My husband and I had dinner there last night and if I can sum up the food in one word, it would be "delicious" -- the word to describe the service, however would be "inconsistent."
The flower pots outside and tidy car park assure you that you they are professional and have an eye for detail. Gallaghers restaurant is housed in an old thatched cottage adjacent to a large bar called JP Clarkes, they are sister restaurants and when you wait for your table at Gallaghers, you do so at the bar at JP's, which is bustling and fun. The décor in Gallaghers is charming and well done. It's a tad dark with lots of flickering white candles, very sweet. As a sucker for live music, I absolutely loved the piano player tucked in the corner of the restaurant.
Let's talk food first -- we went there because we wanted seafood and we were in no way disappointed -- it was fresh, tasty and perfectly prepared. I started with the Dublin Bay Prawns in garlic butter -- little gifts from Poseidon, seriously, a party in my mouth. The presentation was perfect in a mini skillet on a board and a little pot of side salad. For our mains my husband had the Sole, which can be served either bone in or deboned. It was melt in your mouth good. I had the Halibut special, also fabulous and well prepared. The kitchen knows what it's doing.
Okay, now let's talk service. First of all, I will go easy on them because, like much of the hospitality industry in Ireland, they are warm and welcoming. We forgive a lot when people are friendly, and the staff at Gallaghers and the adjacent JP Clarke's Pub are charming. As far as service goes, Tne bottom line is that I am a California girl so I am used to a certain level of efficiency that does not seem to be the norm in Ireland. Service in Ireland tends to be more relaxed. There is probably wisdom in the fact that nothing is rushed. The challenge is that pacing in general needs to be consistent. We waited a LONG time for our table (host said 15 minutes, it was more like 45 minutes.) We were sat at our table and the server came to take our order about 90 seconds after we sat down. There was a LONG wait for the starters and a SUPER DUPER LONG wait for our mains, even though by the time our mains came the place was almost emptied out.
Bottom line is, don't go in a rush but do go to enjoy fabulous seafood in a charming setting. Now the question is, will we go back? The answer is, yes, absolutely, but those will be our only plans for the night because we will have to make an evening of it! read more
