Ireland Food Tours that immerse you in our rich culinary heritage.
Taking a food tour is a great way to discover an area’s local produce, food shops, cafés and restaurants.
If you are looking to discover a region by mouth, here’s our round-up of some of the most interesting Ireland food tours.
Join multi-award-winning food writer and Delicious Dublin Tours owner Ketty Quigley on a food tour around the capital and discover some incredible small, independent businesses and learn about the people behind them. “The food offered on the tour has been chosen to represent the evolution of Irish food and is used to tell a story of Irish food history”, Ketty tells us. “Guests are introduced to both traditional and modern Irish food and drinks on the tour and can expect to taste amazing dairy products, baked goods, traditional dishes, craft beer, Irish whiskey, seafood”, and a whole lot more. “They will learn that Ireland has a rich food culture that’s worth shouting about and see the city from a different perspective”.
Hungry for more? Book a public or private tour with Ketty on the Delicious Dublin Tours website.
Discover the culinary delights of the West on a gourmet excursion around Galway City, the Aran Islands, Clare or Connemara with tour guide Sheena Dignam. “We are still somewhat known for the staples of Guinness, stews, brown bread etc.”, says Sheena, “But I love when people walk away saying: ‘Wow, I had no idea how rich the food and drink scene is in Galway’”.
Sheena says her tours give “a great overview of our passionate people and our beautiful produce which combine to make Galway one of Ireland’s gourmet jewels. During the tour, you will get to experience a taste from artisan producers, cheese makers, creative beer projects, artisan chocolatiers, traditional family-run businesses to young entrepreneurs with devotion and commitment to showcasing the best of Irish produce”.
If that’s whetted your appetite, you can book a tour with Sheena on the Galway Food Tours website.
For a small town, Kenmare in Co Kerry is a big hitter when it comes to fantastic food offerings and local artisan producers. Taking you on a walking tour of this tasty town is television cook and Irish food blogger Karen Coakley. “There is much to explore and even more to taste in Kenmare”, says Karen. “Taste local delicacies, sip some wine, chat to local traders and hear the stories of the people behind the food. You might also enjoy specialities such as artisan bread, locally roasted coffee, rich cheeses, spicy sausages, black pudding and homemade ice cream, to name a few”.
Treat your tastebuds and contact Karen via the Kenmare Foodie website to arrange a tour.
Take a wander around Cork City with a local and discover the history, culture and buzzing food scene of the culinary capital of Ireland. On a food tour with Fab Food Trails, “All the producers/purveyors we visit are enthusiastic and proud of their produce and are delighted to share their knowledge and experience, and are always happy to engage, answer questions and have a laugh”, says Eveleen Coyle, founder of Fab Food Trails. “Groups are always small, trail stops are never revealed in advance — surprise is very much part of it — but fun and insights are always guaranteed”, she enthuses.
Fab Food Trails start in the city centre and last 2.5 hours. Eveleen can also arrange private walks. Book on the Fab Food Trails website.
Explore the culture and cuisine of Belfast whilst having the craic with the locals with Taste & Tour. Founder Caroline Wilson tells me what we can expect: “Guests can enjoy everything from an Ulster Fry Pintxos to a Marmalade Martini using one of our incredible local gins. We work with over 40 venues, so the array of food and drink we have in our arsenal is vast, but local produce is always key, so organic smoked salmon, infused apple cider vinegar using the Armagh Bramley Apples, the best blue cheese in Ireland and local craft beers are just some of the items guests can look forward to enjoying”.
For a belly-busting Belfast excursion, book a tour via the Taste & Tour website.
“Howth has a reputation for having some of the best seafood restaurants in Ireland and I bring you to my favourites”, says Mark McHale of his Craft Beer and Seafood Trail. “We go through the history of Howth and its importance to Dublin and Ireland through the centuries, as well as tasting the best locally caught seafood in Ireland washed down with some of our finest craft beers. There is also an opportunity to chat with local fishermen as we walk across the piers and hopefully meet the local colony of seals and other wildlife”.
If you want to experience Howth like a local, book a food tour with Mark on the Hidden Howth Experiences website.
“Kinsale has an amazing reputation for passionate people creating fabulous food”, enthuses Suzanne Burns, founder of Kinsale Food Tours. “From chocolatiers to mead makers to spear fishermen, Kinsale packs a punch”. Tour takers are “well-fed with sumptuous treats, and we regale them with wild and interesting tales. They head away with a full belly and a learned mind,” says Suzanne. For something a little different, Suzanne also runs foraging and picnic tours at a nearby coastal spot and a private yacht picnic charter that sails from Kinsale on a half-day cruise, sampling a selection of fantastic local food and drinks. Which such a wide variety of options, it’s no wonder that Suzanne’s is one of the best Ireland food tours.
For a taste of the town, contact Suzanne via the Kinsale Food Tours website.
“The food producers featured on our tours have a great understanding of their part in telling Wexford’s rich food story and take great pride that the food and drink that they make, grow or serve is Wexford-made”, explains Karen who helps coordinate the Taste Wexford food tours. Guests experience a variety of foods and flavours at farm shops, soft fruit farms, bakeries, cafes and restaurants and you can try a range of foods from traditional freshly baked Irish soda bread using locally milled flour, to seafood chowder and, of course, those sweet strawberries that are synonymous with Wexford.
If you’d like to sample the wonderful food of Wexford, book a tour on the Taste Wexford website.
Spend a fascinating couple of hours wandering around a truly authentic and beautiful Irish country estate and learning about nature’s bounty on a foraging food tour at Ballyvolane House.
“We offer leaf and flower foraging from April to June and berry and mushroom foraging in the autumn. We take a tour of Ballyvolane House and gardens and wander through the woodlands and meadows while chatting about the history of the house and land and its relevance in today’s world,” says Justin Green, who leads the tours. Guests on the tour get a basket to collect their bounty and afterwards enjoy a two-course lunch in the house. “We would incorporate some of the foraged plants in the menu. Justin tells me that most of the ingredients grow in the walled garden or we rear them on the farm at Ballyvolane House”.
If foraging for your lunch sounds like fun, book a tour with Justin via the Ballyvolane House website.
Fancy a food tour on a working farm? Then head to Achill Island in Co Mayo and meet the Calvey family, well known for their flocks of wild Mayo Blackface Mountain Sheep.
On a Calvey farm tour, you’ll watch in wonder as the working sheepdogs herd flocks of wild sheep, and you’ll also get to see sheep shearing using old-fashioned hand shears. As for the food, you’ll finish the farm experience with a warming, comforting bowl of Achill Mountain Lamb stew. A pure taste of the wild Mayo landscape. “If you’re looking for a genuine, authentic ‘remote rural’ sheep farming experience and you enjoy meeting the characters involved, here’s a true-to-life window into the vernacular, the local culture and the craic”, says Martina Calvey of her farm tours.
If you’d like to frolic on the farm followed by a good feed, book a tour with Martina by emailing martinacalvey@achilllamb.ie. Visit the Achill Mountain Lamb website for more details.
And there you have it—some of the best Ireland food tours to tantalise your taste buds.
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