Little local gem. This place is a little hard to find but just walk a little up Pearse Steer from…read morethe castle and make a left under the archway before the bicycle shop. A local gentleman mentioned it to us and we were glad to find it. Delicious fresh cooked breakfast omelette and strong fresh ground coffee. Their lunch menu and scones/desserts look fab and the place was bustling with locals which is also a good sign. We were paying 10 euro for an awful breakfast at our hotel and you can come here for a lovely in for 6-7 including as much coffee or tea as you can drink.

Everyone comes to Athlone for Sean's Bar. They should also come for the delicious sandwiches. The…read moreIrish know their way around gluten free bread too so you can get a toastie like everyone else. The store is really cute. Like a cafe. Service is brisk and they are super friendly!

Found this on yelp on our way back from Galway. Echo all the other reviewers comments re quality…read moreof food and quick service. Had a grilled ham panini that was made with their own homemade baguette. The deserts look divine! 1000% worth the detour.

One of the finest establishments I've ever eaten in. Great atmosphere and good wi-fi.read more

Stopped here on our drive from Dublin to Galway, and glad we did. This restaurant had indoor and…read moreoutdoor seating, and really good and affordable food. Very tasty seafood chowder with a lot of salmon and dill. Sandwiches were good too. Very interesting salad with lots of unusual ingredients, but delicious. Didn't get to try them, but it looks like they had lots of tasty desserts. Homey environment with good service from the friendly staff.

Dear Sir/Madam, I…read morehave never left a place feeling so unsatisfied and uneasy about a situation before. Today the 8th of December my friends and I went for a ladies lunch in Poppy Fields's when we got there we were seated and happy. About 20 minutes had a passed and no one had taken our order , we completely understand they were busy and it wasn't an issue whatsoever, to save the lady coming out I said I would go inside and go to the till to put our order in as I walked in I was met with the lady who rudely said to mr go outside I'll take your order out there it's to busy, I said no problem but it was rude and aggressive and the tone she used made me feel uncomfortable and shook. Shortly after the same lady came out to take our order and as she was leaving she slammed the menus on the table next to us loudly and with force. A while later our food had arrived. As she was giving us our food she said and I quite "no pepper " I said that's me and proceeded to hand the plate she implied was with no peppers to my friend and my friend said "no sorry that's not mine" and I said "I thinks it's mine I got it with no peppers" she turned to me in the RUDEST manor and said "yes you will have to wait" I was shocked and uneasy my friend turned to her and said" you are being so rude " and she said rudely , cheeky and just so smart "I'm not being rude" "am I being rude " and we just could not believe that this happened we didn't even finish our food we left in shock. We went to the till to pay for our food and the lady was so sweet behind the counter she said "if you guys are ever in a rush on your lunch just let us know we can accommodate you" it wasn't that we were in a rush it was that she was so rude and we understand it's lunch hour, rush hour and it can be stressful but it really left us unhappy and made us not want to go back ever again. Really disappointed and frustrated over it.

Simply amazing cuisine! We were traveling through Ireland…read morefor the past 2 weeks and landed on this secret gem. We loved every aspect of this Michelin mention restaurant and is worthy of a visit. We sampled the beef filet with cheek & potato terrine along with the Roast Lamb loin & confit breast of lamb. The side dishes and amuse bouche were simply delightful. A must visit.

This establishment was absolutely stunning. You definitely need a reservation because there isn't…read moremuch extra seating for you to just show up unannounced. The restaurant itself is charming, cute and quaint. The staff is super friendly and attentive to your needs. The food is a prefixed menu and it was absolutely Devine! I was worried I would still be hungry but as each course came out I felt more and more satisfied. If I'm ever back in Ireland I will be stopping here for another meal. It was fresh, beautifully plated and overall delicious. Worth every euro!

Oh we do love village Ireland - it has a uniquely warm charm. Most tourists head for Dublin,…read moreGalway, Cork and while they are wonderful in themselves, getting away from big populations is a joy. So we ambled out of Galway through Ireland's ancient history: to Athenry. This is a medieval town that has its town wall, it's priory, Athenry Castle, and its 13th century Anglo-Norman street - plan yet most Irish know it from the song 'The Fields of Athenry' likely the country's real national anthem. We were in the vicinity of Aughrim - one of the battle sites 1690/91 with the sister battle of the Boyne being the one that is still celebrated by one of the two divided communities in Northern Ireland. Next on our radar came Moate in the county of Westmeath. A one street town essentially. The name An Móta derives from the term motte and bailey. The Normans built an example of this type of fortification here and the earthwork is still visible behind the buildings on the main street. The town later became an important marketplace and Quaker village with several extant examples of Quaker houses on the main street, which itself is typical of an Irish marketplace. So, surrounded by living history in a land with some rocks 1.7 billion years old and the limestone we stood on 350 million years old we decided on good coffee and this place looked ideal. It was ideal. There was a chap a walking/talking waiter/chef/pastry cook/barista serving anyone who came in range whether they wanted served or not. We only wanted coffees but I spied the rhubarb tart which brought out his genuine Irish charm. I baked it myself this morning it's the best rhubarb tart you'll taste. I grow the rhubarb in my back garden. Sold says I. He was right on all counts. The taste of a piece of tart brought me back to my childhood. This tart was undoubtedly home made and had no muck added. The coffees - flat white and cappuccino - were excellent too and generous portions. It wouldn't be Ireland though as at the next table was a chap with an all day fry up. He had 2 of sausages, bacon, eggs, then black and white pudding, beans and half a loaf of toasted bread and copious butter. He said to his companion 'it's a bit light' pronounced 'tis a bi loigh' he focussed on the absence of mushrooms. So as the walking/talking waiter/chef/pastry cook/barista came with our coffees Mr Greedy announced tis a bi loigh there's no mushrooms to hear they didn't come in the deal but cost extra. The thought of having to pay a bit more when he had enough food to keep him fed three days made him say tis alroig but the walking/talking waiter/chef/pastry cook/barista brought him mushrooms anyway at no extra cost with the other half of the toasted loaf. He thanked him for his generosity and as the walking/talking waiter/chef/pastry cook/barista walked away Mr Greedy said under his breath to his embarrassed companion told ye it was a bi loigh Good coffee with light entertainment and a greedy bastard thrown in.

Great stop on our way to Galway from Dublin! Site was originally a church. Very pretty and quaint…read more What a nice little spot for a homey lunch. Our small tour group was met by a lovely woman who came out in the rain to meet us. Husband had the triple decker club sandwich, which was good. Nice sized serving, good bread. I ordered the soup of the day, which was carrot & coconut, with a little too much pepper. I hadn't planned on saying anything, as the bread that came with it was so tasty I didn't mind, however a staff member- perhaps the owner?- came and noticed I hadn't eaten much. She inquired as to why I hadn't eaten much then went to check on it, saying there would be no charge, because the soup was too spicy. I never would have expected this. Everyone was so very friendly and welcoming. I highly recommend this Cafe to anyone driving through in need of a spot of tea, a hearty breakfast, or sandwich and chips.

Where to eat when in Athlone? I travel between Dublin and…read moreGalway often and cannot pass Athlone without stopping in and having a delicious bite to eat :) The Left Bank is one of those places you wish was around the corner from your home. Good decent honest food and the service to go with it!! A smile and a polite brief chat always goes far in my books :) If you are a lover of desserts you have found a spot which you will return to over and over. My sister lives 30 minutes away in Galway and travels up just for the desserts :)

The Left Bank is a nice, relaxed and enjoyable place for dinner or lunch. There's a little bit of…read moreeverything on the menu so there's definitely something for all tastes; from Asian fusion to a good Irish steak, the Left Bank do a variety of dishes and they do them all well. I had the beef carpaccio to start (€10) with parmesan shavings. Then I had the Thai spiced chicken with lime, lemongrass and coconut milk. The Left Bank is the type of place you can sit on over a glass of wine, so I thought I better have the Mississippi Mud Pie (it'd only be right) and I was rewarded for my good choice - awesome.

The food and drink was actually quite good in this place. The Wide Street wheat beer had pleasant…read moretaste of licorice and honey. The Tandoori chicken was a bit on the dry side, but the seasoning was spot-on, not overwhelmingly spicy. The grilled potato slices were a pleasant surprise, a change from the traditional fries or baked potatoes, they packed the creamy taste of the latter while having a crispiness not found in the former. The lemon-lime cheesecake had a mouthful of sweet and sour fruity flavor and had nice rich aroma of cheese. The problem, however, was service. There appeared to be only three front-of-the-house staff in total taking care of a large dining room, one of which seemed to be inexperienced, and another needing to be the receptionist and the cashier. They seemed to be constantly overwhelmed. When the tables began to fill ,service time became protracted, and attentiveness dropped markedly. I even had to walk up to the front to pay my bill. Food and drink along this place is worth 4 stars or above, but considering service, I can only give 3 stars. I hope they could do something about the service soon, because the food had been pleasant.

We ordered the special, beer battered ling, and it was delicious! I should have taken a picture of…read moreit before we quickly polished it off. Staff was very attentive and atmosphere was lovely! We bought 4 bottles of the house salad dressing because it was so good! We got a picture of our light dessert!

The ground level of this restaurant is very much like a pub. The upper level is more like a…read morerestaurant with a window wall overlooking the street. We were sent upstairs as the lower level was full. There is a stairway to the right of the front door. About half the upper level was occupied but we managed to get a table by the window. The waiter was pretty good and the food decent. Service was fast considering the amount of people in the building. Located across the river from the Castle, and down the street just at the split, you can't miss the bright yellow front. I believe this is a chain restaurant, and serves a variety of foods like burgers, salads and fish. If you want the pub atmosphere I recommend arriving early. If you don't need the ambiance, or arrive late, you will find good, basic comfort food in a quiet atmosphere upstairs.

We went here based on the recommendation of the barkeep at Sean's pub. It's decent pub food, but…read morehonestly of everything I ate, nothing really I couldn't get at any other pub. My fish chowder was also frankly too salty for me, but it was very lovely service so that does go a long way. Oh also, another dinner on my table disliked the potato mash, but apparently the steak sandwich was okay. I'd check out something else if was returning back to Athalone. Note: #243 of Yelp 100 challenge for 2016