Eating in Ireland: Gluten-Free and Vegan Options

Irish chefs (even in rural areas) are well informed when it comes to gluten allergies, and many menus mark their gluten-free options. These restaurants are all excellent options for travelers in Ireland with dietary restrictions.

an irish flag flies along a street lined with pubs
Restaurants for those with dietary restrictions abound in Dublin and beyond. Photo © littleclie/iStock.

Dublin and Surrounding Area

A breakfast (or sweet lunch?) option is Yogism (Georges St. Arcade, Dublin; tel. 01/679-9980, 9am-6:30pm Mon.-Wed. and Sat., 9am-7pm Thurs.-Fri., noon-6pm Sun., €5-9), with gluten-free (buckwheat and flax) pancakes heaped with fresh fruit and dairy or vegan coconut yogurt along with superfood smoothies, not-so-healthy fro-yo cones, and coffee with homemade nut milk options. These guys are doing an awesome job at diet-inclusiveness. There’s a second, much smaller location on Dawson Street on the north side of St. Stephen’s Green.

Established as a late-night alternative to the pub scene, Accents (23 Stephen St. Lower, Dublin; tel. 01/416-0040, 10am-11pm Mon.-Fri., 10:30am-11pm Sat., 12:30pm-10pm Sun., under €10) prides itself on being a friendly and relaxing place to while away an evening. There are plenty of couches and bookshelves to peruse. The menu features gluten-free and vegan options along with organic fair-trade coffee and loose-leaf teas—and the hot chocolate gets top marks too.

Savor a pain au chocolat and a café au lait at George’s Patisserie (Chapel St., Slane; tel. 041/982-4493, 9am-6pm daily, €6). The ornate three-tier cakes on display conjure daydreams of a grand old-fashioned wedding. Though the café offers only sweet things, there’s a delicatessen on the premises featuring local meats and cheeses, and the freshly baked breads (including gluten-free options) make for good picnic fixings.

The menu at the ever-busy Box Burger (7 Strand Rd., Bray; tel. 01/538-1000, 5pm-10pm Wed.-Thurs., 5pm-11pm Fri., noon-11pm Sat., noon-10pm Sun., €8-12) includes a very tasty seitan burger with vegan cheese, and folks on a gluten-free diet can get their burger on a deluxe quinoa or avocado salad—so there really is something for everyone. You’ll find this restaurant inside a Victorian railway building just down the street from the DART station.

The Southeast

For a sit-down enjoy-your-meal kind of place, try the (however oddly named) Stable Diet Café (100 S. Main St., Wexford; tel. 053/914-9012, 8:30am-5pm Mon.-Sat., until 5:30pm Fri.-Sat., under €10), which does excellent gluten-free home baking—everything from scones to cakes to granola and flapjacks—along with soups, salads, and veg or chicken tagine.

Before or after your visit to Kilkenny Castle, you might want to head across the street to the Kilkenny Design Centre for dinner at the formal Anocht (The Parade, Collegepark, Kilkenny; 5:30pm-9:30pm Thurs.-Sat., €19-27), which means “tonight.” Modern Irish cuisine using local produce, meats, and seafood plus gluten-free bread options and attentive table service—a memorable meal is guaranteed.

For lunch, try the quaint and cozy (in a modern sense) Cotton Tree Café (Slaney Pl., on the river, Enniscorthy; tel. 053/923-4641, 8:30am-5pm Mon.-Sat., 10am-5pm Sun., under €10). The menu happily abounds with hearty vegan and gluten-free options.

a plate with fish and fresh vegetables
Anocht features modern Irish cuisine using local produce, meats, and seafood plus gluten-free bread options. Photo © Claire Dunne, courtesy of Anocht.

Cork

It isn’t a formal restaurant, but at The Cornstore (41/43 Cornmarket St., Cork; tel. 021/427-4777, noon-10pm daily, lunch €10, dinner €14-23, 3-course early bird €28) reservations are definitely recommended on weekend evenings. The cocktails are legendary, the menu includes plenty of gluten-free options, and the service is terrific.

For the best coffee in Cork, drop by Filter (19 George’s Quay, Cork; tel. 021/455-0050, 8am-6pm Mon.-Fri., 9am-6pm Sat., 10am-5:30pm Sun., under €8). This arty (if tiny) coffee shop does sandwiches and scrummy treats too, with vegan and gluten-free options.

Part of Isaac’s Hotel, the wonderful Greene’s (48 MacCurtain St., Cork; tel. 021/450-0011, 12:30pm-3pm Mon.-Sat. and 12:30pm-4pm Sun., 6pm-10pm daily, 2/3-course lunch €22/25, 3-course early-bird special €32.50 6pm-7pm, €26-30) is reached through an atmospheric stone archway and a courtyard with a waterfall floodlit by night. The modern Irish fare is top-notch, and the desserts are to die for. While there are no vegan options on the menu, the chef will accommodate with something way more imaginative than a stir-fry, and gluten-free choices are abundant. Be sure to get here by 7pm for the early bird, which is a far better value than the à la carte.

Pop into Café Cois Cuan (Main St., East End, Cork; tel. 028/27005, 10am-6pm Mon.-Tues., 10am-8:30pm Fri.-Sat., 10am-4pm Sun., under €10) for anything from a bowl of chowder to a gluten-free brownie.

Kerry

Adh Danlann Café (Dykegate Ln., Kerry; tel. 087/773-5815, Mon.-Sat., hours vary, under €10) adjoins a small wonderland of toys, clocks, and musical instruments. The simple menu (curries and so forth) is 100 percent vegetarian, with plenty of gluten-free options.

A terrific lunch option is the all-vegetarian Bookstop Café (Bridge St., Kenmare; tel. 064/667-9911, 9:30am-4pm Mon.-Sat., until 5:30pm in high season, under €8), serving up yummy plates of beet burgers, crepes, and deluxe salads along with abundant vegan and gluten-free dessert options. Browse the shelves of secondhand paperbacks once you’ve finished your lunch.

Even if you’re just passing through, be sure to stop for lunch at CaféSIVEEN (11 Main St., Kerry; tel. 066/401-0404, 9am-5pm Mon.-Fri., 9am-4pm Sat., under €10), a warm and friendly coffee shop that manages to feel hip and country-kitchen at the same time. The salads, soups, and sandwiches are fresh, imaginative, and delicious, with abundant veg and gluten-free options. This is certainly one of the very best eateries on the Ring of Kerry.

For a hearty lunch or delectable home-baking, visit Noelle’s Retro Café (Old Market Ln., off New St., Killarney; tel. 087/687-3364, 9am-8pm Mon.-Sat., under €12), which offers gluten-free (though not vegan) options. Enjoy your tea and daintily frosted cupcake in one of the comfortable nostalgia-themed rooms.

Galway

The Light House (8 Upper Abbeygate St., Galway; 087/352-0198, 10:30am-6pm Mon.-Sat., noon-6pm Sun., under €10) has delicious dairy-free desserts along with hearty and flavorful lunches (some featuring homemade cashew cheese) and excellent coffee. The menu is mostly gluten-free, too. If there are no tables open in this sweet little café, it’s definitely worth the wait.

One of Athlone’s best restaurants is Thyme (Custume Pl., Athlone; tel. 090/647-8850, 5pm-10pm Mon.-Sat., noon-10pm Sun., €16-26, 2/3-course dinner €25/30), which is a terrific option for those travelers on a gluten-free diet.

Northern Ireland

The coffee shop at the Nerve Centre, Café Nervosa (7-8 Magazine St., Derry; tel. 028/7126-0562, 9:30am-5pm Mon.-Sat., £3-5), facing the west wall, is a good place to chill out with a cup of coffee and surf the net for no extra charge. The lunches are simple but hearty, with several vegetarian and gluten-free choices.

Seafood is a specialty at Ginger Bistro (7-8 Hope St., Belfast; tel. 028/9024-4421, noon-10pm Tues.-Sat., lunch £5-17, dinner £15-23), which also gets good marks for helpful service and appealingly quirky decor. Vegetarians will find a wealth of options, and though many of them are au gratin or otherwise loaded with dairy, Ginger is still one of Belfast’s best dinner options for vegans. Those on a gluten-free diet have a choice of meals as well. Book ahead.




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