If you read this blog, you might already know I love to start a trip to a new town with a food tour. On this occasion, on my third trip to Dublin, I thought it was time to give Irish food another chance, as it hadn’t really grown on me. So, I chose a Dublin food tour by FabFoodTrails, and I was ready to be impressed.
FabFoodTrails
FabFoodTrails has been running Irish food tours in Dublin since 2006, and they also run tours in Cork now. The focus is on local products and Irish food. It also features small independent businesses, which is always a plus.
Irish Food
When you first think about Irish food, the first thing that comes to mind is the potato. Irish stews and pies, fish and chips, the potato is at the base of everything. There’s a lot of history behind that: being forced to produce for the English for centuries, the island’s climate, favorable for the potato, and the ability to feed a large family from a small acreage that was available to the average Irish peasant man. The typical Irish food is hearty and unpretentious. The famous Irish breakfast is the perfect example. Farmers would need a full meal to prepare for the day’s work on Ireland’s cold and windy mornings. A hearty plate with most items produced on the farm would help the men prepare for the day and keep them going until dusk.
Of course, modern Irish food is a bit more varied than that, and a food tour in Dublin is the best way to discover where locals go for the best of it.
Step-by-step review of FabFoodTrails Dublin tour
Meeting Point
The itinerary and meeting point adapts depending on the working hours and such. However, it’s always a central, easy-to-access place. You will get the meeting point by email a few days before the tour. For us, it was outside the Mansion House, very close to St. Stephen’s Green.
Our FabFoodTours Guide
Our guide, Ellen, was an Irish girl that spent some time abroad. She came back home with a renewed love for everything Irish. That includes Irish food, of course.
Ellen is a freelancer, and did a very good job explaining local food, history, and Irish traditions.
Dublin Food Tour Itinerary
I will detail every stop, as they are excellent places, but it’s not quite the same if you try to recreate it without a local guide. I will also talk about the food (a favorite subject of mine, as you may have noticed by now).
First stop, coffee
Any morning tour must start with a coffee. This was sort of unexpected because we stopped at a Sicilian place, Dolce Sicily. The guys there combine excellent Irish dairy with Sicilian traditions, and I must say the result is great. I had a great cappuccino to start my day. The coffee was strong enough, and the foam silky and sweet.
However, I went back to that place another day for some pastry. I wanted a cannolo, and they filled it on the spot with my favorite, pistachio cream. Yummy!
A cheese tasting
There are a few very high-quality ingredients in Ireland: dairy, beef, fish, and seafood are amazing. The soil and the constant rain feed the grass, and the cattle are very happy with the conditions. Despite that, dairy didn’t go much further than milk and butter until recently. A few decades ago, with some influence from Dutch immigrants noticing the excellent milk, they started to make different types of cheeses.
One of the best places to try Irish cheese is Sheridans Cheesemongers. We tried 3 types of cheese: a smooth goat cheese, a cow variety, and some blue sheep cheese. They also make some famous crackers that complement the cheeses very well, and their own chutneys and jams. You can find their products in other stores as well, but if you like cheese, this is the place to stop.
The Pepper Pot Cafe and Bakery
The name comes from the Pepper Pot tower at Powerscourt House and Gardens. In Dublin city, the Powerscourt Townhouse became a shopping gallery, and this is the residence of the Pepper Pot Cafe. They are most famous for their baking.
We had a savory and a sweet tasting here. First, we tried baking soda bread with cheese cream and smoked salmon. Smoked salmon is another star of Irish cuisine. The second tasting was a scone with jam and cream, the perfect bite to accompany a coffee or tea.
The setting is beautiful too, with Georgian-style Powerscourt Townhouse transformed into a cozy town gallery to host mostly independent businesses. The place is less than 10-minutes away from Temple Bar and should be on your Dublin itinerary for a quick visit. You can plan to have lunch at Pepper Pot Cafe or just stop to rest and admire the place for a few minutes.
Oysters at The Seafood Cafe
Next stop, oysters and a glass of white wine at the Seafood Cafe in the Temple Bar area. A small, modern place where you can sit outside and have a bite at the counter. The staff knew everything about oysters, different varieties, where they come from, anything. They also had vegetarian options, a snack with flavored butter, some fresh bread, and olives.
The seafood cafe was one of the places I wouldn’t have noticed otherwise in the busy, colored Temple Bar area. It’s a hidden gem that I plan to try again for some fresh seafood.
Specialty Food Store – Fallon & Byrne
Another hidden gem, this time a specialty food store. It’s a great place to buy fresh fruit or vegetables, but also specialties from over the world. This is where you can find Carnaroli rice for risotto from Italy, olives, and Jamon from Spain, or madeleines from France. They also have a cellar with wines from all over the world.
We tasted cheese with chutney and crackers or for the meat-eaters a chicken liver pate specialty, olives, and some rosemary cheese. I did notice a good selection of ready-to-eat things to take home for lunch or dinner and sandwiches were looking great too.
Irish Whiskey
No food tour is complete without a local drink. In Dublin, that can mean only two things: Guinness or whiskey. And since the first part, you’ll probably try on your own, either at the Guinness Storehouse or at one of the many pubs in town, you may need a little intro for the whiskey.
The Swan is a family-owned bar in the center of Dublin. It preserves very well the historic appearance. Step in for a glass of Powers whiskey and a chat with the owner. Pay attention to the details: the cold counter, the snug room, all the wooden details, and the rugby memorabilia.
Icecream – the perfect end to our Irish Food Tour in Dublin
I bet you didn’t know Irish ice cream is so good. It’s because of that incredible milk. At the Three Twenty, they use Jersey cows’ milk to obtain an extra creamy ice cream. We tasted the salted caramel, and I will definitely go back for more.
Final thoughts on the Dublin Food Tour
I couldn’t recommend the FabFoodTrails Dublin Tour enough. Ellen was passionate about Irish food and Dublin city. We had a small group, only 6 people, so it was easy to talk to her and to the other people. The seven stops were all well chosen, and they also had a few things in common: good food and drinks, local ingredients, and small independent businesses. These are the ones you want to discover, but they are hard to find on your own.
Apart from the tastings, she also showed us a few other good places along the way. The tour takes 2.5 to 3 hours, and there is some walking involved. Not a lot, but still, wear something comfortable. They can adapt to vegetarian diets, and I was extremely happy that we had no fish and chips on the menu.
To sum up, I only regret not doing this tour the first time I went to Dublin.
Booking options
Book direct at FabFoodTrails and check the different tours they offer.
If you prefer to have all bookings on one app, book your Dublin food tour with GetYourGuide.
Disclosure
I was offered the Dublin food tour by FabFoodTrails. All opinions stated above are my own. Some of the above may be affiliate links. This means that if you click on a link and make a purchase, I earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. However, I only recommend companies, activities, or products that I use myself. Thank you for your support in keeping my blog live!