The best restaurants in Arklow

22/12/2025: A thoroughly positive impression, both from the very friendly and welcoming service staff and the beautifully maintained ambiance with its view of the water. Good coffee and tea, delicious snacks, and homemade cakes. We'll definitely be back! Please note: the café is somewhat hidden, located directly on the riverbank. A small footpath leads from the bridge right to the café. Further upstream along the river, there's a large parking lot where parking is free on Sundays. From there, it's about a 2-minute walk to the café; simply stroll along the riverbank and you're there.

27/10/2025: Got a delicious coffee and toastie here! Love the flavour of the coffee, really special. Food was fresh and delicious. And the women working were so lovely. Love the river views, what a location. Thank you ladies 👩🏼‍🍳☕️🙏🏻🙏🏻

07/03/2026: The place is nice, but I had a bad experience with the food. The fish I ordered wasn’t fully cooked — the butter part was still liquid and not crispy so I couldn’t eat it. I told the waitress, and she took my plate back to the kitchen, but no one came back to our table to apologize for the inconvenience.

22/02/2026: We had a great meal, the staff, the food, and the place were all excellent, thank you very much.

17/11/2025: 4 of us went for brunch, surprised by how tiny this place is inside & looks like a takeaway only on first impressions but the staff are lovely, recommend acai bowls but the croque monsieur though nice was actually a toastie with nothing melted on the top

05/10/2025: Amazing place, it has been a long time that I didn’t enjoy such delicious meal! Staff is really lovely too.

11/10/2025: The Taste of Italy was a delightful and delicious surprise. I had the pistachio croissant and my husband had the chocolate croissant. We kick ourselves for not taking some to-go and for not tasting the organic apple pie. Since we were headed out of town, we missed their lunch special, but I'm certain it's fabulous. The hosts were warm and friendly. Highly recommend!

04/10/2025: This Italian has just replaced my favourite Italian restaurant in London. Might not be local but worth travelling for.

20/03/2026: Despite this not being something I would usually look for, the experience was absolutely exceptional. From the costumes to the tea and hand made pastries. It felt like a highly organised and well designed experience. I can wholeheartedly recommend this for anyone and I am sure that both partners will enjoy it.

23/01/2026: Wonderful experience, relaxing atmosphere, delicious afternoon tea and so many wonderful photo memories. Thank you!

03/01/2026: We’ve been regular customers up until this visit, which is why this experience was particularly disappointing. We waited around 30 minutes just to place our order, and then another 40 minutes for the food to arrive. It was disheartening to see a table seated after us receive their starter before our food was served, with no explanation or apology offered. When the food eventually arrived, it appeared to have been microwaved rather than freshly prepared, which made the long wait even harder to understand. Overall, the experience fell short of what we’d come to expect. We hope this was a once-off, but unfortunately it has made us reconsider returning unless there’s a noticeable improvement.

16/12/2025: Thank you 🥰 Everything was very tasty, fast and very friendly atmosphere. The staff is very friendly Thank you, my birthday went very well. Thank you 🥰

30/12/2025: Excellent food and friendly service.

25/11/2025: I was looking forward to eating here as it is a halal restaurant and not your usual fast food/kebab place. It was busy when we arrived, plus it's a small restaurant, so unfortunately we couldn't sit inside and instead decided to do a takeaway & eat in our hotel room. I ordered the "Crispy sticky duck and ramen stir fry" thinking it did not have any sesame seeds or egg in it as they were not listed as allergens in the brackets. We came back to the room, opened our food boxes and there were sesame seeds and fried egg with the noodles. :( I know I should've asked before ordering, so I do admit it was my fault too. I'm just writing about this here not to complain, but so that other people with similar allergies/intolerances are made aware. Thankfully, my friend had ordered a dish that I could eat and so we just swapped our meals, and it was very nice (Ayam Halia). If I'm ever visiting the area again, I would still be interested in trying some of their other dishes.

30/11/2025: Great test of Golf . Beautifully laid out course with every hole so different , challenging your golf game in every area . Club house location looks over the course from a high . Had the joy of been part of a large group where we were looked after by a friendly welcome and served up a fine dine menu which would suit all tastes . Strongly recommend this golf club .

01/11/2025: Great course. Friendly staff. Greens were a bit slower than normal.

20/02/2026: Kids loved to eat here. Lunch menu great

19/02/2026: Staff is very friendly and food was lovely 🥰

02/04/2026: I recently stayed at the Arklow Bay Hotel and found it to be a pleasant and comfortable experience overall. The location is excellent, with beautiful coastal views and easy access to nearby walking paths and the town centre. Check-in was smooth, and the staff were friendly, attentive, and always willing to help with any questions. The room itself was clean, spacious, and well maintained, with a comfortable bed that made for a great night’s sleep. While the décor felt slightly dated, everything was in good working order and perfectly adequate for a relaxing stay. The bathroom was spotless, and the housekeeping service was consistent throughout my visit. I also had dinner in the hotel restaurant, where the food was fresh and well prepared, though the menu could benefit from a bit more variety. Breakfast the next morning was satisfying, with a decent selection of hot and cold options. Overall, I would recommend the Arklow Bay Hotel for a short getaway or weekend break, particularly for those looking to enjoy a peaceful seaside setting without straying too far from Dublin. The leisure facilities, including the pool and gym, were an added bonus and contributed positively to the overall experience. I would stay here again in future.

26/03/2026: It's really nice hotel Highly recommend

14/02/2026: Look I love the food from here ,but this is the second time happening now ,got a delivery tonight order a butter chicken main and a mixed grill main ,gets the delivery and the sauce for the mixed grill isn't there this is the second time happening 🥲rang them oh kitchen is closed 😭so it's valentine's were after spending money on a nice meal and I've to share my sauce out of the butter chicken so now we both have meat with just rice basically a miniscule amount of sauce between us ,and they will take money off next order mind you the hole meal is ruined now devastated,,second time 😅😅😅 happy valentine's day

09/02/2026: Food is 100% Tables/Seats could do with an upgrade ,food all squeased together with little room for a fork and knife Glass of flat coke from a Can 4€ now this is a rip off ,other than that i would return for the cooking

01/10/2025: We stopped in for lunch here with lower expectations after striking out several times in Donegal Town. We arrived around 1:30pm to a full house except for one table for 2. Great atmosphere. Lovely welcome/greeting from busy but accommodating staff. 4 lunch specials were offered in addition to the menu in this smallish bistro! I ordered the carbonara pasta and asked for a side Caesar salad which was no problem even though not available on the menu as a side. Hubby ordered the special chicken curry. Both were delicious! I loved the pasta but was especially impressed with the flavours and fresh ingredients of the Caesar salad. All food is made fresh to order. My husband commented on how perfectly cooked (ie not overcooked) the vegetables in his curry were. Looking forward to breakfast there tomorrow 🤗

20/09/2025: Lovely coffee, gorgeous cake and the soup looked amazing.

24/01/2026: We had an amazing two nights in the Gin Mill. Darragh is the best barman , he definitely made our visit 100x better. Great craic , great atmosphere, fab entertainment!! Music Bingo , quick fire quiz and karaoke. Love from the belles of Belfast!

29/07/2025: Had a tasty cooked breakfast and a nice coffee here. Tables outside as the weather was warm and dry. Right next to a large car park. It was a nice surprise to find this cafe. Great value as the coffee was included in the breakfast price.

19/06/2025: Salad bowls are top notch ! I order them every day for my lunch

18/03/2026: We wouldn't normally go for Asian food when on holiday in the canaries but this place was always packed with people so we gave it a go. We were there in march so only had a short wait to be seated. I would imagine long waits if you don't book, in the summer. Great selection of Chinese, Thai and Japanese food. We went for a set Chinese menu for two. What we had was very good. Service was swift and very friendly. Recommended.

16/03/2026: This is probably the best Asian restaurant on the strip. Great food every time, friendly staff, great service and very accommodating for large groups with kids.