Traditional Irish Food: What to Try in Ireland

This is a guide to the dishes themselves — what they are, where they came from, and what you're actually getting when you order them — rather than a restaurant recommendation list. Names of specific restaurants change hands and menus often, so we've kept this to the food. Details below were checked against culinary and historical sources as of the date at the top of this page.

Irish stew

Widely treated as Ireland's national dish, Irish stew was recognised as a distinct dish by around 1800, though it grew out of much older peasant cooking traditions. The classic version uses mutton or lamb — historically, older sheep whose wool and milk had already been the more economically important product — along with potatoes, onions and root vegetables, all simmered slowly together for a couple of hours. It's a dish built out of necessity: cheap cuts, a few vegetables, and a long, low simmer to make tougher meat tender. Beef versions are common today too.

Colcannon

Colcannon is mashed potato worked through with cooked cabbage or kale, butter and cream. The name comes from the Irish cál ceannann, meaning "white-headed cabbage." It has a strong association with Halloween, when it was traditionally served with small charms hidden inside as part of festive fortune-telling customs. You'll find it year-round now as a side dish, especially alongside bacon or sausages.

Boxty

A potato pancake made from a mix of grated raw potato and mashed potato, historically associated with the north midlands, north Connacht and southern Ulster — Leitrim, Mayo, Sligo, Fermanagh, Longford and Cavan in particular. The name is thought to derive from the Irish arán bocht tí ("poor house bread") or bácús ("bakehouse"), reflecting its roots as an economical way to stretch potatoes further. It's served fried, either as a side or wrapped around a filling.

Soda bread and brown bread

Soda bread was first made in Ireland in the 1800s, using baking soda and buttermilk to leaven the dough instead of yeast — a practical solution, since Irish wheat is a "soft" wheat that doesn't work as well with yeast. Brown soda bread uses coarser wholemeal flour, which gives it its dense, nutty texture, and is the version most often served alongside soup or seafood chowder in pubs, ideal for mopping up the last of the bowl. White soda bread, made with white flour, is closer to a scone in texture.

Full Irish breakfast

The full Irish breakfast in its modern fried form dates to the Victorian era, though the idea of a substantial morning meal in Ireland is said to go back much further, to feasts served as early as the 13th century. In its current form, it typically includes eggs, bacon, sausages, black pudding and white pudding, grilled tomato and mushrooms, and comes with toast or soda bread and a pot of tea. Historically it was a working breakfast built to fuel agricultural labourers through a long day; today it's as much a piece of hospitality as a meal, and it's what most guesthouses and hotels in Ireland serve as standard.

Seafood chowder

A thick, cream-based soup built around whatever fish and shellfish is available locally — often a mix of white fish, salmon and mussels — and a fixture of pub menus, especially along the west coast. It's almost always served with brown soda bread on the side for dipping, a pairing so standard in Ireland that the two are rarely offered separately.

A note on trying these in Dublin

None of these dishes are exclusive to any one part of the country, but plenty of Dublin pubs and cafés serve versions of stew, chowder and the full Irish as standard menu items. As with any restaurant recommendation, specific menus and prices change, so we've focused this guide on the dishes rather than naming particular kitchens.

Related reading

• Food & Drink in Dublin
• Traditional Pubs to Know in Dublin
• Dublin Food Markets