I just took the trip of a lifetime. My friend Kristin took me on a family trip to Ireland with her and it was soooooo incredible. We went to Dublin, Killarney, Killorglin, Dingle, Doolin, Inch Beach, Galway - It was out of this world. She gave me the incredible idea to compare the fish and chips from different cities we visited - here's what I thought and some mouth watering pics to make you jealous!
1. Dublin
my first fish and chips of the trip and (honestly), the best!
writer's own photos
These fish and chips were from a pub called Oliver St. John's. We did a pub crawl and started here with an amazing meal and some heinekens. This was honestly the best fish and chips I had on the trip. The batter was the most crispy, giving it the best crunch out of all of them. What's interesting is that, in Ireland, they serve fish and chips with tartar sauce AND mushy peas... I tried them, but didn't really know where they fit into the meal so you'll see them in every picture but unfortunately I can't say much about them:/
2. Guinness Storehouse (Dublin)
Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of ALL of the fish and chips I ate. I have pictures of all of them except for two... You would think that fish from a touristy- cafeteria wouldn't be all that great, but it was actually delicious. What was weird about these fish and chips though was that the bottom of the cod and batter surrounding the cod actually tasted sweet. There wasn't any malt vinegar of any kind on this dish, but for some reason it tasted different than your normal fish and chips! Guinness goes very well with fish and chips I might add.
3. Killarney
Again this is one I didn't get a picture of. My amazing travel buddy and bff Kristin helped me come up with this idea AS we were eating fish and chips in Killarney so unfortunately I had swallowed the dish whole before I could take a picture. Whoops! We were all very hungry and had been traveling all day. Shoutout to Murphy Brown's in Killarney for staying open for us, (pubs and restaurants in Ireland close fairly early), and giving us amazing food and service. I really wish I had a picture of this one because it was my second favorite. They had the creamiest tartar sauce out of all, the chips were delicious and still had some potato skin on them, and their wine was pretty damn good too! (Not important to the article but very important to me okay?!)
4. Inch Beach/Dingle
So we stopped at this amazing beach called Inch Beach on our way to this town, my favorite place we went, Dingle! They have an adorable oceanside pub that served incredible sea food. I don't remember the name of it, but if you go to Inch Beach, it's directly on the beach near the parking lot it's very hard to miss. To be honest this tasted like any old fish and chips I would have in America. It was good don't get me wrong, but in comparison to the other ones, this tasted pretty average. However, the fish was most flaky so that's the plus of this dish:)
5. Doolin
Doolin is a coastal town maybe about 20 minutes from the Cliffs of Moher. When we met some people in Dublin they advised us to stop here so we decided to check it out! This was the worst fish and chips out of all I ate. AGAIN, NONE OF THE FISH AND CHIPS I HAD WERE BAD. LET'S GET THAT STRAIGHT. But this one you can clearly tell by the coloring that the cod was fried in what looks like panko breadcrumbs, whereas in other pictures you can see my fish has a golden brown batter around it. Side note: I had the best chocolate of my life in Doolin from a homemade chocolate place right next to this pub. SO if you're ever in Doolin you should go to The Doolin Chocolate Shop. It's so creamy and amazing.
6. Galway
I didn't want to use flash because this pub was super crowded and no one likes to look like a tourist right?
This fish and chips was 3rd best in my opinion. It's hard to see because the lighting is dark in the pub, (King's Head) right in city center in Galway, but these chips were to die for. On their menu they say that the fries are fried three times! Which explains how friggin good they were. It also was our last meal in Galway and on the trip so I only felt it appropriate to get fish and chips and big fat Guinness. Look at how cute they are- they put the tartar sauce in an oyster! The fish was so thick and perfectly cooked. I have no complaints.Also you can see here that my friend Kristin, who got monkfish with vegetables and potatoes, got a regular Guinness, and I got something a little different. Our horseback riding instructor/guide was telling us that she likes to drink her Guinness with a shot of brandy or black currant to take away the bitterness. So, if you don't like the aftertaste of beer you should definitely try it! It tasted like berries in beer and was actually awesome!
7. Other great food:)
Murphy's homemade ice cream made in Dingle:)
8. Shelbourne Park Greyhound (Dublin)
lemon tart at Dublin's Shelbourne Park Greyhound racing
9. Chart Coffee House
The Chart House Coffee in Dingle. This take on Irish coffee had whiskey and amaretto and tasted like heaven.
