Earl of Thomond Restaurant — Restaurant in County Clare

Kudos for catering well to vegetarians and vegans (3.5 / 5 Green Stars) Having just come from Ashford Castle (long story!) the atmosphere at Dromoland was more relaxing and less formal. The service, however, was just as good, if not better, because the staff were more themselves. We ate at the Earl of Thomond twice for breakfast and once for dinner and were very happy with all the meals and service.

For dinner, we went crazy and had the full tasting menu – one vegetarian (€95) and one “regular” (€105). Our dinner seating was towards the end of the evening so our server may have been horrified that we ordered this (we were there until almost 11 pm!) but he was cheerful throughout the service. We actually joked half-way though the dinner because when ordering I’d said “this is simple – one regular and one vegetarian tasting menu.” With nine courses, the dinner is anything but simple – I had only meant that ordering it was simple!

Overall, the omnivore was probably more impressed with her food than I was with my vegetarian offerings. For breakfasts, my shakshuka was nicely done while the “vegetarian breakfast” was good in parts (amazing spinach) but also had a few weak points (potato cake). For dinner, the vegetarian tasting menu also had a weak point or two – the risotto was a little too al dente for me, for example. But that’s not bad for a nine-course meal.

Some of the smaller items were the most impressive:

The Cashel Blue Cheese Panna Cotta with walnut and pickled blackberries: this was my first time having panna cotta as it’s not normally vegetarian. Great start to the dinner. Cratloe Hills Sheep’s Cheese Ravioli in rooster potato broth: The potato broth was the star of this dish. Blood Orange & Green Peppercorn Sorbet in Campari jus: we both had this as it’s on the omnivore tasting menu too. Amazing! For breakfast there were many highlights but the scones and pain aux raisins were my favorites. Don’t forget to ask for clotted cream for the scones! Thank you to all the staff at Dromoland! Keep up the vegetarian and vegan food!

I’m giving the Earl of Thomond 3.5 out of 5 Green Stars for social and environmental impact, for these reasons:

• The Earl of Thomond has gone all out to cater to vegetarians, with a full vegetarian tasting menu and a vegetarian à la carte menu that includes three vegan items. There’s also a nice vegetarian breakfast menu. • Their main à la carte menu is pretty much all meat- or fish-based, except for a goat cheese starter. It kind of makes sense to separate vegetarian from non-vegetarian onto two menus but it’s a bit sad because it implies that the “normal” diet is almost completely animal-based. Duplicating some of the vegetarian menu items on the main menu could encourage some “normal” people to mix in some veggies, now that the planet is on the brink of a climate disaster! • Sources of most meat, fish and cheeses are named. Some of the meat is wild-caught (rabbit, pheasant, venison). • Foie gras is on the menu – I’ve read up on more-ethical foie gras, but it’s still not great. • Most of their ingredients are sourced in Ireland and almost everything is...

Perfect service, luxurious atmosphere and delicious and thoughtful food made our experience wonderful. Kudos to the harpist for adding an additional touch of refinement to our...

What a great place for a meal while staying at Dromoland Castle. Everything here from starters to mains to dessserts were top notch. Service is awesome and leaves you wanting...