The best restaurants in Kilkenny

15/06/2025: Stopped in for lunch. Friendly staff, beautifully built around old church ruins, very interesting place. Lunch was good, no complaints

04/03/2025: Lovely bar. Very friendly staff.

22/10/2025: Spent an hour or so there last June. Wonderful atmosphere. Friendly service, good food. One of my favorite stops in Ireland. Just a very comfortable place to be. A great place for quiet conversation of an afternoon.

29/07/2025: Cute bar and gift shop all in one worth the look

20/11/2025: Hosted kilkenomics. Lovely place.

19/11/2025: Quiet rooms even though it is very centrally located. Stayed for 2 nights. Arrived back in the evening to find the room had not been locked after it was cleaned. On the day checking out there was no hot water. No solution was offered. Management contacted me after my stay to apologise for my experience. Judging by other reviews this was an isolated case and hopefully will not happen again.

29/09/2025: Amazing food and fantastic service. Highly recommended 👌

26/09/2025: The atmosphere is nice, and the service was good with friendly staff. However, the food was absolutely shocking. We had the loaded potatoes, which were basically potato chips with a can of tomato sauce on top. We had the caesar salad which should not be called a salad, as we had basically no lettuce, 5000 pounds of dressing, and what looked like an entire chicken shredded on top. Very disappointing. The prawn tacos, the prawns themselves were good, the taco shell tasted stale, and the mango sauce on top tasted like hand soap. So a hand soap taco, with prawns. I was hungry when I left, and 60 euros more poor. Will never be back.

18/09/2025: Air pressure machine just made our tire flat! They came out - tried the same thing and left us to it. We have no spare with this type of car so very stuck and extremely unhappy😠.

10/08/2025: The Applegreen on the M9 has some great food options and is a convenient stop for a break. The only drawback is the location of the EV chargers. They are right at the entrance, which can cause queues of cars and block traffic. It would be far better to have them at the back of the premises with more chargers to handle demand.

05/11/2025: Amazing service, my friends card declined and the man working offered for it to be on the house for her but we then we got it. Every single time i’ve been to the pantry the food has been amazing and service even better. Would highly recommend!

01/11/2025: Went here yesterday and ordered two chicken tender wraps — and I was so disappointed. My wrap only had a tender and a half inside, and it was very poorly presented. The portion of chips I got filled maybe a quarter of the basket, while my girlfriend’s plate (same meal!) had a full basket of chips. The difference between both plates was shocking. For €13.95, I expected a proper portion and some consistency between meals. Instead, it felt like a waste of money. Really disappointment. Would not recommend.

16/11/2025: It's located inside a gallery. During our time exploring Kilkenny, we often stopped there for coffee. Excellent service, and I highly recommend the caramel macchiato.

11/11/2025: Insomnia Coffee Company is without a doubt one of my favourite places to stop for a coffee, whether I’m grabbing something on the go or taking a quiet moment to sit and relax. Every visit feels like a small treat — the atmosphere is always welcoming, the staff are friendly and attentive, and the coffee is consistently top-quality. You can tell that Insomnia takes real pride in their products and in creating a great experience for their customers. The menu offers a fantastic range of options — from rich, perfectly brewed coffees to creamy hot chocolates and delicious seasonal drinks that always feel special. Their food selection is equally impressive, with fresh pastries, sandwiches, and sweet treats that pair perfectly with any drink. I also love that they use fairtrade coffee beans and make an effort to be more sustainable — it really shows that they care about both their customers and the wider community. The space itself is always clean, comfortable, and designed with a cosy vibe that makes it easy to unwind. Whether you’re meeting a friend, catching up on some work, or simply taking a break during a busy day, Insomnia always delivers the perfect balance of quality, comfort, and service. I couldn’t recommend it more highly!

17/11/2025: While the hotel is very beautiful, it feels like they rely on their historic charm over actually providing premium products. We booked our room through a third party (which may have led to some of the issues) but we did not get the room we booked. We paid for a King, but got a Full and a Single. A married couple sleeping on the full was less than spacious. The mattress was beyond hard, my spouse and I woke up with shoulder and hip pain all night. There were no outlets by the headboard to plug in electronics. The tv in the room was very small and dated. The bathroom tub wasn’t angled properly, resulting in you standing in water your entire shower. The bathroom toiletries appeared to be watered down, as they were very runny. The bathroom towels were very thin, but did the job. The hotel location was convenient, customer service was excellent, I appreciated the welcome cocktails, and the hotel was beautiful, but at the end of the day of your room is uncomfortable there’s no point in staying there.

12/11/2025: Centrally located. Reception always staffed. Rooms were generally clean.

11/11/2025: I was there on Saturday for dinner. I ordered the Japanese noodles. The food was cold and bland, the drinks were flat, there was dust and dirt everywhere. The staff were lovely and there was a Wonderful atmosphere but the food and drink was a let down.

26/10/2025: food is always top quality one of my favorite restaurents in kilkenny

09/11/2025: We were in Killkenny for my hens and wanted a cuppa and some chats for a relaxing afternoon and we werent disappointed!. Such a beautiful tea room. Nice and cosy . When we arrived we were greeted by Vicky. She was so attentive and friendly! Thanks so much Vicky from the ladies from Dublin !!! ☕️🧁 .

31/10/2025: Often eat here. Great spot for lunch on your own or in company.. sitting at the bar you can peruse the brilliant selection of whiskeys on offer. Tourists come here but the familiar face of Ray, and his team, means locals enjoy it too.

30/10/2025: The employees are chit chatting with customers and make the rest wait until they're done this happened twice.

23/10/2025: There is a female manager there that is very rude. She spoiled your time there, when you just want to have a coffe and a moment of peace, as she is constantly angry and screaming at her staff. I saw her staff, mostly young people, being over stressed and one was with tears, I assume is not a nice place to work for.

25/09/2025: Attended as part of company lunch and Elise was very accommodating in making reservation. Upon arrival allocated dining area ready for our party. Great choice available on menu with orders taken promptly after arriving. Food delivered right on time with presentation and quality top notch. Variety of menu items ordered with good reviews of all from my colleagues. Would highly recommend and will definitely be back.

19/08/2025: Had a fabulous light lunch on the patio area. Signature steak sandwich, coffee and pear and almond scone. Can only say good things about the waitresses - jovial and patient. Food was excellent, pricing good and arrived promptly. A great little cafe above the strip so quiet and secluded with a lovely atmosphere. Coffee- flat white 8.5/10 - very good. A nice place to rest your legs after visiting the Castle or climbing St Canice’s tower.

26/10/2025: Staff were great, very polite and professional. The quality of the meat however was not. Driest burger I've ever had and the price, good god. Its been a goodwhile since I went to a McDonald's. Quality has seriously dropped since I was there last. I wouldn't mind if the food was cheap but it was over €10 for just a coffee and a burger. I will say, the coffee is nice. I won't be going back though.

23/10/2025: Good place to get to food was good staff friendly

27/07/2025: We visited this tea room with high hopes — hoping to have a lovely time and enjoy some nice desserts. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a disappointment. All the desserts were far too sweet. The cakes had a heavy buttercream, which I really didn’t enjoy. The Pavlova dessert had an overbaked, dry meringue. Overall, it just wasn’t worth the money

06/07/2025: I lloved atmosphere here. You csn feel tradition and history Staff is so friendly, carrot cake is not home made but very good. Highly recommend.

09/10/2025: Decent coffee inside the hotel’s cafe

06/08/2025: It's a hotel not a coffee shop. No atmosphere, poor service, mediocre coffee.