Ireland's defining pub stew: chunks of grass-fed Connacht beef braised long and slow with onion, carrot, parsnip and pearl barley in a dark Guinness gravy, served with buttered brown soda bread.
Beef and Guinness stew (also called Stobhach Gaelach) emerged in 19th-century Irish pubs as a slow-cooked pot dish using cheap beef cuts and the country's most accessible dark malt beer (Guinness, brewed in Dublin since 1759). The dish became the canonical pub-grub winter Sunday lunch across Ireland. Galway and Connacht versions include parsnip and pearl barley and lean toward grass-fed Connemara mountain beef. Galway pubs that run benchmark versions include Tigh Neachtain and The Quays Bar. The stew should braise at least 3 hours; the gravy should be glossy mahogany.
4 editor picks for Guinness Beef Stew in Galway, ranked by editorial score. All Galway signature dishes · Guinness Beef Stew across every city.
Also in: Dublin.
Crane Bar ★ 4.8
westend · 2 Sea Road, Galway, H91 A6T2
The Crane Bar on Sea Road Galway is the hub of traditional music; nightly trad sessions on a stage that launched music careers since the 1980s.
Tigh Neachtain ★ 4.7
latin-quarter · 17 Cross Street Upper, Galway, H91 F9F7
Tigh Neachtain on Cross Street Galway is the most ambient trad-session pub in the west; low ceilings, open fire and live music most nights since 1894.
The King's Head ★ 4.2
latin-quarter · 15 High Street, Galway, H91 X2H4
The Kings Head on High Street Galway occupies a building licensed since 1611 with nightly trad sessions, live comedy and the longest bar in the city.
The Quays Bar ★ 4.1
latin-quarter · 11 Quay Street, Galway, H91 T2W4
The Quays on Quay Street Galway is a three-floor Victorian bar with stained-glass from a French church; trad sessions run seven nights a week.