Eat, drink, create, and rest: What to do in the Burren when not walking

Warren Berger
Jun 22
5 min read

Updated: Aug 20

The Burren is a place to walk, experience raw natural beauty and ancient wonders, a place to think and be creatively inspired. But all of that requires sustenance, which is not always easy to come by in a largely undeveloped place. However, if you know where to go, you can enjoy amazing meals here—as well as great trad music and lively craic (conversation).

(See my personal interactive Google Map of the Burren at the bottom of this post.)

Eating

I’ll start with The Roadside Tavern, in Lisdoonvarna, which was the launching point of my entire Burren adventure (as explained in my How it began post). Managed for decades by Peter Curtin, Peter recently handed over the Tavern’s reins to the esteemed chef Peter Jackson. Everything on the menu is tasty, but especially the organic smoked salmon and other smoked fish, which come directly from the Burren Smokehouse just down the block. (The smokehouse, which offers tours and storytelling, continues to be run by Peter and his wife Birgitta Curtin.)

I had possibly my favorite meal in the Burren at the buzzy Flaggy Shore–adjacent Linnane’s Lobster Bar, where there is a lot more than lobster on the menu. My wife, Laura, and I enjoyed our first-ever delectable taste of a shared fresh John Dory fish, swimming in butter.

Monks in Ballyvaughan is a reliable spot for all sorts of fresh seafood, but I went a different direction there, enjoying the Irish specialty of Guinness beef stew. For those looking for high-end dining, Ballyvaughan’s Gregans Castle offers a seven-course tasting menu in a gorgeous setting, though the place was a little too fancy for my taste. (Both Monks and Gregans Castle are known for their lodgings, as well.) And I’ve heard amazing things about the Michelin-starred Homestead Cottage in the famed traditional (trad) Irish music town of Doolin, near the Cliffs of Moher.

If high-quality pub food is more to your liking, Laura and I had a knockout meal sitting at the bar of the popular Lahinch pub/restaurant The Corner Stone, before heading next door to Kenny’s (a restaurant/pub by day, a music venue at night) to see the popular Irish folk singer-songwriter Luka Bloom perform.

And if you’re hungry while checking out Doolin, the dining options at the hotel Fiddle + Bow excel, and the quaint Ivy Cottage served up some of the chunkiest and best seafood chowder I’ve ever had.

Hanging around Doolin’s Ivy Cottage, waiting for them to open for lunch.

Entertainment

After eating, you need music and drink to wash it down. Here again, The Roadside Tavern in Lisdoonvarna tops my list. Not just because the Curtin name on its sign is the same as my mother’s last name, but also because this place has been a mainstay in presenting live music in the Burren area, including trad music sessions several nights a week.

A few miles away, the town of Doolin is the thumping heart of trad music, with music playing every night. I’ve sampled Gus O’Connor’s and Fitz’s Pub at Hotel Doolin, where I went to see trad legend Christy Barry perform (with four other gifted trad veterans) right after interviewing Christy at the Doolin Music House.

Lodging

When it’s time to rest up, why not stay in a classic Irish hotel? In addition to the ones mentioned above, another is the Rathbaun Hotel in Lisdoonvarna, which the owners have been running for nearly half a century. They serve a terrific Irish breakfast. And I would know, because I order Irish breakfasts anywhere, any chance I get; I like them because they’re so healthy.

But if you’re coming to the Burren on a creative sojourn, I think it makes sense to stay in a cottage, and preferably an artist’s cottage. I stayed at Hanne’s Cottage, the cozy home of photographer Hanne Fisker and her cat. It’s a warm and comfy place, though you must be willing to share a bathroom and drive a bit in the Burren.

I also spent a few days at the Milking Parlour, available on Airbnb and run by abstract painter Richard Hearns and his wife, Boo. Yes, the stone building was once home to a herd of cows—but the Hearns’ have transformed the two-story space into a modern, minimalist gem of a cottage, with Richard’s paintings decorating the walls. There’s also a large walkable field garden out back with an extensive greenhouse and your own private sauna.

On VRBO, I rented the sweet, blue one-bedroom Orchard Cabin in Ballyvaughan, run by a mother/daughter team. It was quaint, quiet, and a perfect place to write.

I met a lot of friendly cats and dogs while staying in these various cottages.

I also stayed in a “glamping pod” during a trip to the Aran Islands, whose three islands (Inishmore, Inishmaan, and Inisheer) are considered part of the Burren. I took the 35-minute Doolin ferry over to Inishmore with the ambition to walk the circumference of the island. Turned out Inishmore was too big, so I turned back well before I got halfway around, but it was still a good, productive four-hour hike. I saw amazing land and sea vistas, and made friends with a curious donkey along the way.

Anyway, back to the Inishmore glamping pod. My overnight rental was one of a row of little boxes put up along the shore, each one just big enough for a tiny kitchen and tinier loo, plus a desk and chair, and bunk beds.

It faced the ocean on one side and a field with stone walls enclosing a herd of cows on the other. I positioned my writing desk at the rear window, looking out at the cows. I told myself that I would write until the cows came home. And that I did: only raising my head from my notepad after a particularly long writing stretch, to find the field empty and cows gone, at which point I set my pen down.

On my very first encounter with the Burren back in 2018, I stayed at the Ballinalacken Castle Hotel near Doolin and Lisdoonvarna. The hotel is next to an O’Brien castle ruin and looks west out at the Atlantic Ocean and the Aran Islands as well as south to the distant Cliffs of Moher. They have a full restaurant and bar at this small hotel.

The Ballinalacken Castle Hotel, alongside an O’Brien castle ruin

Here are a few places I didn’t get a chance to stay at, but they looked interesting and I may try them on my next trip. One is the renovated 15th-century Ballyportry Castle (a self-catering rental suitable for two to eight guests) near the gateway-to-the-Burren village of Corofin. If you ever stay at Ballyportry, please report back on what authentic castle living is like.

The towerhouse of Ballyportry Castle—live like a medieval Irish king (or at least one of his soldiers)

You could also rent a private guest suite on the upstairs floor above the Russell Art Gallery, near the Flaggy Shore. And Bonagh and Cathal O’Rourke offer rooms to rent, plus a wonderful-sounding Burren Farmhouse Experience, complete with a farm safari, at their farmhouse in the middle of the Burren.