Page 314 - Lonely Planet Europe’s Best Trips (Travel Guide)

Eating & Sleeping / GETTY IMAGES ©

4 House Hotel Hotel €€€
Dublin 1 (%091-538 900; www.thehousehotel.ie; Spanish
Pde; r €140-220; pW) There’s a hip and cool
5 101 Talbot Modern Irish €€ array of colour in the lobby at this smart and
(www.101talbot.ie; 100-102 Talbot St; mains stylish boutique hotel. Public spaces contrast
€17-24; hnoon-3pm & 5-11pm Tue-Sat; gall modern art with trad details and bold accents.
city centre) This Dublin classic has expertly Cat motifs abound. The 40 rooms are small but
resisted every trendy wave and has been a plush, with bright colour schemes and quality
stalwart of good Irish cooking since opening fabrics. Bathrooms ooze comfort.
more than two decades ago. Its speciality is
traditional meat-and-two-veg dinners, but
with vague Mediterranean and even Middle Clifden 4
IRELAND 22 ICONIC IRELAND
Eastern influences: roast Wicklow venison with
sweet potato, lentil and bacon cassoulet and 5 Mitchell’s Seafood €€
a sensational Morcoccan-style lamb tagine. (%095-21867; www.mitchellsrestaurantclifden.
Superb. com; Market St; lunch mains €7-15, dinner mains
4 Number 31 Guesthouse €€€ €17-28; hnoon-10pm Mar-Oct) Seafood takes
centre stage at this elegant spot. From a velvety
(%01-676 5011; www.number31.ie; 31 Leeson chowder right through a long list of ever-
Close; s/d incl breakfast €200/240; pW; gall changing and inventive specials, the produce
city centre) The city’s most distinctive property of the surrounding waters is honoured. The
is the former home of modernist architect Sam wine list does the food justice. Lunch includes
Stephenson, who successfully fused ’60s style sandwiches and casual fare. Book for dinner.
with 18th-century grace. Its 21 bedrooms are
split between the retro coach house, with its 4 Dolphin Beach B&B €€
coolly modern rooms, and the more elegant (%095-21204; www.dolphinbeachhouse.com;
Georgian house, where rooms are individually Lower Sky Rd; s from €90, d €130-180, dinner
furnished with tasteful French antiques and big €40; pW) This exquisite B&B, set amid some
comfortable beds. Gourmet breakfasts with of Connemara’s best coastal scenery, does
kippers, homemade breads and granola are everything right. The emphasis is on style,
served in the conservatory. tranquillity, relaxation and gorgeous views, a
formula that can be hard to tear yourself away
from. It’s 5km west of Clifden, tucked away off
Galway City 2 the Lower Sky Road.
5 Quays Irish €€
(Quay St; mains lunch €11-14, dinner €17-22; Ennis 6
h11am-10pm) This sprawling pub does a
roaring business downstairs in its restaurant, 5 Rowan Tree
which has hearty carvery lunches and more Cafe Bar Mediterranean €€
ambitious mains at night. The cold seafood (www.rowantreecafebar.ie; Harmony Row; mains
platter stars the bounty from Galway Bay. €11-23; h10.30am-11pm; W) There’s nothing
Students on dates and out celebrating get low rent about the excellent Med-accented
rowdier as the pints and hours pass. fare served at this cafe-bar on the ground floor
of the namesake hostel. The gorgeous main

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