Food in Sligo

Firstly happy September everyone! This year is just flying. Secondly apologies if this blog post makes you feel hungry. We have some fantastic restaurants, cafes and pubs in Sligo so I thought I’d share some of the fab food we’ve enjoyed at them.

Apologies for the poor quality of the photos, they are from my phone and the light in some of the places wasn’t great. Anyway the two dishes above were lunch specials from The Strand bar and restaurant in Strandhill. The top one is Chilli con carne which Lucy ordered and was just amazing. It was served on a tortilla, covered in cheese and sour cream with nachos around it. I’m not a mince fan usually but I did try this and it was wonderful. I ordered the chicken stuffed with apple and celery, served in a basil cream sauce…again amazing. We were so full after our lunch we didn’t even think about dinner.

Above are pancakes Lucy had from Osta cafe and wine bar which is located on the banks of the Garavogue river in Sligo town. These were served with lemon and sugar but they also do pancakes with bacon and maple syrup. Lucy thinks she’ll try them one day.

Jono opted for the cheese platter which was really something else. There were four or five different cheeses…really it’s a sharing platter but Jono is a big food fan so he managed the lot!

Another wonderful place is Shells Cafe in Strandhill. I had this lovely bacon sandwich with homemade tomato sauce there one morning after I climbed Knocknarea. It’s a great place to sit and relax looking out at the sea.

Another favourite place of mine is Chapters Cafe, Bridge Street, Sligo.The hot chocolate and scone are from there. You are always assured of a warm welcome and if you are a bookworm there is a whole library of books upstairs.

A favourite place of ours is the Yeats Tavern in Drumcliffe. There have a very wide variety of food on offer. Something to please everyone and it’s very family friendly. Andy had the salmon salad above which he really enjoyed.

I’m a big fan of goats cheese and this goats cheese salad didn’t disappoint. It was perfect. By the way, just in case you are wondering, these photos were all taken over the last year. It’s not like we eat out all the time, although if we had the money we would 😉

If you are looking for something different why not try Source Sligo. Not only do they serve breakfast, lunch and dinner but in the evening they do a great selection of tapas in their wine bar. Thursday night is music night and you can enjoy some great free entertainment from Keiran Quinn (who is a brilliant musician). He usually has a friend or two with him. There’s always a great atmosphere there.

McGarrigles in O’Connell Street is a great place for lunches. Very reasonably priced. I had a goats cheese tart pictured above which was great. One day I’m going to try their soup which they actually serve in the bread! Sounds great. It’s a really cosy place as well as you can see from the photo.

Another nice pub for lunch is Hargadons, O’Connell Street, Sligo. They have a three course special (pictured above), for 9.95. It’s a cup of soup, chicken and bacon salad and an apple crumble. Very tasty and filling.

Before you go running for the kitchen if you are looking for what I would call a ‘mans feed’ why not try Henry’s in Cashelgarron (about 8 miles outside Sligo on the Bundoran Road). They do a lovely carvery lunch. You won’t be able to walk afterwards though 😉

There’s also Molly’s Dinner….you won’t be able to finish it though!

For something extra special try Clevery Mill in Castlebaldwin. I did a ‘proper’ blog about it here so you can have a read.

Thanks to Joseph for reminding me about Eala Bhan. You can check out my blog about it here.

I think you’ll agree we certainly have some fantastic places to eat in Sligo. In fact there is only one place I’ve tried that I wouldn’t go back to (I won’t mention any names and I haven’t blogged about them). There are also more that I’ve yet to try out 😉