Reflections on Irish Food Service

Freshly back from an eight day tour of Ireland (too short), I found some of the food and beverage facilities and practices I encountered unique and worthy of comment. My family is accustomed to being dragged into every cultural institution we pass during our travels to check out the food services; this trip was no different. In Dublin, there were a few cafés I wanted to visit and I was lucky enough to happen upon several of them and more during our explorations on foot. So, in no particular order here we go.

1. The labeling and identification of common allergens on Irish menus is uniformly well done. Utilizing a numbered system (wheat is #1), almost all menu items are followed by a series of numbers which indicate the allergens in each dish. Restaurants without such detailed menus generally indicated they could tailor most dishes to be allergen free.
2. Gluten free bread is provided at almost every dinning establishment once a diner self identifies as gluten free. As the mother of a daughter with celiac, I know my daughter feels like she is missing out when bread is delivered for the rest of the table. In Ireland, she was delivered her own basket of bread everywhere we went. Granted, it was usually store made gluten free loaf bread (yuck) but she enjoyed it and felt included which is what counts.
3. After years of telling clients in performing arts centers that pre-ordered drinks were much more popular in Europe I finally understand why. A visit to the National Concert Hall in Dublin revealed a series of drink cubbyholes. Each custom built box could accommodate 32 individual orders. The drink cubbyholes were placed strategically throughout the hall and each cubby had a unique letter/number combination. Just as a patron has a pre-assigned seat (Row R seat 10), the drink cubbies create a pre-assigned drink location (cubby A-16). When I returned home, I was inspired to do some more research about European performing arts center pre-order programs. I was pleased to learn that institutions are developing on-line programs and apps specifically designed for pre-ordering. The National Theatre in the UK is a great example of an institution that is embracing technology and food services as a vital part of their programming efforts (https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/your-visit/food-and-drink/national-theatre-bars-app.) This side of the pond needs to needs to follow their lead!
4. I saw many great examples of what appeared to be very well trafficked cultural institution cafes in somewhat out of the way locations. From the Film Center Café (with no street signage) to the café at Kilmainham Gaol (2^nd floor rear of building), I saw great examples of cafes in less than ideal locations. Virtually all of these busy cafes, even the most casual, served food and beverage on permanent ware and only used disposables for to go orders.
5. As a corollary to #4, I also saw a number of small coffee kiosks/cafés in areas that appeared to have no natural foot traffic. Most of these kiosks were staffed with one person and had a limited menu; several were located on a random side street or other out of the way locations.
6. Online reservation systems are not as prevalent. I had to call three of the five restaurants to confirm or make reservations. While several had an online inquiry form, none of the online inquiries garnered a response!
7. Service was good but not quite as sophisticated as the US. At the end of each meal, we always needed to ask for the bill even when we were clearly finished.
8. We appreciated the smaller portion sizes of most entrées (pub food excepted)
9. Finally, don’t let anyone tell you the food in Ireland is not good. We had some excellent meals along the way. Reach out if you’d like a recommendation!