We spent three beautiful days in Ireland – two of them in Dublin and one on the West coast. I had the extreme pleasure of being hosted by Cliff Townhouse that I’m now utterly obsessed with! This boutique hotel is on the Northern side of St. Stephen’s Green and it was one of the best hotel stays I’ve ever experienced.
As soon as we checked in, we went downstairs to their restaurant. The large leather chairs, huge chandeliers and beautiful wood floors invited us in and immediately made us feel welcome.
We enjoyed their pre-theatre menu: three courses for only 33 euros! We went with the lobster bisque and mushroom risotto as our first course. I loooove risotto and try to have it at as many places as possible. This was the BEST mushroom risotto I’ve ever had! There were several types of wild mushrooms, as well as spinach and roasted cherry tomatoes and plenty of freshly shaved parmesan. It was absolutely delicious and I basically licked the plate clean.
The lobster bisque was also delicious – incredibly rich, warm and flavorful.
For my main course, I chose the Seabream with crushed potatoes and shrimp – it was decadent and delightful! Joel ordered the beautiful 8 oz steak with peppercorns and mushrooms, a side salad and chips and he said it was one of the best steaks he’s had in a long time. Needless to say, we were very impressed and satisfied.
As my dad would say, there’s always room for dessert! We chose the apple crumble and ginger creme brûlée. Both were delicious and the perfect way to end our indulgent meal (with a cup of tea and coffee, too!)
The next morning, we went downstairs to enjoy their complimentary breakfast. Now THIS is how you do breakfast, y’all. It’s not a sad line of crusty muffins and questionable breakfast meats. They first serve you with tea or coffee and fruit. Then, they bring out a three tiered platter of freshly baked breads and pastries. And then, you choose from the hot plate menu what you’d like the kitchen to cook for you. We felt like royalty, but they do this for EVERY overnight guest! Dreamy, isn’t it?
I had the lox eggs benedict and Joel ordered the French toast. It was perfect… I’m craving it all over again!
Our park view room on the top floor was decked out in beautiful pink decor and our plush king bed was vital after our long days of exploration. It was one of the largest hotel rooms I’ve ever stayed in as well! I wish this boutique hotel would open more spots around the world… Austin would be a great place for an expansion. 😉
Best Restaurants and Bars in Dublin
This was easily one of the best Italian meals I’ve ever had. It was insanely authentic – from the owner, chefs, servers, interior, and of course the food and wine. Al Vesuvio is nestled just behind the Temple Bar area and is serving handmade, fresh Italian eats.
For our appetizers, we ordered the caprese salad (with incredibly fresh mozzarella and tomatoes shipped from Italy), a caesar salad and the lightest fried calamari. I don’t know what else to say besides this: it was stupid good.
For our mains, I had the handmade tagliatelle pasta with mushrooms, peas, Italian sausage and cream sauce and Joel had the fresh mozzarella pizza with prosciutto, parmesan and rocket. We also had lots of fabulous Montepulciano wine with these dishes. I could’ve died happily with this as my last meal. It was absolute perfection.
The handmade noodles really stood out – it makes such a difference when the dough is made well and the noodles are cooked al dente – it all melts in your mouth in perfect harmony. We obviously had to get a small dessert, so we ordered the beautiful tiramasu – it was delighftul!! This is in our top 3 favourite meals we had on our entire honeymoon.
We had these huge burgers after a long day of exploring Ireland’s West coast (read more about it below). It was cute how much this place wanted to make their burgers as “American” as possible. They were huge and delicious so I guess.. job well done?
There are so many bars and it can be hard to know where to go. This was one of our faves with a MASSIVE back patio and lots of liveliness! We enjoyed a few brewskies out here and people watched (man, the Irish can drink).
We attempted to go into The Temple Bar but it was so crazy packed. We walked a block down and went into another typical pub which was great!
Brazen Head is one of THE oldest pubs in ALL of Ireland! It was very cute and homey inside – we found a cozy corner in one of the bars many rooms and I drank lots of wine and chatted with some other Americans from out of town. Again, I have to say, the Irish can really drink.
I’ve never been a big fan of their beer, but this was one of the most fun brewery tours I’ve ever been on! If the size of it all isn’t impressive enough, they give you enough things to learn/see/do for 2 hours. It’s a MUST for anyone visiting Ireland. We went up to the top floor (Gravity Bar) where they have a 360 view of Dublin, and it was soooo pretty! And for some reason, Guinness tastes better in Dublin. It just does.
We worked up an appetite and had some deeeelicious food at one of the 3 restaurants on the 5th floor. Joel ordered a typical Irish stew with mashers, and I had smoked turkey with mashers and roasted veggies! It was so hearty and perfect for the cold weather (and soaking up beer)!
Things To See
- St. Stephen’s Green
This beautiful park is well manicured and a great place to walk around or picnic. The fall leaves made it extra pretty!
The Book of Kells is located at Trinity College and was created in 800 AD with the four gospels of the New Testament It includes beautiful drawings and depictions of stories from the bible. It’s nestled in their Old Library which hosts some of the world’s oldest books as well. It’s really beautiful and I definitely recommend it! Pro tip: order tickets ahead of time – the line for tickets can be an hour long!
Joel with all his friends at Trinity College.
We are husband and wife, y’all! I love saying that!
We had an amazing day of exploration with Irish Day Tours! I’m so glad we went with this service – our tour guide was hilarious, intelligent and so friendly! He told us so many interesting facts about Ireland as we drove through the beautiful countryside. I’ve never seen grass so green and lush! The Cliffs of Moher are as astounding as everyone says. The pictures really don’t do it justice! Minus the nasty mud you have to hike through, it’s a beautiful place to be.
We stopped for lunch at the closest town to the Cliffs, called Doolin. This incredibly cute coastal town had a really delicious fish n chips restaurant – that’s all they serve, so you know it’s good! I was too hungry to take a picture.. but here’s their beautiful courtyard they they share with other bars and restaurants (they were setting things up for a wedding, which is the perfect place to celebrate!)
We also stopped at The Burren, which is a landscape of some of the oldest limestone in existence! It’s quite beautiful as it is right up against the coast. It was created by marine fossil bone and other materials over a loooong period of time. The ocean waves also helped create the lines and smoothness of the rocks. There are many more interesting facts for geology nerds out there!
It was all so beautiful and peaceful… so much so I fell asleep hard on the bus several times…
Our last stop was in Galway. This large port is one of the most populous cities in Ireland. There is a ton of great culture, history and life that happens here! We walked around the brick streets and watched local musicians and artists at work. And then we got ice cream because why not? Murphy’s was absolutely delicious and use a very scientific method in creating the perfect batch of ice cream every time.
We spent 3.5 days and 3 nights in Ireland and it was the perfect amount of time to see what the country is all about. There are incredibly friendly folks, rich history, and lots of beer. I loved all of it!
