8 Best Restaurants in The Southwest, Ireland

Bringing his classical training to County Limerick, critically acclaimed chef Wade Murphy opened 1826 Adare with his wife, Elaine, in 2013. Since then, his elegant comfort food has been in high demand, served in a pretty thatched cottage with whitewashed walls and cozy decor. Menus change with the seasons and are filled with the best ingredients from Ireland’s top farmers and producers. Wade’s 12-hour treacle braised beef short rib with Roscoff onions and Boulangere potatoes is one of his most popular dishes, though you’ll find delicious and creative seafood and vegetable dishes too, all accompanied by a great drinks offering.

Host Jim McCarthy is often found in the early evening leaning over the red half door of this low, cabinlike stone building. The atmosphere is pleasantly informal (nautical artifacts complement the rusty-red walls and matching tablecloths), but both food and service are polished and professional. Top choices include pan-roasted monkfish with chana masala, toasted almonds, mango and red onion salsa or rack of Kerry mountain lamb. Finish the meal with a selection of Irish cheeses, served with a glass of port, or choose from a range of homemade desserts.

Previously a pub, the wood-clad restaurant is intimate and contemporary chic with brown leather seats at small wooden tables, and a menu starring fresh Irish produce and Asian influence. Start with sushi and sashimi, or wild-mushroom pearl-barley risotto with aged Parmesan, and follow with roast halibut with mussel, bacon, and clam cream or veal cheek ravioli. The food is plated with flamboyance and highly Instagrammable. Chef Bruce Mulcahy runs a tight ship, and many people in the know reckon he is one of Ireland's most talented chefs.

Innovative, exciting, and original, No. 35 is a laid-back little restaurant with big ambition. Proprietor Dermot Brennan is a pig breeder of note, whose rare-breed free-range pedigree saddlebacks are the stars of Tony Schwartz’s menu, which is spangled with the best of Irish ingredients. Pork collar, Stonewell Cider--braised cabbage, apple purée, and a savory pickled mustard jus might follow a starter of Dingle Gin--cured Goatsbridge trout with coriander, lime, and apple or maybe a vegetable dish of wild and cultivated mushroom lasagna with St. Tola goats’ curd.

Every fishing port should have a simple waterfront bistro like this one, serving the best seafood (the owner won't open up if there's no fresh-caught seafood available—which is almost never). Lobster, scallops, and crayfish are specialties, but also expect turbot, black sole, plaice, brill, monkfish, and even the humble pollack on the daily blackboard menu of this unpretentious shack. There's a short but well-chosen wine list, and basic dessert selection.

It's not just the food that's made this restaurant the most popular in town: guests also like to drink in the views of King John's Castle (particularly when lit up in the evening) from under the heated terrace over sea bass served with crab beignets, salsa verde, and baby potatoes. Scampi comes with big planks of chips and lemon sole arrives in a bed of leek and onion. Burgers, steaks, and vegetarian option are aplenty on the menu, along with a good selection of beers on draft. Before or after dining, wander around the corner to see the Treaty Stone, the site where the Williamite-Jacobite war ended.

Chef Derek Fitzpatrick creates a refined and concise menu from local ingredients that have been foraged, or grown by local artisanal suppliers or on the restaurant's rooftop garden. There's a choice between an evening tasting menu (sensibly priced at €60 given the options) with six courses that could include scallops, beef, or fresh catch. Top-notch à la carte menu choices include venison loin with maple squash, spiced lentils and sausage, or wild halibut with crubbeen chorizo, peas, and mussel sauce. The setting is full-on white linen in one of Ireland's finest country mansions, with views through sash windows across the wooded countryside or over the tumbling waters of the Shannon. Allow time to view the Visual Art Collection at Plassey House, which includes the works of Jack B. Yeats and Paul Henry.

The dramatic location of this simple bar on the windswept waterfront of the tiny fishing village of Portmagee has led the Bridge to feature in ads as "the quintessential Irish pub." A simple menu with the emphasis on local seafood, fish-and-chips, and lamb is served in the low-beamed bar's rustic pine interior. From May to September the pretty, adjoining Moorings restaurant serves a more ambitious, pricier menu most evenings. There are also 17 rooms overhead and an ace craft shop next door, as well as set dancing every Tuesday and Friday evening during summer and live music on weekends.

Call to confirm availability of bar food between October and April, as the kitchen closes some days during the off-season, depending on how many visitors are around.