Who would have thought one of our favorite meals while visiting Ireland would be an Italian spot…read moretucked away in little ole downtown Ennis!? We were staying in nearby Dromoland and were after dinner that wasn't our hotel restaurant, so we wandered into downtown Ennis and then into Passatempo. When you think cute and quaint, you picture a place like Passatempo. They have only seven tables inside and when the weather is good, they have a few out front. We grabbed a table inside and were greeted by the owner who got us started on our meal. The owner and his family, authentic Italians who are clearly passionate about the food and drink, were delightful to interact with all night! Now the food...fresh made everything! So be patient, I promise it's worth it. We started with the crostini, which was a plate of 8 crositini's topped with a variety of fresh veggies, meats and sauces. My favorite was the red wine reduced onions and cheese crostini! For our mains, we got the lasagna and the spicy sausage pasta. The pasta is clearly made in house and with love, as do the sauces. The dishes were absolute perfection and delicious! And one surprising thing was the portion sizes, which were larger than expected, and we were good with it! While we did not partake, they did have a limited menu of Italian cocktails, wine and beer. And of course, several desserts including tiramisu. Overall, Passatempo was an absolute highlight of our trip and put Ennis on the map for us - Highly recommend!

Beautiful quaint, Italian restaurant. My husband said it was…read morethe best he's ever had because it was nice and crunchy

Thanks to all that reviewed this place-if not we would not discovered it. Friendly service. Food is…read moremade fresh and delicious. Arrived here on a rainy Monday 6pm -not to busy. Thumbs up on the everything.

I hope you like olive oil, because this place doesn't scrimp. They have a nice selection of gluten…read morefree dishes and the fact that they have an entire section of the menu devoted to garlic bread would bring me back time and again. If you are American be sure to read up on Irish service before judging.

After some sightseeing with my wife and daughter, we found this place on Yelp and stopped in here…read moretoday (Easter Monday). We ordered appetizers (bruschetta pomodoro and caprese salad) and main courses (spaghetti pomodoro, ziti with chicken and broccoli, and spaghetti with clams and mussels in white wine sauce). Everything came out quickly and everything was excellent! Large portions, tasty and very reasonably priced. Family friendly, great for kids, and serves beer and wine. The only caution is that they only take cash. No credit cards. Highly recommend this place for dinner!

Great food .... The Pasta was special :) proper tasty …read more...... Polite staff And dinner for 4 on a Saturday night with s bottle of wine was only € 105 !!!!!!! K

Very delighted to find such a delicate and high-quality restaurant in the town of Mullingar. Walked…read morein on a Friday early evening at around 5:30 pm and was seated instantly. Still not much customers around, the atmosphere was relaxed, elegant, with soothing background music. Had the early bird two-course menu with a pint and a dessert. Pint of Guinness: well poured, the bubbling foam lasting a long time, very creamy and silky mouthfeel. Jack Daniel's Chicken Wings: fried to perfection, crispy on the outside but juicy and hot meat. The JD sauce was a pleasant surprise, with refreshing maple syrup taste and a bit of smokiness that is typical of a JD whiskey, while also having some pleasant spices. 10oz Striploin steak: added €6 to sub for this, requested medium. Steak was grilled to perfection, eye-catching grill marks, juicy texture, packed with beefy taste. Though I wish the garlic butter sauce could be made with a bit more salt, and the chips could use a bit more crispiness on the outside. Ice cream sundae: though the flavors were standard vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate, the taste was very rich and smooth. Service was friendly and attentive all over. Though with some small hiccups, this has been a very pleasant experience. Would definitely recommend this to anyone visiting Mullingar, and try to catch their early bird menu if you can. t

I was so surprised how good the streak Was. Absolutely perfect! Great manager and wonderful…read moreservice. We went there during the Fleadh Ceoil Festival and it was extremely busy but I was amazed how good the service was.

We were in the Heritage hotel on a two night deal. Our deal included food in their Italian Spago…read morerestaurant (see photos). A ciabatta with olive oil, cheese, tomato and tasty as well as a generous portion; a duck leg main and a sirloin steak main. I asked for the steak to be medium. It was. It was a good thick tasty steak. It had a good pepper sauce on the side. I asked for English mustard - best mustard in the world too - no problem. Mashed potatoes, chips and a mix veg of turnip, green beans & carrots. All perfectly tasty, all perfectly cooked. Desserts of profiteroles and a tiramisu - both liberally dosed with chocolate sauce and cream. Phew. The cocktail waiter cheerfully conjured up two cosmopolitans (€10 each). The staff were attentive and efficient.

Spago is one of the two restaurants owned by the Portlaoise Heritage Hotel. I'd visited previously…read moreon my hen weekend last year and enjoyed it so when we came back to Portlaoise (ironically enough on a voucher for a free night given to me due to a horrible experience in Kelly's Foundry, the other restaurant) we decided to go back, big mistake. Spago do, what appears to be, a good value dinner menu, 59 euro for a 3 course meal for two and a bottle of wine. When we arrived we were told the lamb shank was gone but we could have chicken instead, off to a bad start. I ordered the baked ricotta for my starter which came out cold, I'm not sure this chunk of ricotta had ever seen the inside of a microwave never mind a real oven. My main of chicken supreme was actually quite nice, the chicken was really tender and the chicken pasta himself got was apparently lovely. The white wine was fine at the start but it needed to remain ice cold to be drinkable, even the slightest hint of warmth turned it to vinegar. The service, as in all my 1 star reviews, was where our night really started to go downhill. Our table was tucked away in a corner so we were virtually ignored for most of the night, for periods of 10 to 15 minutes at a time. Our starter arrived quickly, then there was a long gap until the main arrived and then a huge wait to even get a dessert menu. After sitting with our menus in front of us for ages (well I did manically wave mine in the air a bit to try catch some attention) himself got up, walked over to the other side of the room where our server WALKED RIGHT PAST HIM and gave our order to one of the three waitresses standing around. The other staff seemed much more concerned with setting up for the next day than attending to the remaining patrons. After dessert came and went (my "variety of icecream" consisted of 3 scoops of vanilla and one chocolate, all of which tasted like they'd been melted and refrozen at some point) we got tired of waiting and got up to pay the bill at the register. This is where I got really annoyed. The supervisor (I think?) apologised a few times for the slow service across the night. If you knew the service was slow why didn't tell your staff to get their finger out? Apologising to us now is not really any use. Then she asked me several times was it ok, glancing at my darkening face with a pleading look as if asking me for forgiveness and to reassure her that everything was going to be ok. With every question I got more and more quiet and more and more angry until she eventually figured out it was time to shut up. This is the second time I've had a horrible experience in a restaurant owned by the Heritage Hotel, as the biggest hotel in the town you'd think they would realise that they play a key role in enticing tourists to visit and revisit the town? Clearly not. They asked me to give you another chance when they messed up the last time and I came back to experience the exact same thing again, nice job.

We were in Ballyvaughan, Ireland nine years ago and found this Italian restaurant to be a really…read moregood find. Fast forward to June of 2025...unfortunately, this restaurant closed about three years ago from what we were told. Before we left on this trip we checked Yelp and there was no mention that this place closed; it is now closed (see photo).

We enjoyed our dinner at this restaurant so much that we ate here twice, two days apart. The first…read morenight, we had pizza and a red wine from Sicily, Italy. The pizza and the wine were good and there was enough pizza to feed two people. The second night we ordered Italian dishes and the same wine. That meal was good too. The restaurant is fairly large compared to other Irish restaurants in the area. That means you can all spread out during covid. Service was very good. They seem to employ a lot of non-Irish servers. Our primary server was from Spain and he was assisted by a young woman from Ukraine. This town has a large number of Ukrainian refugees and many of them work in the restaurants. If you wave to a server and she/he runs away, it is because their English is not good enough to help you. They will send over someone who can help. Just be patient.

Visiting my sister who is going to University of Limerick. LOVED it. It's downstairs and you have…read moreto ring the doorbell to get in. Service was great and quick. Definitely recommend! The ravioli was very good - as an American I wish the portion was a tad bigger! It was delicious

Don't let the location fool you, this is a place I always eat at when I'm in limerick, great foodread more

Great food! This is my first visit in Athlone and we were looking for a good, reasonably priced…read morerestaurant close to our B&B. The aroma of food smelled wonderful when we walked inside. I ordered the Penne Bianca and my fiancé ordered the Italian Meatballs which came with a small salad and bread. Both dishes were amazing! Our favorite dish was the penne. They only had two wine options but would allow you to bring in your bottle if you'd like. The environment was charming. I would definitely return here if I was in the area again (we're from the US).

This was baked sea bream on rice/spinach/mushroom pilaf with a creamy muscle sauce. The food was…read morecooked very well and was really more than I could eat. My only complaint was there were a few scales left that prevented me from enjoying the skin of the fish. I will go back again.

Like it alot. Quality and service veey good. Can recomend highly. Will be back again soonread more

Went there on a Monday... found them closed. So I will post hours of operation…read more Tuesday thru Saturday 9:30 am to 6 pm Closed Sunday and Monday.

Very good food. The best Indian style food I have had in Ireland. 1st class all the way. The…read morefood is fresh and appropriately spiced. The wait staff was attentive without being overbearing. Overall, on of the best experiences we have had. If you like Indian food, even a little bit, you will Adore Bonfire. Also, it is a mix of Northern and Southern, so something for every palate.

We were spending the night in Ennis during a vacation in Ireland. It was getting pretty late and we…read moresaw this place was still open when searching Yelp. We were the only ones in the resturant, but the owner welcomed us in and did not rush us in the least. We appreciated the rice crackers to start with the trio of sauces- each had a great flavor. We particularly enjoyed the pickled onion! We ordered the chicken dansak, House special lamb curry, and Cobra beer. Everything was excellent! The pineapple in the dansak made it extra special. We would definitely return! Quite jealous we don't have this place in The States.