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Are vegetarian meals easily accessible outside of the cities in Ireland?

Are vegetarian meals easily accessible outside of the cities in Ireland?

Old Aug 7th, 2017, 02:59 PM
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Are vegetarian meals easily accessible outside of the cities in Ireland?

Are vegetarian meals easily accessible outside of the cities in Ireland?
I would like to visit Ireland with a vegetarian friend but she is concerned that it will be difficult for her to find vegetarian meal options at B&B's and restaurants.

I am sure this is not a problem in the major cities, but what about in the countryside - County Clare, Wicklow Mountains, Ring of Kerry towns +++ ?
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Old Aug 7th, 2017, 03:10 PM
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I don't eat meat and it never occurs to me to worry about starving. There are vegetables and grains everywhere.
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Old Aug 7th, 2017, 03:13 PM
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BTW, have you traveled with this friend before? I ask because I've taken people I've known for years on trips and they turn into people I've never met before. If she's obsessing about this, fair warning.
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Old Aug 7th, 2017, 03:54 PM
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Absolutely no issues at all. Almost every B&B I've stayed in that last 10+ years has had vegetarian options (long ago it was different). When you book a B&B they will usually make it very clear on the website what their breakfasts include and if they offer vegetarian choices.

Pubs, restaurants you name it - not a problem. Plus there are lots of Indian and Asian restaurants.

Ireland is not some weird back water.
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Old Aug 8th, 2017, 06:37 AM
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C'mon we're all raging carnivorous beasts that ride round on dragons, have ye not seen Game of Thrones (maybe a disservice because I haven't).

You might want to steer off recommending Indian (that region) restaurants, but if you find a really good one let me know.
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Old Aug 8th, 2017, 06:49 AM
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Old Aug 8th, 2017, 07:16 AM
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What kind of a meal option do you need at a B&B? Isn't it just breakfast usually? Why would she think they only serve meat and nothing else for breakfast at B&Bs in Ireland? This doesn't even make sense, I've never been anywhere in the world where you couldn't find something to eat for breakfast other than meat (notably some type of bread product is always available). I'm not even a vegetarian and rarely eat meat for breakfast as it is full of fat and cholesterol (ie, sausage or bacon). No one has to have that kind of stuff for breakfast even if it is served.
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Old Aug 8th, 2017, 07:17 AM
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Lol, Tony2phones!

I actually think a vegetarian diet was more common in Europe than in the US years ago.
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Old Aug 8th, 2017, 08:34 AM
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Looks like you are from the U.S.? A picky eater would more likely put restrictions on where you can eat. When we traveled a few times overseas, the picky eaters pretty much put the boundary on where we could eat together. The vegetarian in our family ate anything vegetarian: Middle Eastern, Indian, Zen food, spicy vegetarian food, etc. Have you done trial balloon overnight trips with your friend before?
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Old Aug 8th, 2017, 08:41 AM
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I am a vegetarian (well I do eat fish, so I guess that makes me a pescetarian, hell if I know - I just don't like most meat). It would never occur to me to worry about finding food. I can find something to eat everywhere. If there are actual vegetarian options on the menu, that's a bonus.

I try not to be a jerk about it and I would hope your travel companion would be the same. If she's truly worried about it, I would think twice about traveling with her.
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Old Aug 8th, 2017, 09:01 AM
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LindaBrinck, I touched on it and do listen to the similar warnings from greg & 4sammy above. Unless you have traveled with this friend before, trust me, you have no idea what a misery a trip can become with someone inexperienced with travel away from their home country. Knowing someone at home is not knowing them far from home. Their discomfort can be played out in a variety of ways that can quite simply ruin a trip. The food thing is but a symptom of what may lie ahead. I would not minimize the warning she's giving you. It took me 5 experiences with 4 friends & 1 sister (5 trips nearly run off the rails) to learn that particular lesson.
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Old Aug 8th, 2017, 09:10 AM
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Wow, talk about unsolicited advice! A vegetarian diet hardly warrants all these dire warnings about suitability for travel, not to mention that this is not what the OP asked about.
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Old Aug 8th, 2017, 09:28 AM
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I actually think a vegetarian diet was more common in Europe than in the US years ago.>

Not IME in France -zillions of Sunday family dinners always featuredmeat as the main course and all ate meat- I'm a vegetarian in that I never ever in the last zillions years bought any mean for myself but as a courtesy eats meat at such get togethers or on special occasions (turkey) - I am a vegetarian for health reasons not dogmatic ones -

but my French in-laws may be weirdos (as some have rightly called them in the past) but in this regard I think they are typical for France. I've had several discussions with my French son's mother about how meat -especially red meat I believe is generally harmful to health - at least in regular consumption but this French woman simply says "meat is very feeding" and necessary to good health -just like the tons of sugar she puts on her yogurt and in her tea. She only eats 'bio' meats and foods now.

I think Germans and Dutch too IME are big on meat.

Vegans - now they would be hard to travel with.
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Old Aug 8th, 2017, 09:34 AM
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NewB, our role, I believe, is as much to add information that may address a poster's inexperience in addition to what they ask. But I know, too, that you'd never dream of offering unsolicited comment so understand your position in this regard.
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Old Aug 8th, 2017, 10:43 AM
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Happy Cow?

https://www.happycow.net/veggiemap/?...32139950000055
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Old Aug 12th, 2017, 08:25 AM
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Lived in Ireland as a veg (well, as poster above, a pescetarian), and was there last about 2 years ago. Vegetarian food easily available in the rural areas, although it might not be very exciting. Vegetarian soups and breads everywhere, veg special often a pasta dish. If you stick to the touristy areas, you'll be just fine. As others have noted, B&Bs usually put their menus online.

FWIW, it would be harder for a vegan and it's become MUCH better in the last 15 years or so.
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