Moran's Seafood Cottage - Weir, Ireland
This restaurant has quickly jumped into the list of my favorite restaurants in Ireland. I thoroughly enjoy everything about this restaurant, the atmosphere, the food, and the price.
For our last visit to Moran’s (that would be with an accent on the 1st syllable), Carol and I had fish chowder and three appetizers/small plates. … more than enough food. The fish chowder is great, very little or no shellfish but lots of local fish. It has a slight flavor of “smoked salmon” throughout that I found quite pleasant (you may not like the chowder if you don’t care for smoked salmon for the flavor rather than the texture) and comes with very good Irish brown bread. The 1st appetizer was a brie tort. An ample portion of brie baked in a pastry shell and a little relish and bread on the side … very, very tasty. The second appetizer was garlic crab claws … just the claws … lots and lots of garlic butter. The last dish was six garlic oysters … not cooked too much … lots of garlic and yummy breadcrumbs … served in the shell. All of this was enhanced by a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc that went very, very well with all of the seafood dishes.
The weather was gorgeous the day we visited Moran’s. The sun was out, the wind was a very slight 1 or 2 miles per hour and the temperature was a little over 60F. We sat outside of the thatched roofed restaurant and enjoyed the weather, the scenery, and the food. The Seafood Cottage is situated on an inlet of Galway bay where several dozen swans were swimming during our visit.
Our total bill for two people was about €80, a little pricey, but worth it.
Moran’s has two minor negatives that might not be quite so minor to some. It is a seafood restaurant and it is far from where you will likely have a B&B (although there appears to be an excellent local B&B).
When I say Moran’s is a seafood restaurant, I mean it. The menu is pretty large and varied, but there are only two non-seafood items that I remember, the brie tort and a baked ham salad. So, if you absolutely refuse to eat seafood, this is not your restaurant.
The remoteness of the restaurant is both a positive and a negative. The restaurant is situated on a very quiet road over looking an inlet of Galway Bay …. very quiet. This may be a tourist destination, but I saw very few during our afternoon visit. I have seen tour busses go down unbelievably narrow roads in Ireland, but I can’t imagine a tour bus making it to The Weir.
The remoteness is also a negative with the strict drinking and driving laws in Ireland and the distance to home or a possible B&B. It is 11km to Oranmore and about 20 km to downtown Galway. One option is to have a designated driver, in Ireland this means they can have a glass of Guinness (1/2 pint). A second option is to drink moderately (1 pint+) and go for a walk to see the village and the swans and the … A third option is to take a taxi ride to and from Oranmore or downtown Galway. This is a €15-30 option each way. The 1st or 3rd option would be the preferred.
More of Moran’s history, menu, and location can be found on-line at the following locations:
http://www.moransoystercottage.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moran%27s_Oyster_Cottage
I would rate Moran’s €€€ (3 out of 5) and ✔✔✔✔✔ (5 out of 5) and this restaurant is definitely “Worth the Journey”. The food, the service, the atmosphere, and the price, all come together for Moran’s Seafood Cottage.
See You in the Pub!
Jet Lag Jack