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Best restaurant for people who don't eat fish/meat?

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  • 13-11-2014 1:03pm
    #1
    Intifada
    Registered Users Posts: 974 ✭✭✭


    Doesn't have to be a dedicated restaurant, just one that has good options for people who won't eat meat (or 'vegetarians' if you like enabling that sort of thing ;))

    Thanks


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    #2
    pemtca
    Registered Users Posts: 978 ✭✭✭pemtca


    Kai on Sea Road always has an excellent vegetarian option. Cava has some nice vegetarian choices too.


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    #3
    ronnie3585
    Registered Users Posts: 6,675 ✭✭✭ronnie3585


    pemtca wrote: »
    Kai on Sea Road always has an excellent vegetarian option.

    Really?

    I was there a week ago with my gf who's veggie and her options were extremely limited. One dish and that was it.

    The High Cafe does a really nice falafel plate and very good pastas too.


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    #4
    pemtca
    Registered Users Posts: 978 ✭✭✭pemtca


    ronnie3585 wrote: »
    Really?

    I was there a week ago with my gf who's veggie and her options were extremely limited. One dish and that was it.

    The High Cafe does a really nice falafel plate and very good pastas too.

    Yes there's generally only one option, sometimes two, but it's always excellent, and a cut above what you'll get in most places, in my experience.


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    #5
    youngrun
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 1,477 ✭✭✭youngrun


    One dish is not a choice or option !

    Very hard to get good veggie food in the city ....and especially one thats not swimming in sauce or goats cheese!
    Picky I know but still many are...
    Mcswiggans usually has 3 or so choices, Brasserie also, High cafe.
    Dont think there is a veggie restaurant a la Cornucopia in Dublin in Galway?


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    #6
    pemtca
    Registered Users Posts: 978 ✭✭✭pemtca


    I know it's not a choice, but in my opinion as a long time vegetarian it's better to have one dish done well than three options all done equally badly. Unfortunately there isn't a dedicated vegetarian restaurant in Galway.


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    #7
    Intifada
    Registered Users Posts: 974 ✭✭✭Intifada


    In fairness you are choosing not to eat the other 20, 30 dishes on the menu.


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    #8
    inisboffin
    Registered Users Posts: 4,388 ✭✭✭inisboffin


    Food for thought on Abbeygate St have a few options, but close at 6 I think.
    I really liked Mixd Greens for a while (lots of veg and meat options), but they recently changed management and the way they price. The result was my favourite lunch salad choice jumped by about 30% and the service changed so I stopped going.
    Their hot dishes are nice but a little pricey.
    Ard Bia usually have one or maybe 2 veggie options, but have made up orders for a friend on request when asked (it wasn't busy). Any good chef should accommodate if people request an ingredient changed.


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    #9
    thesandeman
    Registered Users Posts: 10,090 ✭✭✭✭thesandeman


    I usually find places like Lunares or Il Vicolo to be the best. They have a selection of Tapas style veg options and if you combine two or three you have a proper meal.


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    #10
    Eogclouder
    Registered Users Posts: 197 ✭✭Eogclouder


    Vina Mara cater for vegetarians/vegans and their food is great.


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    #11
    yamiki
    Registered Users Posts: 76 ✭✭yamiki


    The Quay Street Kitchen (on quay street, duh) have quite a few veggie/vegan options too ,I think, and was delicious!


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    #12
    MadYaker
    Registered Users Posts: 12,171 ✭✭✭✭MadYaker


    There might be a market for a good vegetarian restaurant in Galway, could be a good business idea for somebody.


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    #13
    Links234
    Closed Accounts Posts: 20,944 ✭✭✭✭Links234


    Indian restaurants generally have good vegetarian options, so I'd recommend Kashmir ;)


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    #14
    beardybrewer
    Registered Users Posts: 2,922 ✭✭✭beardybrewer


    33% of the mains at Rouge are vegetation.


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    #15
    inisboffin
    Registered Users Posts: 4,388 ✭✭✭inisboffin


    beardybrewer wrote: »
    33% of the mains at Rouge are vegetation.

    Really? I thought it was a steak, a fish and a veg option (just one).
    Has that changed?

    If veggies have it hard in Galway, vegans have it tougher I'd say!:)


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    #16
    challengemaster
    Registered Users Posts: 16,931 ✭✭✭✭challengemaster


    inisboffin wrote: »
    Really? I thought it was a steak, a fish and a veg option (just one).
    Has that changed?

    I'm guessing maths was never your strong point :pac:
    If 1 of 3 options is veg - 1/3 = 33%


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    #17
    Mrs OBumble
    Registered Users Posts: 25,796 ✭✭✭✭Mrs OBumble


    In response to a claim that 33% of mains at Rouge are veggies, someone said:
    Really? I thought it was a steak, a fish and a veg option (just one).
    Has that changed?

    Ohhhhhhhh dear...


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    #18
    inisboffin
    Registered Users Posts: 4,388 ✭✭✭inisboffin


    Mrs OBumble wrote: »
    In response to a claim that 33% of mains at Rouge are veggies, someone said:



    Ohhhhhhhh dear...

    Well I was as clear as mud!:(

    'Vegetation' was mentioned!

    I left out a sentence LOL! I meant to say I've never seen a non-dairy dish on the menu, so nothing vegan. Sorry lads, more caffeine!:P


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    #19
    Intifada
    Registered Users Posts: 974 ✭✭✭Intifada


    Cooking for a vegan customer is like engineering a car for someone who wants to drive at walking pace.


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    #20
    El_Dangeroso
    Users Awaiting Email Confirmation Posts: 5,620 ✭✭✭El_Dangeroso


    Intifada wrote: »
    Cooking for a vegan customer is like engineering a car for someone who wants to drive at walking pace.

    A lot of indian food can easily be made vegan with a little effort.

    Boojum is surprisingly vegan friendly.


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    #21
    inisboffin
    Registered Users Posts: 4,388 ✭✭✭inisboffin


    Intifada wrote: »
    Cooking for a vegan customer is like engineering a car for someone who wants to drive at walking pace.

    I've had vegan friends (yes there's more than one :D) visit me and as far as eating out in Ireland it was like a comedy. However, it has gotten better over the years. Galway does have a lack of Veggie/Vegan fare compared to Dublin and Cork. I know those are larger cities, but we have a large tourist draw, and with that come more veggies/vegans.

    Vegan cooking requires a bit more creativity but it is also pretty easy and quite a healthy option. I've had some gorgeous dishes over the years that happened to be vegan. Done badly it is bland. It's way easier to disguise dishes that are mediocre with a buttery sauce or a bit of gravy. As El_Dangeroso mentioned Boojum is an option (minus cheese and sour cream, that's a veg burrito). Indian *can* be made vegan but often has premade sauces with ghee and cream.
    There's such a market for a decent dedicated veggie restaurant that offers a couple of options for vegans. Many burger lovers would eat there sometimes too if the food was good enough to entice.


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    #22
    Intifada
    Registered Users Posts: 974 ✭✭✭Intifada


    Yes but my point was that you would be hard pressed to find a chef who wants to see a vegan walk into their restaurant.


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    #23
    inisboffin
    Registered Users Posts: 4,388 ✭✭✭inisboffin


    Intifada wrote: »
    Yes but my point was that you would be hard pressed to find a chef who wants to see a vegan walk into their restaurant.

    I don't fully agree. Some chefs naturally, but a good amount of creative chefs would be delighted to make a dish for a customer that's tasty and reflects well on them. It's a question of knowing flavours and how to combine them. It's like the response to 'tofu' where people make a face because they don't know how to cook it properly as opposed to just not liking it. I do know a few 'rolly eyes at the vegan' chefs but I also know the other types.


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    #24
    Red Pepper
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,567 ✭✭✭Red Pepper


    ronnie3585 wrote: »
    Really?

    I was there a week ago with my gf who's veggie and her options were extremely limited. One dish and that was it.

    The High Cafe does a really nice falafel plate and very good pastas too.

    High Cafe over Kai for sure. Kai's choice always limited.


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    #25
    biko
    Registered Users Posts: 81,223 ✭✭✭✭biko


    Some older threads, there is also a Vegan/Vegetarian forum where they may know
    http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=80948446
    http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=79961771
    http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=69777002


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    #26
    ronnie3585
    Registered Users Posts: 6,675 ✭✭✭ronnie3585


    The Hare Krishna guy in the Market on Saturdays makes unreal veggie stuff. His kitrichi and samosas are savage. The falafel guy is pretty good too.


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    #27
    Long Gone
    Registered Users Posts: 771 ✭✭✭Long Gone


    I know a guy who went into a restaurant in Glasgow and asked them if they had a vegetarian option.

    " Aye, we do", they said, " Ye can F*** Off " ! .:D


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    #28
    pq0n1ct4ve8zf5
    Closed Accounts Posts: 10,070 ✭✭✭✭pq0n1ct4ve8zf5


    For choice I'd second Quay Street kitchen, Mc Cambridges is pretty good too. Venice (Italian restaurant across from Mixed Greens) is pretty decent food and has plenty veggie options. Proper Italian restaurants in general usually have very good options for vegetarians, there's enough about quality fresh ingredients, wide ranges of flavour and texture combinations and fiddly stuff like that in Italian cuisine that Italian chefs usually neither throw a snarky hissy fit nor find themselves unable to cook anything decent when faced with the novelty of a meat-free dish ;)


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    #29
    charlie_says
    Registered Users Posts: 1,666 ✭✭✭charlie_says


    Museum cafe at the Spanish Arch has an lovely menu for vegetarians. You can add meat to the dishes for a few extra there. They seem to only go for more healthy options in general.

    You rarely see suitable for vegans on restaurant menus now. They are a small market and have very strict requirements.

    I would generally eat meat with most dishes so this isn't something I know about too much,


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    #30
    inisboffin
    Registered Users Posts: 4,388 ✭✭✭inisboffin


    charlie_says wrote: »

    You rarely see suitable for vegans on restaurant menus now. They are a small market and have very strict requirements.

    Sometimes it's just one item needs removing to make the dish vegan, whether that be the cheese from a pasta dish or even the chicken from a rice dish.
    Just a bit of creativity imo. Chatted with a chef tonight about this thread and they said "if they (a good chef) can't serve a vegan dish up that's tasty and appealing they're just lazy f*cking b*stards". :D


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    #31
    Long Gone
    Registered Users Posts: 771 ✭✭✭Long Gone


    inisboffin wrote: »
    Chatted with a chef tonight about this thread and they said "if they (a good chef) can't serve a vegan dish up that's tasty and appealing they're just lazy f*cking b*stards". :D

    Alternatively they might just have no interest in catering for beardy weirdy types.... Just saying like...


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