The Dough Bros — Restaurant in Galway

It has been years since I was here last- March 2018. Yet, I keep speaking on how great this pizza is! The Dough Bros will forever be a part of my tales abroad. As an American, one of the quintessential foods to me is pizza. It is one of my favorite, and I enjoy trying all sorts of different kinds. Often when traveling abroad though, I find “American” pizza is hard to find. Granted, pizza is not American (lol), but I want more than Margherita pizza when I leave the country. I came here with the Purdue All American Marching Band for St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Dublin for 2018, and so we were searching for good pizza to try in Galway, one of our stops on our tour through Ireland. My group of friends and I were pleasantly surprised with The Dough Bros- the atmosphere is lovely, clean, and interesting with decor. Further, I was 20, and underage in America to drink. But in Ireland, I was of age! The Dough Bros was the place I had my first ever legal drink, a cider, and I had cheese sticks and a pizza after. I included a picture of the sticks and drink I got. The cider was delightful, and the food delicious! I ordered a Margherita (lol), and another kind of pizza just to compare. It was very fresh, with the dough reminiscent of similar pizzas I had from other high-powered pizzerias before in the states. It was exactly what I was seeking abroad when looking for a great pizza, paired also with the delectable drinks and excellent service. The folks behind the counter were so nice to us as well! They had post cards at the time, so I took one with me that I have to this day. When I move it comes with me to be added to my pizza wall. I included a picture of the wall as well, with the Dough Bros postcard in the middle. I intend to return when I come back to Ireland, and try more of their food and what looks to be an...

The service in Galway was excellent during my long weekend with the family there ... until I came to Dough Bros. There was a small queue outside (it was cold), and the people ahead of us were admitted inside quickly. We were asked to wait outside by the young waiter, which we did for the best part of ten minutes. During this time, about ten people went in ahead of us to join the queue inside. Eventually the same waiter came back to say let's get you in from the cold. We asked for a table for three, but he explained we had to join the same queue to order before sitting down. We asked why we'd had to wait while no one else had and he seemed amazed people had just come in and joined the queue; effectively we'd just been held back for no reason, other than his inattentiveness. The queue then took ages to move along and by the time we reached the front, staff seemed to prioritise little administrative tasks and small talk rather than rushing to serve customers. The woman at the till, when ready for us, plastered on a believable smile as if we'd just materialised from nowhere and she'd been ready all along. The slogan under the Dough Bros. logo reads something like 'Food for the people'; it missed off 'at our own convenience and as long as you're prepared to wait for it.' When the pizzas came, they were OK. We had to ask for some tap water because no one thought to offer any. The service would be infinitely quicker, more personal and more considered if one didn't have to queue for an age, either indoors or outdoors, before ordering. This is not food...

I recently visited this pizzeria, and while the food had its moments, the overall experience left room for improvement.

First, the waiting time at the tills was very long, we waited 15 mins before we even had the chance to order and sit down, and the service at the till was just average. Be aware that you need to prepay for your meal, and they try to prompt you to leave a tip before you’ve even sat down, which felt a bit pushy.

We ordered two pizzas—one "Can’t Banh Mi Love" and one "Hail Caesar"—along with two lagers. The first pizza arrived after about 20 minutes, but the second one didn’t come until another 10 minutes later. This was disappointing because my partner’s pizza had gone cold by the time mine arrived.

One thing to note is that the pizza dough seemed intentionally burnt as part of their style, as I noticed all the other customers’ pizzas were the same. While some might enjoy this charred flavor, I personally found that it overpowered the other ingredients at times, which was unfortunate given how creative and flavorful the toppings were.

That said, when not overshadowed by the burnt dough, the pizzas were still delicious! They weren’t the best I’ve ever had (and I’ve tried a lot), but they’d definitely make it into my top 10.

Overall, while the food had potential, issues with service, timing, and their burnt dough detracted from what could have been a perfect...