Marconi Restaurant (Clifden)
The staff couldn’t find our 7pm reservation when we arrived but that didn’t stop them from being very friendly and seating us in the Garden Room as expected. The rosé wine we ordered wasn’t available but the substitute (La Perriere Pinot noir rose) was a fine replacement. Eric started with the smoked cheddar and chorizo parcel appetizer with a nice Asian dipping sauce and onion chutney, then had a creamy, tangy tomato risotto for his main course. I went with two starters for my meal, the chicken liver paté that was light and creamy, and the mussels with lemongrass and coconut milk, super tender with very flavorful sauce. Everything arrived with bowls of extra veg: fries, garlic potatoes (which were like pizza due to oregano seasoning, yum!) and a steamed mix of peas, broccoli and carrots. Service was friendly and attentive the whole time.

We stopped into MC McGraths after dinner for a quick drink. Eric got a Red Breast 12 Irish whiskey and I got a glass of Guinness. The live music was nice and the crowd was really into it. We were lucky to get two stools at the bar but it still took a while to get our drinks as they were very busy. There was even a 10 year old behind the bar pouring Guinness pints!

Connemara Woodfire (Letterfrack)
After visiting the Abbey, I wanted to try Spuds & Shells for some oysters, but when we stopped by at 3:35pm on a Friday they were absolutely closed. Google said they should have been open until 4pm. In high season!?! Instead we opted for Connemara Woodfire, grateful for its dedicated parking lot. Eric ordered a farmhouse cider and I got a glass of tempranillo, then we split an order of fries and a margherita pizza. We sat outside under the greenhouse, liking both the atmosphere and the food. With the tip rounded up, the total was 40€.

After enjoying our late lunch pizza, we decided to skip another sit-down dinner in Clifden, and got a bottle of rosé and nutella pastries at the local SuperValu to enjoy back in our room.