The best restaurants in Carlow

14/09/2025: Yet another wonderful evening at Mimosa! The food is exceptional, and excellent value. We had 2 mocktails (ginless basil smash, gorgeous!), 2 peronis, 6 tapas and a desert; bill was about €75. Service was excellent, attentive but not intrusive, and everyone was very friendly.

31/08/2025: Great food, great service. Friendly staff and nice atmosphere. Very reasonably priced. Be sure to book in advance, tables fill up quick and for good reason.

06/09/2025: Excellent food,great choice of Italian foods, staff make you feel very welcome 🙏

05/09/2025: A Masterclass in Culinary Disappointment If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to pay good money for a plate of regret, look no further. As someone who’s dairy intolerant, I came prepared to make a simple request: vegan cheese. The waitress, clearly thrilled to be there, reluctantly checked with a colleague before returning with the shocking revelation that they didn’t have any. Fine. I then asked whether the mozzarella was from buffalo or cow’s milk — a question apparently so outrageous it was met with an abrupt “I don’t know.” So, I ordered the pizza without cheese, bracing myself for something plain but edible. What arrived was… art. Not the good kind — more like a modern installation titled "Why Did I Bother?" The mushrooms? Bland, rubbery slithers that could easily be mistaken for strips of boiled fat. Save yourself the trouble — and your stomach — and eat literally anywhere else. I've had numerous positive experiences in Cafe 500 Kilkenny, but won't be returning to the Carlow premises again.

30/06/2025: Enjoyed 3 course menu. We were outside with our dog. Fantastic staff and food. Highly recommended

01/06/2025: We've never had a bad experience. Sometimes when it's full service can slow down, but never to the point where you feel ignored. The food is always excellent and you never leave hungry. The pricing is very reasonable considering the quality. We often come with family gatherings or good friends.

15/08/2025: Delicious food ,reasonable prices beautiful views and a cosy interior.A really favourite for myself and my friends

03/08/2025: Stunning location away from everything

11/09/2025: Excellent place to eat and drink

01/09/2025: Food is always amazing & staff are to attentive.

07/09/2025: I stopped in for a takeaway americano but unfortunately had to leave after waiting over 10 minutes after I ordered, as I was on my way somewhere else. It didn’t seem too busy at the time, and there were two staff working the coffee machine, but service was quite slow. I had already paid by card so didn’t have time to request a refund. On a positive note, the pastries looked delicious. Hopefully next time the coffee service will be a bit quicker.

05/09/2025: Best coffee east of the Barrow. Amazing bakery and little gem of a lunch spot.

12/08/2025: The fruit tart served with cream and custard was excellent

24/07/2025: Best service I have had in a long. Great menu suggestions, help with high chair for baby. Lovely hot chocolate. Be back soon to try something else.

01/06/2025: Best coffee in Carlow hands down. Specialty coffee made by skilled baristas. Silkiest flat white I have ever had!

12/05/2025: We came here quite by accident and found a place in the specialty coffee app. It turned out to be a very cozy cafe with excellent coffee and very tasty pastries. I recommend!

26/08/2025: A beautiful place to visit. Suitable for all ages. Fabolous gardens and sensory water features

23/08/2025: We always come here because the atmosphere is very nice, the bar has gluten-free snacks and that's very important to us, for which we are grateful 🥰

17/08/2025: Got a Hawaiian Pizza here yesterday going from Bunclody to Dublin. The pizza was quite decent. Nothing mindblowing but I would still recommend. The wait times can be either very long or very short

24/06/2025: We ordered a kebab box with fries, a cheeseburger, and some extra fries. The food was decent – good for a quick meal. The staff were friendly and helpful. There is no toilet available for customers, which is a downside if you're eating in. Overall, it's a solid option for a casual takeaway meal.

10/08/2025: Great food and service very friendly and helpful I had the fish and chips and they were the best I had all holiday 👍🏻

07/08/2025: Got eggs Benedict bits of shell in the egg only noticed as I was eating them was sick for days after

18/08/2025: Had a delicious meal, browsed for about 2.5 hours bought some lovely stuff, got great service, the perfect Sunday afternoon.

03/08/2025: I visited the Arboretum at Leighlinbridge today. Your till assistant Fiona couldn’t have been more pleasant and helpful. It would encourage me to go there again

09/09/2025: Amazing local bar - keep up the good work John and team.

05/09/2025: Best served pint of Guinness in Town.

24/08/2025: This would be our 12-15 time eating in the Carlow Rockets. There was 8 of us and our order was taken by a very nice chap who got the order bang on. When the food was dropped down we were short two forks for our bacon and cheese fries.. I asked female waitress for two more …we waited for 10min after getting our food .. still no forks Went up to the counter to the same girl who was initially asked, and asked her again for two forks to be told they were out of cutlery and that they were waiting on the dish washer to finish ….( Note the restaurant was half full …. and no forks) 5 mins later after our two teenagers tried to eat the food with their fingers the same girl came down and slammed two forks on the table and said “there you go I can’t make the dish washer machine wash them any quicker” and walked away .. Shocked at what was said to me I got up … went back over to her at the counter and said “ excuse me, you can have them back(handing her back the forks) and next time, don’t be so rude” I then returned to our table and continued with our food. Within 3 minutes a female manager approached our table … not to apologise or ask what happened .. but to tell me that I made a child cry and I should ashamed of myself…. (Staff member was 18-20 Y) The manager went on to try and make our party feel bad by saying I was aggressive and should be ashamed. She continue to explain that she would not allow anyone upset her staff and she would back them. We tried to explain to her what had happened but continued to embarrass herself as a so called manager by telling me I should be ashamed of myself again and again. I asked if she was finished .. and to leave us eat our food .. The manager returned again for a second time 5 min later to continue where she left off and still continued to try and defend the actions of her staff member … I told her that if she felt her staffs actions were correct then her management skills needed to be looked at. Maybe next time the staff member should hand wash a few forks instead of making customers wait …. Eddie Rockets clearly need to look at what way they train their managers .. while sticking up for your staff is admiral … you need to find out both sides of the story before telling a customer they should be ashamed of themselves … crazy outcome to an over priced take away. Won’t be rushing back … €150 spent on burgers, abuse and no forks … thanks for the memorable experience Eddie Rockets

22/08/2025: I wish I could rate the food, but due to my experience I can’t. Me, my boyfriend and my friend went in, a waiter gave us the menu and since me and my friend never went there, we asked a woman either dark hair and a red shirt who was working there to explain the menu for us. After that, her and a waiter came by to take our orders and since my friend is muslim, I asked if there was pork in the beef. She said “no, but our beef is not halal”. My friend, who’s a fellow believer of her religion, wanted to order the meal anyway due to the absence of pork in the meat, but the woman did not allow her, justifying herself by saying that her cookers are muslim and that they only eat chicken. She didn’t even consult them, so how can a non-muslim woman be so sure of something she’s not part of? This is not the first time that my friend went to a fast food restaurant, so she definitely knows what she’s doing. The woman did not want her to allow her to order the meal she wanted and she ended up kicking us out and accusing my friend to be a nonbeliever, after removing the menu from our hands and accusing my friend of being rude, ignorant and mean. Me and my friend are from Italy and we just wanted to have a nice time before leaving. We’ve traveled around the world and this has never happened to us. I don’t wish this upon anyone, because I believe that a restaurant must be polite, professional and show respect to the customers.

08/07/2025: Food worth the buck and really good

18/05/2025: Quality food, good-sized portions. Attentive staff who are very professional and friendly. Excellent value for money. A perfect start to the day.