Eight Bar and Restaurant

City Waterside Bar & Restaurants

Could we have found the funkiest bar in the land, with the funkiest chef? We think so! In fact, we’d even go as far as to say we know so! Jess Murphy is a human dynamo of a cook – she’s been all over the world and back again and thankfully she has chosen to settle in Galway and ply her trade. Lucky Galwegians, but hey great news for visitors too. If you are looking for a food experience which marries best quality local produce with a chef who cooks with creativity, flair and determination to be different with sheer delightful enthusiasm, Eight Bar is the place to be.

Tom Sheridan's bar faces the marina in Galway so you get a great view while you eat! Its interior is a mix of starkly modern painted walls and antique furnishings. There are big couches in the window area and a hotchpotch of table and chairs to the rear around the bar lend a laid back informal feel. New Zealander Jess has been cooking for fifteen years travelling all over the world picking up a virtual globe full of  experience, seasoned with a veritable stash of tips and skill generously mixed with pride in her work. The end recipe is a pretty powerful one! She’s a vegetarian who cooks meat so insists the meat she cooks must come from farms where devotion to the well being of livestock is paramount. To this end she handpicks a selection of farms to supply all the meat and poultry for her menu. Not a drop of olive oil in sight here either – just pure Irish Donegal Rapeseed Oil grown by special farms in the Donegal region. She’s into the air miles thing in a big way, so anything that can come from Ireland does come from Ireland.  Jess sources her fish from three specially selected fishing boats sailing out into Galway bay with the boats named on the suppliers blackboard each day. She won’t touch any fish that’s not sustainable so you won’t find cod, haddock or monkfish on the menu here. You might find some razor clams, surf clams, cockles or other plentiful local shellfish and whiting or mackerel when in season. Black Faced lamb is sourced from nearby Connemara and beef comes from the Friendly Farmer and other small producers where animal welfare is uppermost. Their Black & white Puddings come from Kelly's of Newport and there are plenty of Irish farmhouse cheeses here too. Durrus Farmhouse Cheese, Knocklara Sheep’s Cheese, Bluebell Falls and Killen Goat’s Cheeses and Coolattin Cheddar are just some cheeses that were on the menu when we visited. Vegetables come from a couple of local growers. One such is Steve who grows a variety of salad leaves – and even gets mentioned on the menu with his wonderful array of ‘Steve’s Leaves’. In fact, there are quite a few dishes named after people – either chefs Jess has worked with or friends from along the way. It all adds to the friendly and informal approach adopted by the chef, the young and efficient restaurant manageress and the vibrant team of floor and kitchen staff. This is just about one of the happiest restaurants we know!

Food is served here seven days a week with lunch at weekends. The menu changes regularly, fully reflecting seasonality and is easily navigated through Light Bites, Bigger Bites and dessert in the After Eights section. Small dishes include those local Surf Clams fried in Garlic Butter or Blue Bell Falls Barley Balls with beet relish and leaves. For mains, enjoy Crumbed Whiting with mushy peas, caper mayo and herby salad, 10oz Rib Eye Steak with chips, garlic butter, blue cheese and greens or the lovely Lamb Chops with minty yogurt, Arron Victory potatoes and Steve’s famous leaves. We enjoyed a Sunday Brunch dish of Baked Butter Beans with Bluebell Falls Goat’s Cheese and Toasty Corn Bread made to a recipe given to Jess when she visited Louisiana. 

If you have room after your main for dessert you’ll be tempted by the Hazelnut parfait with chocolate and black treacle or the Handmade House Truffles. Here also the menu is changed regularly and in the summer berries and soft fruits make an appearance. Cheese lovers might like Killen Goat’s Cheese served with Ali’s damson paste - made by a former colleague and friend of Jess –or a sliver or two of Coolattin Cheddar with Rye fruit cake. Saturday and Sunday brunch is a relaxed affair with all welcome from dads with kids to girls having a get together. 

Wines at Bar 8 are well chosen to match this particular style of food and there’s a good choice of bottled European beers and Aspall’s Organic Cider as well draft beers including Galway Hooker and the usual selection of spirits. Organic coffee comes from the Green Bean Company, and a selection of regular, specialist and herb teas are also here. Jess has designed a programme of great entertainment for most evenings, which includes live bands, DJ, tango and performance art.  So after dinner, you can sit back and enjoy the fun. Didn’t we already tell you this is the funkiest bar in the land.

Click Here to see Bar No 8 Menu
Click Here to see Bar No 8 Wine List

Contact Details

To Contact a Member Directly, please click on the email or website below

8 Dock Road
Galway
+353 (0)91 565111
Email: dockeight@gmail.com
Web: www.bar8.ie

 

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