Restaurants/Cafes with outside seating

yogalady

Hi all

Any recommendations for nice places to eat lunch or dinner in limerick clare or tipp (within 30 mins driving distance Limerick) that has outside seating. want to make the most of the good weather. Places that are not too pricey would be great

Many thanks

pigtown

Flanagan's in Ballina has a nice outdoor area

Tefral

The buttery has outside seating.

mitresize5

the locke or the curragower

thesimpsons

JP Clarks in Bunratty

panda100

Isn't it crazy that in a city like Limerick, that probably has the most spectacular city river views in the whole country, there are no places that you can sit and eat beside the river? The likes of Milanos, Brimstone, The Locke and The Curraghower to a lesser extent are all deeply unpleasant to sit outside and eat as you are sitting right beside car traffic.

I'm spending some time in Sligo at the moment and while their river and town is not half as pretty as Limerick they really are making the best of it. There is no car traffic down by the river and there are dozens of restaurants and bars with tables all along the riverfront which are thronged with tourists and locals every night for the last few weeks. The last few nights I've dined al fresco on tables overlooking the river and no road of traffic in between! It's shameful that Limerick with its stunning vista's and ample riverside space has people driving out to killaloe, ballina or bunratty to dine in a pleasant riverside environment.

keane2097

Jesus if the Curragower approaches 'deeply unpleasant' to sit outside many other places I've sat outside in my life must be like setpieces from Dante's inferno.

panda100

keane2097 wrote:

Jesus if the Curragower approaches 'deeply unpleasant' to sit outside many other places I've sat outside in my life must be like setpieces from Dante's inferno.

I said to a lesser extent. I do like the Curragower a lot but it's the best of a very poor bunch. There is still a road running right through diners and the river though thankfully it's more closed off than others.

keane2097

panda100 wrote: »

I said to a lesser extent. I do like the Curragower a lot but it's the best of a very poor bunch. There is still a road running right through diners and the river though thankfully it's more closed off than others.

It isn't 'deeply unpleasant' to sit outside to any extent at all - that is an outlandish description.

Neither is the Locke tbf, but there are few pubs anywhere I've been with as lovely a beer garden as the Curragower (when it isn't mobbed).

The idea that a few cars pootling along Clancy Strand (about 15 feet below eyeline) are enough to make the setting below anywhere near unpleasant is daft.

zulutango

One issue with the Curraghower is that the outside area is northeast facing so it loses the evening sun.

House and Milano's are more ideally oriented, but the problem there is the narrow footpath so there is a limited opportunity to put out tables and the traffic can be fast and off-putting too. If one of the traffic lanes was removed (or better still, remove both lanes altogether) and the footpath widened the area there would be thronged with people on summer evenings. It's a fairly easy thing to do and would have a big impact.

panda100

keane2097 wrote:

Neither is the Locke tbf, but there are few pubs anywhere I've been with as lovely a beer garden as the Curragower (when it isn't mobbed).

Both are nice beer gardens, though Jj's is my fave. However, that there is only one decent place to sit outside beside the river and eat comfortably (if your lucky to get a seat) is a real indictment to poor planning in Limerick imo. Any other riverside city is teeming with eateries along its waterfront and are thronged, especially in this weather.

keane2097

panda100 wrote: »

Both are nice beer gardens, though Jj's is my fave. However, that there is only one decent place to sit outside beside the river and eat comfortably (if your lucky to get a seat) is a real indictment to poor planning in Limerick imo. Any other riverside city is teeming with eateries along its waterfront and are thronged, especially in this weather.

JJ's beer garden is lovely alright, although I try to avoid talking about it too much!

I do agree with the phrase you hear around a bit that in some senses Limerick is a city 'with its back to the river', which is a pity. Not sure what sort of steps you could take to improve that situation though. There is decent public space around Howley's Quay, but the business units being so far back from the river means besides people strolling around on a sunny day it's a bit underused.

The Milk Market is a brilliant amenity but it fills the niche for food market type stuff which could be nice along there otherwise as well.

It would be nice if even the opposite side of the road to House was given over to some tables and chairs where you could sit out with your couple of drinks. Even better if they closed the road there off as mentioned.

The rowing club on Sarsfield Bridge is crying out for someone to put a few tables on the grass out the back.

Mc Love

zulutango wrote: »

One issue with the Curraghower is that the outside area is northeast facing so it loses the evening sun.

House and Milano's are more ideally oriented, but the problem there is the narrow footpath so there is a limited opportunity to put out tables and the traffic can be fast and off-putting too. If one of the traffic lanes was removed (or better still, remove both lanes altogether) and the footpath widened the area there would be thronged with people on summer evenings. It's a fairly easy thing to do and would have a big impact.

There is automatic bollards outside House that should be permanently up in the evening times and up only down for delivery times so that Dunnes isnt impacted.

There's scope there for a great outdoor space.

Squires next door have a lovely outside seating area and is a great spot in the sunny evenings.

mitresize5

 Any other riverside city is teeming with eateries along its waterfront and are thronged, especially in this weather.

Jesus wept ....

so Dublin, Cork and Galway are teeming with waterfront eateries

testicles

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zoe 3619

pigtown wrote: »

Flanagan's in Ballina has a nice outdoor area

Goosers in Ballina is very good too.

panda100

mitresize5 wrote:

Jesus wept ....

Limericks riverside is much more scenic than Dublin and Cork imo. Also, one could argue that they both have the same issues as Limerick that on either side of the river there are roads full of traffic which make use of riverside space unsafe and unpleasant. If people think we have ample and high quality riverside dining in Limerick because we have one pub, the Curraghour, that has a decent outside seating area away from traffic, then so be it. I think limerick has a lot more potential than that.

keane2097 wrote:

JJ's beer garden is lovely alright, although I try to avoid talking about it too much!

Ha, I'm the same! It's a real hidden gem!

zulutango

We certainly aren't even scratching the surface of the potential that's there. Here are the areas that have the best afternoon and evening sun in the city and their current uses and challenges:

St. Mary's Park - residential area
Merchant's Quay - civic buildings, courthouse, private boat club.
Front of Custom's House - often closed to the public, but also shaded by Sarsfield House until late evening.
Arthur's Quay - public park
Honan's Quay - large vacant building beside poorly utilised green space and roadway.
Harvey's Quay - roadway adjacent
Howley's Quay - narrow footpath and roadway adjacent
Bishop's Quay - vacant site + private car park + apartment complex, with roadway adjacent
Steamboat Quay - car park + roadway + poorly designed public realm

All are on the east/south bank of the river as the opposite side doesn't get the late afternoon and evening sun. There's scope to do a lot with these spaces. Some require only minor interventions to radically improve how they work, while others require more significant changes.