The best restaurants in Kilkenny

19/12/2025: Best coffee in Kilkenny, best food too! I love their seasonal ginger bread people, so cute and fun to call them a gingerbread person and they're delicious! The staff are so nice as well!

18/12/2025: Can someone explain to me what a gingerbread person is on the menu?? Is the lady that runs it called a personager? Fantastic food but come on now there is no need for that sillyness.

21/06/2026: Bad customer service, I complained about my food order and was treated disrespectfully instead of being helped.

21/06/2026: Very disappointing experience. The food quality was poor and the taste was not good at all, especially considering how expensive it was. The prices do not match the quality you receive. On top of that, the owner’s attitude was extremely disrespectful and unprofessional. Customers deserve good food and basic respect, but unfortunately this place failed in both areas. I would not recommend this restaurant and I will not be coming back.

19/09/2025: Extremely nice bartenders! Good atmosphere, you will feel comfortable at once.

06/09/2025: O'Hara's tap room. Went there and had really good beer. Spoke with two of the bartenders (possibly owners?) asked for a sticker (which no breweries or distillers carry in Ireland) and received a free t shirt instead. Great place good people!

28/06/2026: Falling in standards big time Don't know what's change from award winning day

29/04/2026: Great food and friendly service.

19/02/2026: Great place to sit back and sip the night away. Great whisky and Great service.

18/06/2026: I don't understand how anyone can give such an establishment 5 stars. Apart from the free parking and its location 2 km from the castle, nothing justifies the price. Room number 10 was unsanitary, and the breakfast was disastrous. I strongly advise against staying at this hotel.

06/06/2026: Food is a joke, not recommend, you will eat better food at local takeaway..

12/05/2026: Was recommended to be a guest at the health centre up the road and didn’t disappoint. Really enjoyed the Smithwicks whilst watching football on the big screen.

20/06/2026: The service at the desk was great. The rooms are the down side of staying here. Our room didn’t have AC. They had a fan in the room but it was still very hot. The bathrooms were very dated and could use an update.

11/06/2026: Very nice establishment, friendly staff. Unique decor (remains of an old church).

19/03/2026: Visited The BlackBerry cafe in Thomastown with my 91 year old Ma, who was born in Thomastown. Ma had a toasted ham and cheese sandwich, my wife had the sausage roll with chutney and I had a cheese salad sandwich with organic vegetable soup. We all had tea to drink. The food and drink were served to the table quickly. All the food was well presented and tasted great. The staff were friendly and efficient. Great spot for a quick lunch. I thought that our lunch was good value for money.

20/05/2026: I remember visiting this restaurant about a year ago, and everything was absolutely amazing back then. Unfortunately, my experience today left me quite disappointed. I ordered the shrimp salad, but it has definitely gone downhill. Last time, the portion of shrimp was generous, but today there were barely any. The service was also frustrating. While the food was served quickly, the staff completely ignored me afterward. I sat there for 50 minutes after finishing my meal, hoping to order dessert, but nobody ever came back to my table. In the end, I just paid for my initial order and left. Because of the poor service and the drop in food quality, I can only give it 3 stars this time, even though I used to love this place.

09/05/2026: I visited Primo on the evening of 2nd May 2026, between 9:00 and 10:00 PM, along with a guest, and unfortunately, the experience was quite disappointing. This wasn’t an isolated incident, as I’ve encountered similar service issues during my last three visits—two with guests and one with my family. On this particular evening, the service was notably poor from the start. We had to actively look for staff just to place our order, as no one seemed to be attending to tables or checking in. Even something as basic as water was only provided after a long wait and only when we specifically requested it. Once the food arrived, there was no follow-up from the staff to check if everything was satisfactory. At one point, we needed chilli oil and spent several minutes trying to get someone’s attention, but no staff were available. I eventually had to leave the table and go to the reception area to request it myself. What was most disappointing, however, was the lack of response when I raised these concerns at the end of the meal. There was no apology offered, and when I asked to speak to a manager, I was told none was available. I was casually told I could make a complaint, but there was no sense of accountability or concern. As a regular customer who has previously recommended this restaurant to friends, this experience has been particularly disheartening. I genuinely believe the management needs to take a closer look at the level of service being provided. At present, it has left me reconsidering whether I can continue to recommend this place to others.

09/04/2026: Another great stay in The Newpark Hotel. Our daughters love this place - with so many attractions you hardly ever need to leave the grounds. Willy Wonka experience was great. Staff very nice as always. Would definitely recommend to any family as a gate-away not only for kids but adults/parents as well as kids are very well looked after so parents can actually have some time to relax (not that easy to come by these days)

06/04/2026: I found the food a bit pricey, but I was very happy with the rooms and service. Kind of wish the pool had a bigger area for kids as well, but the Dino park more than made up for it.

09/01/2026: What a bar, tuam nice place usually pass by it, but on this occasion we stopped in for a few. The blonde with the black skirt absolute creamers. Sue perb.

27/05/2026: A lovely chipper with delcidious food. The service is excellent. Every time I visit Ireland, I try to stop there for some chips and a chicken wrap!

25/04/2026: This is the best place I’ve ever consumed food. The black pudding supper is stupendously delicious. Ask for Niamh and she will produce you the finest of fried foods in the Republic of Ireland. Come on the rangers RFC number 1.