Best restaurants in Galway: how to find them

The best way to find a great place to eat in Galway is to decide the occasion first, then judge places on ratings from people who ate there, with photographs of the food and a count of how many people rated it. Book ahead for summer weekends and festival weeks, when the city fills up. The Galway hub on Mosey shows what people have rated in the city, and Gold marks places whose ratings have stayed high, which cannot be bought.

Galway is compact, on the west coast at the head of Galway Bay, and full of students in term and visitors in summer. That mix shapes where and when you can get a good meal.

Where in Galway should you look for food?

Most of the city's choice is walkable from the centre, which is one of the best things about eating there.

• The Latin Quarter around Shop Street and Quay Street is the centre of Galway's evening life, with the most choice and the most foot traffic. Lively, and the easiest place to end up somewhere ordinary because you walked past it.
• The streets off the main drag are often where you find the quieter, more considered places. A minute's walk from the busiest street can change the meal entirely.
• Along the river and the docks the city opens up, and it is a good direction to wander if the centre is packed.
• Salthill, along the promenade west of the centre, has its own cluster of places and suits a walk by the sea before or after.

If you have a car or a free day, the county is worth the trip. Connemara, to the west, is some of the most striking country in Ireland, and the County Galway page covers towns beyond the city, including Clifden.

What is Galway known for eating?

Being on the Atlantic coast, Galway is known above all for seafood, and Galway Bay oysters in particular. Fish, mussels and chowder are on a great many menus, and the best versions are usually at the places that care where the fish came from.

That said, a city full of students and visitors also does very good cheap eating, coffee and late food. Do not let the seafood reputation narrow your search if what you want is a bowl of noodles.

The easiest way to find the right plate is to search for the dish rather than the cuisine. When somebody rates a place on Mosey and names what they had, that dish gets its own page at that place, with photographs from the people who ordered it. A chowder six people have photographed is a chowder somebody is getting right.

When does Galway get busy?

Galway's calendar is the main thing to plan around:

• Summer brings the arts festival and the races, and the city is at its busiest. Book well ahead for evenings.
• Weekends all year are busy in the popular places, particularly Saturday night.
• Term time brings students back, which matters most for the cheaper places and late food.
• Weeknights outside summer are the easiest time to walk into somewhere good.

If you are coming for a festival or a big weekend, decide where you are eating before you arrive. Deciding on Shop Street at eight on a festival Saturday is a reliable way to eat badly.

How to read Galway ratings

A score out of five is an average, and you will eat one meal. Read what is underneath it:

1. The count. Mosey shows how many people rated a place, counting people rather than visits. A high score from three people is promising; from forty it is a pattern.
2. The photographs. Ratings usually carry photographs of the food, taken at the table. They tell you portion size, style and whether a place does the thing you want.
3. Gold. It goes to places whose average is high enough and stays until the average falls some way further, so it reflects consistency rather than a good month. Owners' own ratings do not count.
4. The replies. A place can answer a rating but cannot delete it, and how it answers a complaint is revealing.

Be fair to new places. Somewhere that opened recently with a handful of good ratings and good photographs can be the best meal of the trip. It just has less evidence behind it yet.

How do I get a table in Galway when everywhere is full?

• Book early for a summer weekend or festival week. Booking on Mosey is free and the reminder means you will not forget it.
• Join the waitlist where a place is full. Cancelled tables go to the list instead of sitting empty.
• Check on the day. Tables come free in the afternoon as plans change. The guide to last-minute tables in Galway goes through it.
• Eat early or late. The rush is concentrated, and good places often have room before seven.
• Expect a deposit for a big group on a busy night. It comes off your bill and Mosey takes nothing from it.

Planning a night out rather than a meal

Galway is a city where dinner runs into the rest of the evening, so it helps to plan the two together. Choose somewhere close to where the rest of the night is happening, book for a time that leaves room after, and save a back-up nearby to a list in case the first choice is running late.

For a quieter evening, the date night guide for Galway covers how to find a room where you can actually talk.

A five-minute plan

1. Open the Galway hub and decide the occasion.
2. Shortlist three places near where you will be.
3. Look at the photographs of what you would order at each.
4. Confirm the opening hours, since many listings began as public map data and only claimed listings are kept current by the place.
5. Book the first choice and save the other two to a list.

Try it on Mosey: open the Galway hub, save three places that suit your evening, and book the one you want most before the weekend fills.