Study Ireland – Stories & Guides from International Students

In this blog, UL Global Ambassador, Mónica Sanchez, introduces us to the remarkable world of vegetarian meals that can be found in Limerick city:

My journey as a foodie in Limerick took me to many restaraunts with vegetarian, and even some vegan options. Would you fancy taking a virtual trip with me to see some delicious recommendations? We will visit the city center, then move towards the Castletroy neighborhood, which is one of the fastest growing spots in Ireland, finally finishing our journey at the University of Limerick.

To begin, let’s visit two places where I first tried Asian cuisine.

1. Burger and Bao, 10 Upper Denmark St, Prior’s-Land.

As stated, I do not have much experience with Asian cuisine to compare these meals with. In my opinion, the food had great taste but the restaurant could increase its quantity. I think the burgers are served with a side and drink, so it could be a great idea to do the same with baos. In the meantime, if you want to go for a bao, tofu one would probably be a more filling choice.

2. Just Pizza and Kebab, 16 John’s Street Irishtown.

A spicy side dish with  a crispy crust. Please keep in mind it is a side dish, as strange as it may sound, you would not be the first to only order a samosa and have to cook something else for yourself while your flat mates enjoy their pizza binge. 

Next stop, we are going to visit a breakfast/lunch café known for its focus on health. Futuristic tele-transportation drumroll please… 

3. Delish Café, Castletroy Park Commercial Campus, 7a.

The sourdough toast is covered in smashed avocado topped with 2 soft poached eggs, seeds, red chilies and homemade harissa sauce. Although the harissa sauce makes for a nice condiment, the dish still tastes bland, like something one could easily prepare at home in a cheaper way.

An Irish staple, but make it vegan! Perfect for a quick bite before class.

The Matcha green tea latte gives what it promises, you would like it if you enjoy tasting Matcha. Again, the toast is good, but nothing out of the ordinary. It does leave you feeling hungry.  

Brilliant presentation, but not a big fan of its overall mellow flavor. They also have some lovely sweet treats..

The café regularly bakes different types of cupcakes and other sweets, such as the Happy Hippo Loaf. Among Delish’s staples, I adore the nutty brownies. One can also have a sprinkled brownie bite, which is smaller than the regular brownie.

Less is more! There is a good gluten free takeaway cake available. The banana and strawberry smoothie is also nice. 

Now, we are moving to Castletroy shopping center. There we can find two relevant franchises in town and, just outside of its gates, a farmers market each Friday from 10 am to 2 pm. 

4. Hook and Ladder, Unit 4, Castletroy Town Centre, Dublin Rd.

A cauliflower and quinoa burger on a Waterford Blaa, with romaine lettuce, smashed avocado, beef tomato, vegan mature cheddar, and sriracha mayo. The Waterford Blaa is a white bread bun associated with the city of Waterford in Ireland. Nice way to give an Irish touch to an American restaurant franchise! The burger is served with a house salad and sweet potato fries. I thought the fries were the best part of the dish, which is lucky since they can be ordered on their own. I did miss the homemade sauce for eating them with though. 

Pro tip: They usually serve their Irish breakfast till late in the afternoon. I imagine doing so vegetarian style will not be a problem. Currently, the Veggie Breakfast is the most similar vegetarian  alternative they have to the traditional Irish, but its noteworthy to mention that it is served with eggs.

I declare myself a filthy fan of their Belgian Waffle. The spongy texture melts into sweet syrup in the mouth, what more is there to say? 

Other options are the American style buttermilk pancakes with Canadian maple syrup and cookies. They always have a Kiddies cookie, embedded with colorful smarties, a Nutella filled one, and finally, mine and a waitress’ favorite, the oats and raisins cookie as a healthier alternative. 

5. Bella Italia, Unit 4, Castletroy Town Centre, Dublin Rd

The Grilled goats cheese and roasted pepper bruschetta sits beautifully on your plate, and  your stomach.  

6. Farmer’s Market in Castletroy on Fridays, and the Milk Market on Saturdays and Sundays.

The Sandwitch Sister’s  stall offers some vegetarian options with Irish ingredients, like the Toons Bridge Halloumi Cheese Wrap shown below. The stall can also be seen some days in the UL courtyard, awesome! 

Salty or sweet? You can get both ketogenic snacks at Low Carb Love, plus good breads like their customer-favorite cheese filled bun. 

The quantity of chips is small, so I would only recommend it if you’re craving a little treat.

This is the only vegan brownie I’ve been able to find in town!

7, 8 and 9. Spar, Subway (Both located on campus) and Kebab Corner (Groody Student Village)

Before teleporting to see the restaurants available in the University of Limerick, we should take the road most used by every UL student. All students know about spar, subway, and kebab shops. At Spar you have to make a vegetarian sub on your own, while kebab shops generally have their own vegetarian options, and Subway has a mixture of both serving styles.

Tip for vegetarians in need: As spar does not have any vegetarian meat substitute, make use of chickpeas as they will add protein and flavor to the sub. Breadcrumbs are also tasty option.

Spar also has potato wedges available which are a nice side to the sub, or even enjoyable on their own! 

Considering that each Spar serves different meal options, I would go for a Millionaire Shortbread Cookie if it is offered by the store. Made of shortbread, caramel, and chocolate, this sweet treat is common in many English-speaking countries.

Spar also offers a range of muffins, like the Blueberry Muffin shown below, but I think they have a bit of an artificial taint.

Luckily, Subway offers vegetarian substitutes for meat, which I enjoy eating with all the veggie options possible!

Just a veggie kebab with falafel, “will you still love me, if I´m nothing new?” 

The hustle and bustle welcomes us as our journey takes us to the University of Limerick’s very own, Stables! The pub I mean, not the equestrian club dominions..

10. The Stables Club, University of Limerick

I believe all University’s restaurants offer a “soup of the day + bread” combo. Just check that the ingredients of the soup are vegetarian friendly. The quality of the dish could be improved if the bread was not sliced. 

This is both, more satisfying and expensive, than the other dishes I have tried from the Stables Club.

I think the other options in the restaurant taste better, are healthier and keep you energized for longer.  

Each day Stables offer a meat free dish. The options are the same weekly and some of them come with a side. 

Although the idea of using pita bread is cool and the ingredients of the hamburger filet are healthy (a mixture of breadcrumbs, garlic, chickpeas and curry powder), the hamburger in itself could use more ingredients, perhaps like vegan cheese. 

The side dishes at Stables and Scholars always disappoint me. The veggies and rice are near tasteless, and the latter also presents a colorant induced yellow. 

A good take on the classic chicken hamburger with fries. 

The pasta is served without a side, but it does not necessarily need one because the portion size is enough, something our next contestant could learn from.

Delicious, a writer’s favorite. But, almost only the inclusion of two meatballs differentiates this dish from the cheaper “soup of the day” alternative. 

For dessert, the restaurant offers a hearty homemade treat that comes from British cuisine, the Sticky Toffee Pudding!

11. Scholars, University of Limerick

From the daily vegetarian specials, I tried what I thought was every one of them, but I am not sure if there are more options.

I adored how the veggies and the cheese combine, so great to taste but it could make use of a greater quantity.

Eating it paired with rice enhances the savor. 

Great taste but it could make use of a greater quantity. I honestly think my problem with these dishes comes from my Spanish cultural background. In Spain, if you pay for the daily menu it includes two main courses, which are bigger in size, as well as a dessert, so there’s a bit of a culture shock haha, but it serves a good function in Ireland. 

Toasted with spinach, garlic, mayo and sundried tomatoes, as appetizing as it may be, it is important to note it only comes with one side dish.

As appetizing as it may be, it is important to note that it only comes with one side dish.

A classic Irish dessert is the flapjack. This one is one of the best among the oat and sugar energy treats at University.  

Other dessert options to consider are the blueberry muffin and the white chocolate cookie. I would not personally recommend these since I find the muffin too sweet and the cookie too dry as it didn’t have much chocolate. It is important to note that these items are homemade, so they may not taste the same everyday.

12. The Terrace Café, University of Limerick

With its Masterchef-esque recipes, the restaurant brings a luxurious vibe to campus. 

Everyone who tries them says they are amazing, EVERYONE. They are expensive (11 euro) though 😦

The toasted walnuts will give you a taste of heaven.

The citric taste makes it special. I do not know where that flavor comes from when nothing citric is in the ingredient list, let’s call it magic. 

13. The Eden, University of Limerick

Being able to choose from a wide range of options is always great for balancing nutrients in a vegetarian diet. This is why Eden´s self service organization comes in handy for me. 

14. Paddocks, University of Limerick

The ingredients of the burger “meat” seem fine, but at the end of the day the dish is simply “meat” between two buns. It only costs €7.50 though, so it is probably cheaper than most burgers available on campus.

15. University of Limerick’s Farmer’s Market on Tuesday

From top-bottom, right-left: Meatless chili, chickpea stew, veggie bowls, Iranian frittata, veggie bowl with red pepper dip and healthy energy bar. 

I will recommend every vegetarian to visit this stall on campus. For nearly 25 euros you can buy healthy and tasteful supplies to keep alive for a couple of days. You can choose from a good variety of ingredients to put in the bowls, which is always a plus!

I ask the owner to put all the veggies he can in the bae=gel! If you are vegan, you can choose another type of bagel as the pizza version has cheese on it.

Shenanigan tip: You can ask the owner to wrap the bagel in a package for you.

You can eat the Chana Masala or Bombay Aloo on their own, or get a combination of both. They are served with white rice.

Tip: The owner will ask you if you want to add spice, I’d say be careful! For me the regular meal is spicy enough.

We have now come to the end of our culinary journey, I hope you learned something and enjoyed yourself while doing so!