Review
Galo chargrill restaurant is a Portuguese restaurant in Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford, specialising in char grilled dishes from their charcoal burning cookers. Over the last few years it seems Portugal has been re-placing Spain as the destination of choice for many Irish holiday makers. The Algarve is only a two hour flight away and apart from enjoying two weeks in the sun a lot of Irish people have bought holiday homes over there and enjoyed the relaxed lifestyle and of course the food. So it is a little surprising that we don’t have many Portuguese restaurants.
We came across Galo on the recommendation of a friend. It is situated in the centre of Enniscorthy town just beside the cathedral. From the outside it is beautifully kept and has large windows, with frosted and leaded sections that let in plenty of light, but afford the diners inside some privacy. Inside Galo is all wood and brick, with coloured tiles running down the side walls and lots of shelves of wine and interesting nooks and crannies to catch the eye. The room itself is long, running from front to back, with the open plan kitchen at the rear. All in all a very cosy and inviting space.
The menu is quite long, offering almost twenty starters including soup, mussels, squid, prawns cooked several ways and freshly grilled sardines. All the starters are priced around the €7 mark, so qite easy on the pocket. The main courses are broken down into sections – Chicken, Traditional Portuguese, fish, steaks, pastas and vegetarian options. Highlights include the grilled chicken with a choice of piri piri sauce, a choice of several char grilled steaks (including a fabulous t-bone), Portuguese meat and fish skewers cooked to order. There are grilled fish dishes as well, traditional grilled cod, sardines, prawns skewers and salmon. All of dishes are around €20 and some rising to €25.
We were on our way back from Wexford early on a Saturday evening when I visited with Deirdre Walsh. At this time of day, the early bird was still on offer and we had had a big lunch, so we kept it simple, with two main courses. Deirdre went for the lamb cutlets(€14) while I decided to try the rack of ribs(12.30). The service is very friendly and prompt and we received or drinks order immediately which left us a few minutes to look around. There were a few tables occupied, but the kitchen was getting ready for a busy night and I had a good view of the staff working to ready themselves for the dinner service.
Our food arrived quickly, obviously the charcoal grills do their job in no time! Deirdre’s lamb cutlets were perfectly pink as requested and were served with a creamy garlic mash that was a smooth as silk, while my ribs were meaty and falling off the bones. They were accompanied with home made wedges and we had a salad to share. Both these simple dishes were delicious – well made and presented and perfectly flavoured. We just about has room for a shared dessert, and picked the home made Tiramisu which was light, creamy and very tasty.
Galo is a family run restaurant and the food is surprisingly good. When you realise that they have been here ten years the penny drops- this is a good restaurant doing what they do very well. A trip is a must and will leave you wondering why there aren’t lots of restaurants serving good, hearty Portuguese food this well made.
We came across Galo on the recommendation of a friend. It is situated in the centre of Enniscorthy town just beside the cathedral. From the outside it is beautifully kept and has large windows, with frosted and leaded sections that let in plenty of light, but afford the diners inside some privacy. Inside Galo is all wood and brick, with coloured tiles running down the side walls and lots of shelves of wine and interesting nooks and crannies to catch the eye. The room itself is long, running from front to back, with the open plan kitchen at the rear. All in all a very cosy and inviting space.
The menu is quite long, offering almost twenty starters including soup, mussels, squid, prawns cooked several ways and freshly grilled sardines. All the starters are priced around the €7 mark, so qite easy on the pocket. The main courses are broken down into sections – Chicken, Traditional Portuguese, fish, steaks, pastas and vegetarian options. Highlights include the grilled chicken with a choice of piri piri sauce, a choice of several char grilled steaks (including a fabulous t-bone), Portuguese meat and fish skewers cooked to order. There are grilled fish dishes as well, traditional grilled cod, sardines, prawns skewers and salmon. All of dishes are around €20 and some rising to €25.
We were on our way back from Wexford early on a Saturday evening when I visited with Deirdre Walsh. At this time of day, the early bird was still on offer and we had had a big lunch, so we kept it simple, with two main courses. Deirdre went for the lamb cutlets(€14) while I decided to try the rack of ribs(12.30). The service is very friendly and prompt and we received or drinks order immediately which left us a few minutes to look around. There were a few tables occupied, but the kitchen was getting ready for a busy night and I had a good view of the staff working to ready themselves for the dinner service.
Our food arrived quickly, obviously the charcoal grills do their job in no time! Deirdre’s lamb cutlets were perfectly pink as requested and were served with a creamy garlic mash that was a smooth as silk, while my ribs were meaty and falling off the bones. They were accompanied with home made wedges and we had a salad to share. Both these simple dishes were delicious – well made and presented and perfectly flavoured. We just about has room for a shared dessert, and picked the home made Tiramisu which was light, creamy and very tasty.
Galo is a family run restaurant and the food is surprisingly good. When you realise that they have been here ten years the penny drops- this is a good restaurant doing what they do very well. A trip is a must and will leave you wondering why there aren’t lots of restaurants serving good, hearty Portuguese food this well made.
