Eight Bar and Restaurant, Dock Road, Galway

Bar 8 is situated on the waters edge with a big picture window affording great views of the Galway docks. Bar 8 has a stylish, funky feel, while being un-pretentious. There is a new chef in situ in the person of Shane Lurie, who hails from the other side of the world, in Australia. The artisan food and the philosophy which underlines the food offering has remained essentially the same, since original chef Jess Murphy has moved on, but if anything Shane has improved on things with a wider choice of dishes, while the wine list is undergoing changes as well.

The menu is still completely based on sourcing the freshest local ingredients and treating them with respect and simplicity. The menu changes seasonally and daily specials are dictated by what comes off the boats. We recently had a dinner with friends and instead of picking from the menu, left it up to Shane to give us a series of dishes. The menu is divided into small and big bites, so if you threat the smaller ones like tapas, this style of dining works well.

First up was the hand stretched ciabatta with home-made hummus, olives, Donegal rapeseed and green leaves. Very good flavours and a perfect opener. This was followed by two more small bites, the very delicious rare beef and noodle salad, and the harria spiced roast pumpkin and couscous with green leaves and yoghurt dressing. We then enjoyed a meat plate in the form of the locally cured and smoked ham with goat’s cheese. We were still on the smaller bites at this stage, but so far this was food of the highest quality and flavour, and my only worry was that the main courses would suffer by comparison.

We needn’t have worried, next was the most delicious chermona crusted hake with lemony potatoes and bulgar wheat, which had also absorbed the citrus, and the dish was really fresh and different, a real breath of fresh air so to speak. We also enjoyed the Ros a mBhil brill on the bone with chorizo, broad beans and samphire, before finishing with the 9 hour slow cooked lamb. Each and every dish had it’s own flavour and identity, and we each had different favourites.

We enjoyed three glasses of wine each over the course of dinner, a sauvignon Blanc, followed by the Chablis, and finishing with a red, the Tempranillo which we had with the lamb. The menu lists all of the suppliers and you will find familiar names like Donegal rapeseed oil, McGeogh’s of Oughterard and the Arran Islands fisherman’s Co-op.

Since opening owner Tom Sheridan has remained true to his vision, and it’s going from strength to strength under new chef Shane. We still love Bar 8, and on a trip to Galway, it’s always worth a visit for lunch or dinner.