories, adding a bit of batter and deepfrying it isn't going to add 1700 calories. Calm down, you're not that cool for having eaten 3 and a half. Still a fatty, mind, just not as bigga one as you thought.