The Creamery Bar

Directly across from Bunratty Castle you’ll find The Creamery. When I first saw the name, I have to admit I thought it was an ice cream parlor. Don’t get me wrong, you can get ice cream on the desert menu along with a decent sticky toffee pudding. The Creamery is first and foremost a pub that occupies a building that has, at least in parts, been around for quite awhile.
Since it was cold and wet outside, we started with a hot whiskey that was well prepared. We opted for the t-​bone special at just under € 20.00 that came with chips and coleslaw. All were delicious. Our server was fantastic and engaging as we talked about his visit to Philadelphia.
A great place to pop in for a pint or a bit more.

We just had drinks and snacks in the bar area, but given the fact that the place was busy during the hurling final game the service was excellent and we enjoyed the game. Best thing: after we returned to our hotel my wife discovered that she misplaced her expensive mouth retainer. We retraced our steps to the Creamery. Our waitress was still there, heard what we were looking for, and dug through trash for us. Then the manager saw what we were doing and remembered picking up the retainer off the ground and putting it into one trash can. He dug in and found it! This deserves lots of kudos.

Stopped in here the night before our flight out of SNN since where we were staying was swamped with a wedding. Decent Pub food of Shepard’s Pie and very good Sea Trout. They need to keep the mixed verges in the frozen bags they get them… yuk.
Nice location and atmosphere with a friendly staff.

Gah. I hate being the odd man out, but while the atmosphere at The Creamery Bar delivered, and was complimented by friendly staff, the food wasn’t good.
Star 1: How was the service and atmosphere?
As I touched on, The Creamery Bar has an excellent atmosphere, and is a great contrast to the tourist trap that is Durty Nelly’s next store. Yes, you’re probably here because you have a flight in or out of Shannon, and it’s not the most exciting part of Ireland, but The Creamery Bar provides what you need to kick back for an evening. Star Granted.
Star 2: How were the portions relative to the cost?
Ireland is a bit on the expensive side if you haven’t yet noticed — at least when compared to a US benchmark. That being the case, € 13,00 is reasonable for a burger with a side:
Star Granted.
Stars 3 and 4: How was the food?
And then, it all fell apart. Let’s start with the burger. If you can’t yet tell from the pictures, this was truly nothing worthy of note. The patties were okay, but lacked flavor, and were sandwiched in a very mediocre, store-​bought bun. Not good. The mushrooms added just a little bit of flavor, and the pepper sauce, clearly meant to contribute the largest portion of flavor to the dish, was nothing short of overpowering. The potatoes were clearly scooped with an ice cream scoop, and tasted powdered. Very disappointing. No Stars Granted.
Star 5: Would you eat here every day if you could?
While the atmosphere is solid, The Creamery Bar fails to deliver with respect to the food. No Star Granted.

Would recommend a Beamish pint, the daily fresh fish is very good. We had trout and Hake.

Decided to come here instead of Durty Nellie’s because Nellie’s had bad Unilocal and tripadvisor reviews regarding the food… don’t know what Nellie’s is like myself, but The Creamery has friendly staff, good food at reasonable prices, and a nice clean interior.
€ 12.20 Fish N Chips… delicious.
€ 6.00 Seafood chowder… yum! The Irish know chowder!
€ 6.00 Irish Coffee… fantastic!
€ 3.90 Beamish… tasty and smooth.

Cool place! Clean, Great food. Went there after we visited Bunratty Castle. My husband had the seafood chowder and I had the pub burger. The beef in Ireland tastes so much better than US beef… I am hooked! Had a Guinness and «Smiddicks»…if we come back to Ireland we will definitely be back. :)

A great place. Rabbit, lamb stew, and a great open cheese sand which with chutney. Over creamy cole slaw mmmm

After not being able to sit at the bar without buying food at Durty Nelly’s, we came over to the Creamery. It was Halloween night and pretty empty, but the bartenders were great. They have a vast selection of drafts and full bar.
My tour guide said that if we wanted to cut the taste of Guinness to add Blackberry Currant. When I asked the bartender, he was not shocked and said that a lot of women do that. It was good, but I’ll stick to regular Guinness.
It is a huge bar and restaurant. They have free wi-​fi and are conveniently located next to the Bunratty Castle Hotel.

Excellent Sticky Toffee Pudding!!!
Great menu selection. Lots of homemade desserts.
So far best Irish Coffee… made with just the right amount of Jameson and a dollop of cream if desired!

GREAT service, good pint, locals and tourists. Didn’t have any food, but they were serving a lot of it.
The bartenders were great, offering me the newpaper to read and keeping my pint of Guinness filled.
Sat next to a local named Doc. He was well known and the bartenders took very good care of him. Local families and tourists eating here and seemed very pleased.
DO NOT go to the tourist trap pub across the street.
Go to «The Creamery»
They’ll make you feel welcome.

I ate here for part of a family reunion. The Irish stew was superb, and so was the fish. When I got home I kept wanting to come back so badly. I definitely will!

Whitey Bulger was arrested last night (June 22^nd) in California. I guess the barkeep was wrong (he is alive) and I was wrong (he doesn’t work at the Bunratty Castle Folk Park).