Westport and Irish Seafood
24 September 2018
After a long day of walking the seabed to castles, crossing beaches, driving through boglands, and precariously trekking mountainside village ruins, we were ready to have a relaxing sit down and a nice dinner. We made our way into the town of Westport for a seafood place earning a great reputation. Before we were ready for dinner though, there was one more stop we needed to make...
We circled around the edge of the town to the western seaside, home to both the restaurant as well as the Westport Quay. The sun was dipping towards the horizon and the sky was that nice mix of clouds and clear, so we wanted to see the sunset over Clew Bay. We parked by the marina, looked at the sailboats on the hard (with a little bit of daydreaming of our own one day), and walked along the dock toward the end of the Quay. From there we saw the towering peak of Croagh Patrick, traced the waters where the bay slowly made its way out to the Atlantic Ocean, and watched a couple of cows grazing on a hilltop across the water. Before long, the sun lit up the sky in brilliant orange and yellow as it found its way to the horizon. A sight well worth the wait!
Considering that Ireland is an island nation, you would assume it is a big seafood country. Surprisingly though seafood was not as central to their cuisine as one would think. That does seem to be changing significantly, as the Irish are really appreciating the bounty from their cold waters. Even in the ten years since we were here last, the amount of seafood on the local menus had increased drastically.
We are both big seafood fans, and when we go somewhere close to the sea, fresh seafood is what we hope to find!
Just a short distance down from the Quay, right along the shoreline, was a restaurant called Cronin’s Sheebeen. We had heard that this place had great seafood and was making waves in the local dining scene, so we had to check it out! We had excellent mussels with Irish brown bread. For me, the brown bread is the defining flavor of Ireland, far moreso than even Guinness. I love the brown bread! Beth had baked Hake fish and I decided on cod with bacon and peas. It was absolutely heavenly! There has been a lot of buzz about Irish seafood lately, and we can’t wait to try it all!
We toyed with the idea of finding some trouble to get into somewhere in Westport, but ultimately were pretty beat from our long day and settled in to an early night. The next morning, we bid a sad farewell to our cozy little hobbit hole, trekked through Westport for some breakfast and coffee, and got ready for the long drive down to Connemara as we head back to the same cottage where we stayed ten years ago on our honeymoon!
We took the longer route from Westport to our cottage in An Spidéal, taking the N59 through Mayo then down along the coast of Connemara, following close to the Wild Atlantic Way the whole route. Right as we crossed from Counties Mayo to Galway we passed by the Killary Fjord, which is popular with boaters, tour groups, and adventure sports... but it is also where they get some of the very best seafood Western Ireland has to offer- Killary Mussels!
We didn’t get to see much of the fjord itself as the rain was pouring something horrendous. Carefully navigating through quick curving roads, under beautiful trees making an archway over the road, past the stately Kylemore Abbey, and around some spectacular scenery had we been able to actually see it, we finally came to the little town of Letterfrack. In the town is a highly recommended seafood restaurant called Veldon’s Seafarer. You know you need to stop in when your research says it is a must go, then you hear from a friend who was just in this part of the country also highly recommending it!
One of the culinary highlights from 2008 was an unbelievable seafood chowder in this creamy white broth that we had down in Gort. It is very reminiscent of the creamy crab soup we get in Maryland, though with large chunks of a wider variety of fish and shellfish as well. As amazing as the chowder was in Gort, we have heard along the coast in Counties Mayo and Galway is where you find the very best. So when we found the dish on the menu at Veldon’s, it was a must order. Served with that amazing Irish brown bread, the chowder was perfect! Creamy and savory with large chunks of fish, what more could a seafood lover want?
Mussels maybe?
Belgium is well known for their mussels, which is actually a national dish there. We’ve had mussels in Ostend, mussels in Bruges, even musses in Brussels (no, not those muscles from Brussels!). I am here to tell you the Irish mussels were far superior to anything we had in Belgium... and that isn’t putting down the Belgian mussels either! The Killary Fjord mussels are simply the best shellfish I’ve had, nothing else so far can compare. Small, sweet, needing nothing more than a perfect steam and a side of local beer, fresh brown bread, and that hearty chowder.
We have found our perfect seafood meal!
