Tasty tour gives a different view of the city

Lifestyle –  Judy Murphy meets a guide who encourages people to sample some of Galway’s best food stops

Sometimes it takes an outsider to make us realise the riches that exist on our own doorstep.

Sheena Dignam, who moved to Galway from Dublin a couple of years ago, has done just that, via a walking tour of the city, which takes in some of its finest eating places and includes a visit to the Galway Market, where participants meet local food producers and get a chance to sample some of their wares.

And, while tour this might initially seem like something for tourists, it’s a brilliant way for local people to learn more about the city’s restaurant scene, and the creative and unusual people who populate Galway’s market.

So it was that on a sunny Saturday morning, a group of us gathered outside Kai Café and Restaurant on Sea Road where we met Sheena, who also looks after Kai’s wine list.

This was our starting point and we moved upstairs to the private dining area of the restaurant where the table was set with a selection of food that included potted crab with dill and seaweed, alongside bowls of pickled beetroot and cucumber as well as brown bread, made that morning.

Each setting also had a small bag containing, among other items, a map and a bottle of water. Sheena explained that we would taste a mix of savoury and sweet food on our outing, so water was needed. And after an hour and a half, during which we sampled a variety that included everything from oysters to doughnuts to sushi, alongside Galway Hooker Ale, it was difficult to disagree!

While her tour group tucked into the food at Kai, Sheena gave some background on the space and its owners, Jess and Dave Murphy. She outlined the ethos of chef, Jess, which is to produce food using locally-sourced ingredients. And she explained that the funky interior was as a result of money being tight when they opened the premises four years ago, so they furnished it using upcycled items from salvage yards.

She gave guests a quick outline of the places we’d be visiting and mentioned a couple of other premises that were worth checking out in people’s own time. And as we walked along Sea Road on the way to our next destination, An Cupán Tae in Flood Street, she stopped outside Ernie’s Fruit and Veg to point out the eclectic range of goods the longstanding retailer stocks – everything from turf to fish and organic food as well as the fruit and veg of the shop’s title.

Also singled out were the Crane Bar, and the Secret Garden tearooms which sells 200 different types of tea as well as having a great garden space to the rear, something most people don’t know about. For coffee lovers, she recommended Urban Grind on William Street West. Its coffee is supplied by the award-winning 3FE in Dublin and it has an extensive breakfast, lunch and tea menu.

For those wanting to combine good food and good beer, she pointed to the Bierhaus on the corner of Henry Street and Dominick Street. This pub, specialising in craft beer, makes “sandwiches to die for”, according to Sheena. These include Banh-Mi, a Vietnamese-style pork roll, and a grilled cheese sandwich, which is “wicked”. This was as much news to the ‘local’ (yours truly) as it was to the Americans and Dutch people on the tour.

From there, it was over Wolfe Tone Bridge to An Cupán Tae on Quay Lane. This tearoom opened five years ago and is ‘a relic of auld decency’ where regular and specialty teas and cakes, which are all made in-house, are served up on fine bone china. Think of your granny’s ‘good china cabinet’ and you have the idea.

This place also sells a huge range of packaged teas, featuring regular and more unusual herbal blends, and thanks to the internet, it’s very popular with American customers, said Sheena.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.

Lifestyle –  Judy Murphy meets a guide who encourages people to sample some of Galway’s best food stops

Sometimes it takes an outsider to make us realise the riches that exist on our own doorstep.

Sheena Dignam, who moved to Galway from Dublin a couple of years ago, has done just that, via a walking tour of the city, which takes in some of its finest eating places and includes a visit to the Galway Market, where participants meet local food producers and get a chance to sample some of their wares.

And, while tour this might initially seem like something for tourists, it’s a brilliant way for local people to learn more about the city’s restaurant scene, and the creative and unusual people who populate Galway’s market.

So it was that on a sunny Saturday morning, a group of us gathered outside Kai Café and Restaurant on Sea Road where we met Sheena, who also looks after Kai’s wine list.

This was our starting point and we moved upstairs to the private dining area of the restaurant where the table was set with a selection of food that included potted crab with dill and seaweed, alongside bowls of pickled beetroot and cucumber as well as brown bread, made that morning.

Each setting also had a small bag containing, among other items, a map and a bottle of water. Sheena explained that we would taste a mix of savoury and sweet food on our outing, so water was needed. And after an hour and a half, during which we sampled a variety that included everything from oysters to doughnuts to sushi, alongside Galway Hooker Ale, it was difficult to disagree!

While her tour group tucked into the food at Kai, Sheena gave some background on the space and its owners, Jess and Dave Murphy. She outlined the ethos of chef, Jess, which is to produce food using locally-sourced ingredients. And she explained that the funky interior was as a result of money being tight when they opened the premises four years ago, so they furnished it using upcycled items from salvage yards.

She gave guests a quick outline of the places we’d be visiting and mentioned a couple of other premises that were worth checking out in people’s own time. And as we walked along Sea Road on the way to our next destination, An Cupán Tae in Flood Street, she stopped outside Ernie’s Fruit and Veg to point out the eclectic range of goods the longstanding retailer stocks – everything from turf to fish and organic food as well as the fruit and veg of the shop’s title.

Also singled out were the Crane Bar, and the Secret Garden tearooms which sells 200 different types of tea as well as having a great garden space to the rear, something most people don’t know about. For coffee lovers, she recommended Urban Grind on William Street West. Its coffee is supplied by the award-winning 3FE in Dublin and it has an extensive breakfast, lunch and tea menu.

For those wanting to combine good food and good beer, she pointed to the Bierhaus on the corner of Henry Street and Dominick Street. This pub, specialising in craft beer, makes “sandwiches to die for”, according to Sheena. These include Banh-Mi, a Vietnamese-style pork roll, and a grilled cheese sandwich, which is “wicked”. This was as much news to the ‘local’ (yours truly) as it was to the Americans and Dutch people on the tour.

From there, it was over Wolfe Tone Bridge to An Cupán Tae on Quay Lane. This tearoom opened five years ago and is ‘a relic of auld decency’ where regular and specialty teas and cakes, which are all made in-house, are served up on fine bone china. Think of your granny’s ‘good china cabinet’ and you have the idea.

This place also sells a huge range of packaged teas, featuring regular and more unusual herbal blends, and thanks to the internet, it’s very popular with American customers, said Sheena.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.