Best Ways To Book Venues For Events and Dinners in Ireland

As a wantaway from my native Northern Ireland and an immigrant in Poland, I am very often in the situation where events, organising and researching are new ways for me to explore both my native country and my current country of residence. I must admit that before I left Northern Ireland, I wasn’t really into hotels, restaurants or cafes. That has all changed in the last 17 years since I left my hometown, of Bangor. These days I regularly eat out in Poland. I sometimes document this on my Smaczne Srody series and also my Piątkowe Picie series. I usually write about Polish food, which makes more sense to me now that I live here. But I aim to cover some Northern Irish restaurants and food options too.

Everytime I am back in Northern Ireland, I am always going out for meals with my friends and family. Well at least, I was doing that before the Coronavirus situation all began. I am constantly looking for new and exciting ways to organise a dining out experience back in Ireland. While Facebook and friends recommendations are great, using expert sites such as Square Meal (the Irish based version of their website) can be much easier and opens up new options. If you are unaware of their site, you can click here to see what it is all about.

I thought I would write about my favourite options when booking venues for events, meet ups, dinners, lunches, weddings, parties etc. when visiting Ireland. Here are the options I recommend.

1.Researching Special Restaurants

Part of my backpacking spirit enjoys the thrill of visiting a special venue – for example I once dined out in the oldest restaurant in Gdansk – Kubicki. That was special. I also love being one of the first people to experience a new venue. I am often on the lookout for a restaurant that has recently opened but prestige comes first.

2.Using Square Meal to Find and Book Restaurants

Square Meal is excellent for doing this. Especially in Ireland. Their website is easy to use, has great images and information on all the best restaurants. Not only do I love their imagery, but the website is detailed with pointers like addresses, chefs, menus and types of dishes etc. It is a brilliant place to find the perfect venue for your special night out or event. At the top of the screen, when you click on restaurants, it then opens down to reveal the locations. For example, Cork. You can see the best restaurants in Cork immediately, with great photos of food and it can entice you to book such venues. It’s a very easy site to navigate through too, which always helps.

3.Trusting Friends Recommendations

I still rank friends recommendations as one of my favourite ways to find and book restaurants and venues. I find this works well for more important events, such as weddings and conferences. For example if a friend had a wedding in a prestigious venue and has photos and stories to share from it, then you can feel more confident that this place will work for you and be perfect.

If all else fails, there’s always Facebook and Google to help us find that perfect venue for our significant occasion. Good luck finding and choosing your next epic meal.

Enjoy your food, or in Polish – Smacznego!