Best Restaurants to Enjoy Typical Irish Dishes

In the heart of the picturesque village of Glasson, just a 10-minute drive from the centre of Athlone, lays the charming Grogan’s of Glasson. Moira and Miriam Grogan run an atmospheric traditional family pub and restaurant. The menu is varied and very good value, which choices sufficient to accommodate all tastes, with a good value menu offered from 16:00.

The restaurant is open from 12:00 to 21:00 Monday to Saturday, 12:00 to 20:00 Sundays and Bank Holiday Mondays. Traditional ceilidh music is played on Friday nights, with visiting musicians welcome.

The Villager is another bar and restaurant in the heart of the beautiful village of Glasson. that has been awarded ‘Westmeath’s Best Gastropub’ for two years running at the Irish Restaurant Awards. Ran by local husband & wife team Chef Cathal Moran & Maeve Lennon, The Villager offers wholesome rustic fare with great flavours, friendly efficient service in a warm and homely ambiance.

In May 2018, The Villager opened JB’s Pizza Garden in its back lawn, offering Wood Fired Pizzas and nibbles on Friday, Saturday and Sundays. The bar and restaurant are open Wednesday to Saturdays 12:30 - 21:00 and Sunday 12:30 - 19:30

This charming cafe and bar hangout is located on Athlone's left bank, opposite the Bastion B&B. It attracts a fun local and focuses on serving only organic produce. Here you can enjoy an organic falafel pitta or a falafel and beetroot hummus salad. For something more typically Irish, try the Sausage Bap with its black pepper and chive sausages with lettuce on a generous bap with onion relish on the side to perfectly balance the peppery sausages. Add a double espresso to ward off any tiredness and you will be on your way with full, contented bellies. As a deli as well, the walls are adorned with healthy foodie treats for sale and a large coffee sack contains bags of McCabe’s coffee.

Feargal and Fiona O’Donnell and their head chef Dee Adamson offer a menu that is traditional but creative. Food is sourced locally with vegetable suppliers named on the menu along with more famous producers such as Mossfield Organic and Burren Smokehouse. Highlights on the menu, aside from excellent crusty breads, include the ham hock terrine and heritage potato and the char-grilled 10oz Sirloin of John Stone 30-day dry-aged beef which fights for top spot with the Black Island Atlantic Lamb for the best lamb you’ll eat all year.

Close to the Athlone Lock on the River Shannon with views of the Norman Castle, this deli-Bistro with its airy, whitewashed interior with shelves of house-made goods has a menu which combines superior Irish ingredients with Mediterranean and Asian influences. The bistro offers an early-bird menu which runs through the evening (except Saturday, when it ends at 18:30), which includes beef Stroganoff, fillet of tilapia on mash, or spinach and ricotta cannelloni.

The main dinner menu offers steaks, fish, duck, and rack of lamb. Irresistible desserts include Mississippi mud pie, pavlova roulade, and lemon-and-lime cheesecake. Open 10:30 to 21:30 Tuesday to Saturday.