We’ve been to Galway a few times, and Galway always offers fun restaurants serving good food. Some previous favorites are Ard Bia at Nimmos, the Dough Bros., and Kai Café. Ard Bia and Kai Café, my standbys, were closed this trip because we visited between Christmas and New Years, so I tried a new restaurant opened in 2020 – Ean! Self-described as “an inventive bakery, restaurant & wine bar,” Ean is a product of Galway’s Michelin-starred Loam (closed during my visit). Located on a quiet street, Ean’s interior is a clean space of large tables perfect for sharing. We made a reservation for 9 people via email about a month prior to our visit.
Galway during the holidays! Highly recommened.
Making the reservation was easy and an email confirmation was sent a day or two in advance. We arrived right on time and our table was waiting. While it changes daily, Ean’s dinner menu is a selection of dishes meant to be shared in a variety of sizes, ranging from small croquettes to large dishes that could serve as a main. The wait staff helped us select a number of things to share between nine people, which I’ll go thorough below.
Ean’s menu on 12/28/22.
We also ordered a few bottles of wine from the wine list, which for a wine bar, was a bit small IMHO. Nevertheless, Ean had some great Portuguese reds and a few that were not on the menu. Definitely ask your waiter about the wine if you’re interested. We started with a sparking wine called 3B, which was a rose Portuguese sparkling wine made of red Baga grapes and a white Bical. We took Ean’s last two bottles – hopefully they restock. The 3B was excellent. We later ordered two reds – a Portuguese and an Italian. We all preferred the Portuguese red but both were delicious.
Ean’s wine list in 12/22.
The 3B. You can see our waiter’s awesome Saved by the Bell shirt in the background, ha.
After the 3B, we split bottles of a red from the Douro and a classic Chianti. The Douro was our favorite and it was recommended by our waiter!
Our two reds.
Having our wine, we ordered a few things for the table to share: olives in olive oil, oysters, ham croquettes, and “squid toast.” The olives were pretty standard, but the table seemed to be a fan. The oysters were local from just north of Galway and served with cucumber and fennel. The oysters were beautiful, but people in my party described them as meaty. I don’t eat oysters, so I guess that’s a personal opinion.
Olives. Always a classic.
Local Irish oysters with fennel and cucumber.
A close up of the Osyters.
The big stars were here the ham croquettes and squid toast! The ham croquettes were served as small balls stuffed with cheese and ham. There was not much breading in the croquettes and they were 100% delicious. Everyone was a fan! The squid toast was also fantastic – which was a total surprise. Served on give small pieces of toast, the dish reminded me a little of Portuguese bread topped with a sardine and olive oil. In any case, it was delicious. We should have ordered more of this dish.
Ham croquettes.
The famous “squid toast.”
We also went with the classic jamon Iberico, which was served on bread with a tomato paste. This was probably my favorite dish of the evening and it was done in a very Spanish style. We would order a second order later in the evening.
Jamon Iberico.
We next moved on to the mid-size dishes. We ordered a number of the scallops, which were served in pairs of two with pumpkin and lard. This dish was a table favorite.
Scallops in pumpkin and lard.
The scallops paired well with the Jerusalem artichokes, sprouts and mussels (though light on the mussels). We also learned that a Jerusalem artichoke is simply a Brussel sprout. These also went well with the Dexter tartare, which was a mound of beef tartare topped with bone marrow snow. This dish was fantastic!
Jerusalem artichokes with sprouts and mussels.
Dexter tartare.
We ended our meal with a series of sides and the cod. The first side, Dathúil potatoes. These potatoes were totally amazing. We ordered multiple rounds. Second side, cauliflower served with caramelised onion and cheese. This tasted a lot like a mac and cheese and it was a fan favorite. Third, charred cabbage. The charred cabbage was a grilled slice of cauliflower with caramelized onion and cheese. This was not terribly easy to share, but it was still good (and we did manage to share it!). In addition to these sides, we also ordered the beetroot salad, that I neglected to photograph and ended with the cod fish dish.
Not the best photo, but these potatoes were phenomenal.
The cauliflower dish that resembled mac and cheese!
Charred cabbage.
Cod served with Chantrelle and daikon.
After these dishes, we re-ordered some of the earlier dishes and ended with the Rose dessert, made with beetroot and blackberries!
The Rose dessert.
All in all, dinner at Ean was fantastic and I think it was everyone’s top meal of the trip. I highly recommend Ean for those looking for an upscale, non-traditional meal in Ireland. I cannot say enough about the food and service.
STEAL OUR TRIP
Ean: Druid Ln, Galway, H91 WD26, Ireland. Closed Monday – Tuesday. Open Wednesday – Sunday 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM and 5:30 PM – 11:30 PM. Reservations recommended.
ON A BUDGET
While the price is excellent for the quality of food, budget travelers should go to Ean’s bakery during day hours. I missed the pastries, but they look amazing on IG!