Curragower Seafood Bar

«Best chowder I’ve ever eaten.» — Dad, age 64.
Score one for the Unilocalers!
Limerick was our midday stop on our trek from Carrick-​on-​Shannon to Kerry. My brother (an avid Unilocaler as well!) suggested we stop at Curragower for lunch after reading the rave reviews, and all the stars aligned from there.
A beautiful patio overlooking the river, where one table remained for us. A new menu launching that day with upscale Irish delicacies (it’s a thing!). Our group enjoyed numerous beers, great service, fish and chips with minted mushy peas, bacon cabbage rolls, seafood chowder (believe the hype!) and a big old burger. Not to mention several plates of Irish soda bread for our 2 year old, who is a big fan of «Ireland toast.» Everything that hit the table was a dream, thumbs way up.
A super relaxed, nice setting (flowers, clean decks, nice loo) — just across the river overlooking the bridge and King Johns Castle. Hard to go wrong here, Curragower has it figured out, you’d do yourself a service to stop in if you are anywhere in the vicinity.

This was the best restaurant I ate at in Limerick. The staff was very friendly and attentive, food was excellent, and atmosphere was what I’d hoped to find as a visitor new to Ireland. My highest recommendation.

I went here with my mother on a recent trip and we were beyond happy with this restaurant.
It’s small and cozy and the majority of the dining room is a separated room beyond the main room.
We had a few pints, the fish and chips, and onion and feta puff parcels. The food was perfection.
The fish was light and flaky, and cooked just right. The puffs we so full of flavor and leaving you wishing there were more.
Basically, if you’re looking to Unilocal for where to have dinner I suggest Curragower!

If you’re in town, this is the place to eat. If you’re at the Cliffs of Moher, if you’re in Dublin, I don’t care, this place is worth going out of your way for! Absolutely delicious! We stopped by here on our way to Kerry, and ended up changing our pre-​planned route back to Dublin to go through Limmerick just to come back to this place, it was that good.
I don’t eat seafood of any kind, but when my lunch date ordered the chowder, and we heard so many good things about it, I felt like it was worth trying. It’s award winning, after all. So I tried it and immediately knew we had to come back so I could have a bowl of my own. It’s incredible, creamy goodness that everyone must try! The brown bread they serve with it is perfect. I had the buttermilk fried chicken sandwich which was fantastic, moist chicken with crispy batter that didn’t feel greasy at all. They also do great onion rings, which is a rare thing. But the chowder. Seriously. The rest of the trip I had chowder everywhere we went because I was hooked, but nothing compared to this place! Any time we are anywhere remotely close to Limerick, we will be coming here. No doubt.
Staff is very friendly and helpful, we sat outside with our dog and it was pretty cold, so she turned on the heaters just for us which was very nice. This place has an excellent view of the river, such a nice spot to have a drink and some fantastic food. Come immediately!

Seafood Chowder was fantastic. Ambiance and services were perfect. An old Irish hangout with excellent food and drink.

In a word, OUTSTANDING!
I read the reviews for Curragower on Unilocal and decided to pay a visit when I was in Limerick. It is as excellent as all the raves. To be more specific– attentive service and outstanding food.
On my first visit, I ordered the much-​ballyhooed seafood chowder. Stunning. Flavorful, perfect creamy texture (obviously from cream, not from pasty flour mixture), and chock full of fresh seafood– mussels, haddock, salmon, and more. It was also a generous portion. And unlike most rich dishes, I thoroughly enjoyed the very last bite as much as the first without that feeling of having overdone it. As others have noted, it’s clear that the fish did not sit in the cream stewing all day long, but apparently was cooked separately and added just before serving.
On my second visit I had fish and chips. It was quite good with the fish well-​cooked yet without being dry or mealy.
I had occasion to swing through Limerick one last time before leaving Ireland, and made a specific point of going to Curragower again. And once again, I ordered the seafood chowder. And once again it was mind-​blowing. I’ve traveled a lot, and this is bar none, the best soup or chowder I have ever had anywhere at any price.
In all three of my visits the service was excellent– attentive without being invasive, and cheerfully pleasant at all times. If for no other reason, the next time I am in the west of Ireland, I will visit Limerick just to eat here again. I might even try something else, but dang that chowder is the bomb!
one last note– while their parking lot is very small, they do have one. But although it was full on two of my visits, I had no trouble parking for free along the road bordering the river.

We came here early Saturday afternoon for an early dinner and the whole experience was great. I had the seafood sampler which I think is supposed to be for two people but I did not have any issues eating it myself. It’s a great way try different types of seafood in one shot. My wife had the hamburger which she said was good. They also had some yummy local beer.

Amazing seafood chowder, great atmosphere. Stopped in for dinner and were able to grab a table and watch the end of the rugby match. Very short distance walk from the Strand Hotel where we stayed. Very family friendly as well during the time we were there, many young families with (adorable) toddlers along!

I’ve been here three times this August. Awesome place, sit outside and enjoy the view of the river and St John’s castle. The mussels in garlic butter are truly outstanding and don’t forget to dip the wonderful soda bread in the garlic butter sauce.

Great service and Amazing food! Loved the homemade soda bread, seafood chowder and fish n chips!

awesome seafood!!!
Get the calamari and fish and chips. Really fresh. It was the first time I’ve ever had smashed peas. Adds an interesting sweetness to the meal. We also had the special; sea bass with clam fritters and beets. Really pretty plate and fish was cooked perfectly. Great place for dinner!

My husband and I were visiting Limerick from Missouri, USA. I’m glad we stumbled upon Curragower.
The staff here was super friendly! They were not busy when we were here and were cleaning the place before the dinner rush. Everyone was so willing to talk to us about the area, the food, and the beer.
We ended up ordering the seafood platter (for 2). I wish I would have ordered this just for myself instead of sharing. The platter came with seafood chowder (2 baby bowls of the best seafood chowder), 3 skewers of 3 grilled shrimp each covered with a sweet chili sauce, 2 healthy bread slices with smoked salmon on top, a huge bowl of garlic butter mussels, fried calamari rings, and fried shrimp.
This was the best meal of our trip.

OH THE FOOD. I ate a two gigantic pieces of fresh hake (I think), but the star was my father’s smoked salmon plate. *SCREAM* It was so good. Very cozy on a miserable March day. I won’t be back in Limerick anytime soon, but if I were, I would be here often and weigh 300lbs.

I went to this place two weeks ago while on vacation with my grandparents and sisters. It was difficult for us driving in Ireland as we are from the USA so I was hoping once we were done driving through Limerick it would be worth it. It was great! Helpfully there was a parking lot. The ambiance was a calm and quiet pub with a nice view of the river.
We all got the seafood chowder which did not disappoint. The broth was perfectly creamy and there was so much seafood in it. The texture of the seafood was firm and fresh, unlike how in some soups. My sister also got chicken wings which came in a huge bowl. They were spicy and juicy. We ordered another batch! My other sister got a salad with a goat cheese and black pudding pastry. I am an adventurous eater and like most everything, but I’m not crazy about the texture or gamey/​organy taste of blood sausage. With that being said, I enjoyed tasting hers because the flavors were subtle and bounced nicely off each other. All in all, a great late lunch stop after a cold day walking around the city.

I’m a regular, and I love it! Good atmosphere, great staff, and the best seafood chowder in Limerick

Its a nice and cosy place for a lunch or dinner with friends. The staff were polite and friendly. Their fish and chips were light and crispy. I don’t know how i finished it but I did. Really recommend this place!

This place has great reviews on Unilocal.So when we were in Limerick, we decided to give it a go. It did not disappoint!
We walked in and we were greeted by a friendly staff member. We wanted to sit outside so she showed us to the patio. It was a bit chilly, so when a table opened up under the heaters, we grabbed it!
It was the last night of our 2 week vacay and we were «fooded out». We wanted a casual place to relax and talk about out trip. We ordered Guiness to start. Hubby and I ordered the seafood chowder and the other couple each ordered a ginger carrot soup. Each couple also ordered a hamburger to split.
The seafood chowder is enough for a meal. It was a bowl FULL of shrimp, mussels, salmon, etc in a creamy broth. On the side was moist brown bread and butter. Nom, nom, nom. See my picture. This was THE BEST chowder I have ever eaten. I’m only sad that it was on vacation and I will likely not be back there.
The burgers were good, not great. But seriously, I didn’t care after that bowl of chowder. I debated giving this place 4 stars just because I don’t think every dish is as good as the chowder… but ya know, if you go here and don’t order the chowder, it’s on you!
The staff was friendly and attentive. You also get a nice view of the river from the patio.
I will now be searching for anything that compares to that chowder. I had it a week ago, and I am still dreaming about it… mmmmm… P-:

Thanks to Unilocal this restaurant was where we wanted to eat even before leaving Dublin. The food was as brilliant as other reviewers have described but the value was more surprising than expected. € 34 paid for starters and main meals for two of us.
We shared one seafood chowder between us, which was prudent as it gave us some chance of dealing with the main dishes that followed. I had the fish and chips which was brilliant. Two large portions of cod in crispy beer batter. One portion would have been more than enough but it went so well with the pint of guinness that I managed to finish it completely. My wife had the burger which looked so delicious when she saw them being served to other customers that she just had to have one. It too was enough for two people and was mouthwatering. But even though she could eat only half of the amount served I could not help her because I was swollen to capacity dealing with my own plate. The seafood pie looked terrific but I have only one belly and will have to sample it another time.
The staff of the Curragower were exceptional. They were naturally friendly and attentive and their attentions did not seem forced or false in any way. The restaurant was very busy on the Sunday afternoon we visited and when I mentioned that the guinness I had ordered was a little delayed, a manager arrived quickly with a a pint, apologies for any delay and told us the pint was with his compliments and would not appear on our bill. Now you have to admin that € 34 for one starter and two main courses is brilliant value, and if you consider the views of the Shannon and central Limerick from the terrace and the friendly atmosphere of the bar and restaurant, you will understand why it is a place that we absolutely must revisit if only to check out the seafood pie.

As a previous reviewer related, good decision. This has been my third go at Curragower. Seafood Chowder each time. It’s absolutely the best chowder I’ve had anywhere, hands down. The seafood must be added just prior to serving since it is not overlooked and is very fresh & tender, unlike others that must sit in the pot simmering for hours. If I was told I could only eat this chowder for the rest of my life, I would die happy. Add a pint of Guinness or Bullmers and what more could one ask for?
I’ve also had the fish & chips. Very good. Crisp, beer battered haddock and equally crisp.
This will be a must do each time I come to
Limerick which I do quite often. I suggest you do too.

Great comfy bar overlooking the Shannon river. Several little cozy rooms to choose from. Go in and seat yourself. Waitstaff is very friendly and curteous. The chowder soup is a must! I had the kitchen sink which was a full Irish breakfast plus French toast. It was all delicious and made to order. Ingredients were fresh and tasty. The helping size was generous and I couldn’t finish everything.
We sat in the back k called the snug bar which was quiet and warm by the kitchen. The rugby game was on TVs and was grand to watch!
Would definitely recommend and return here