Kell's Irish Pub Review

Jason here. Ever since returning from Ireland we have been on the lookout for a local pub, with live Irish music. While planning our next outing we discovered a restaurant in Seattle near Pike’s Place named Kells which has live music nearly every night and had people mentioning gluten free menu options, so they had us covered on both fronts. In our brief research it looks like Kells also has restaurants in Portland and San Francisco, so if you live in one of those areas let us know how they compare.

We decided to head on a Sunday when Liam Gallagher was playing, doing guitar and vocals. The live usually starts at 9:00 PM, so we decided to make a day of it and hit up Pike’s Place for bit around closing time, as well as head over to a local coffee shop to pass the time. Make sure you get to Kells early though, so you can get a nice seat near the stage. For myself, I enjoy being off near a wall where we can have a small table and seats to ourselves without being in the middle of everything going on. Makes it easier to just sit back with a drink and enjoy the music. 

I ordered a bowl of steamed mussels to snack on thinking they would make for a light meal I could make last. It’s a very generous bowl of mussels, served in a butter broth. I let our waiter know I had a gluten allergy and she was very informative, and made sure to leave out the side of Irish soda bread. I don’t know what it is about steamed mussels, but I’ve had terrible luck ordering them in other restaurants and having a piece of crumbling toast put on top. This time I was finally able to enjoy my bowl of mussels. 

The mussels themselves tasted pretty standard, with not a single bad one in the bunch. The mussels were cooked just right. (Over cooked mussels tend to be chewy and lose their flavor)

As I finished up my mussels I ordered a side of baked chips, which are just fries. I sort of made the false assumption they were homemade potato chips, but that’s my fault. For fries they cooked right, with the outside crunchy and inside fluffy. Again, they made a great food to partake in slowly while enjoying the music. I tend to fresh fries either plain or with a little bit of salt, and then as they become room temperature or cold switch over to dipping in ketchup. 

Finally, I ended the night with a dessert chocolate mousse. The music was winding down, and the last song played just as I was finishing up. Talk about great timing. If you like chocolate, you’ll enjoy the mousse. Without being able to compare side-by-side directly, I want to say Kells Mousse came in a slightly larger glass then I’m used to. Of course that could have just been how I felt after all the fries and mussels. 

Kayleigh here. Overall, the feel of the pub itself was very similar to what we had experienced in Ireland- although the patrons were a little more into having bachelorette parties and a little less into the live music. We stuck around for a couple of hours and never felt pressured to finish up eating to let more guests in. On top of that, our waitress was well informed on which dishes were already gluten free, and was very good about going to the kitchen and getting answers for all our questions. She even brought out the cheese platter with the bread on another plate and the cheese with porter not touching the other cheeses, so Jason could try some. Amazing service, considering how busy the restaurant was that night!

Safe Travels in Ireland - Dwarf Jar, Beshoff's Restaurant, and Suso Gelateria

Dwarf Jar

(Link goes to their Tripadvisor page. If a website surfaces, let us know and we can update the link!)

Kayleigh here. We stopped in here for a quick breakfast/lunch/afternoon snack (long story) upon seeing a sign in the window advertising gluten free muffins and cakes. At 2:00 in the afternoon, they still had two chocolate muffins that were gluten free, along with a decent selection of cake slices and energy bars. The muffins were sweet and moist, and while we did not try the desserts, they looked fantastic. And the location was great for sipping a coffee and watching all the people walk by on their way downtown.

Jason here. This was a pleasant find for us on our walk in downtown Dublin. When I learned Ireland had the highest rate of celiac disease in the world, I figured there would be plenty of places we could spontaneously stop in at. The reality is, I found no more or less than back home. I ordered a pretty simple chocolate chocolate chip muffin that were separately packaged and looked almost store bought. However, there were other fresh looking gluten free items available that I opted not to get. The chocolate muffin was simply too enticing to pass up after skipping breakfast.

Beshoff Restaurant

Kayleigh here. While I was looking forward to sampling all sorts of fresh fish and chips during our stay, Jason was hardly expecting to have the opportunity. We came across this place after a full day of walking through Dublin with feet sore and minds weary, so we opted to look up a place near the city center instead of poking into pubs and quizzing wait staff.

When we arrived, Beshoff's informed us that any of the fish could be fried with gluten free batter, and would be placed in the chips-only fried to avoid cross contamination. Despite being a fast food joint, they took efforts to keep his food separate during preparation, which was nice to see. Gluten free fried haddock and chips- who would have expected that?

Jason here. Beshoff’s may be my favorite restaurant we visited while in Ireland. They have an impeccable gluten free menu, and take great care not to cross contaminate anything. I seriously never expected to find any gluten free fried foods by this point in the trip. Kayleigh had been raving about fish and chips since way before we visited Ireland, so this was finally my chance to see what all the fuss was about. I ordered the haddock fish and chips after asking Kayleigh for a recommendation.

The French fries were pretty good, but I actually really enjoyed the deep fried fish. It was thickly battered, and I love that deep fried batter taste. I wish I could find this back home.

Suso Gelateria

Kayleigh here. Once we finished up our meal at Beshoff's, we decided to pop into the Gelateria next door and ask about their selections. They pointed out which flavors had cookies or other gluten-containing items in them, and told us we would be safe to order any other flavors in a cup. Make sure they do not add the wafer garnish to the cup at the end, though.

Jason here. Suso had plenty of options to choose from, although I admit I found it a bit daunting trying to figure out which ones were gluten free. Staff was plenty friendly, so if you’re not sure about anything feel free to ask.

Safe Travels in Ireland - McGann's Pub and Bobo's Gourmet Irish Burgers

McGann's Pub

Kayleigh here. On our third night of pub hopping around Doolin, we headed to this busy and bustling pub in search of good music and, hopefully, good gluten free chowder. Like O'Connors pub, we had to put in our food and drink orders with the bartenders, and they relayed our menu questions to the chef. He assured us that the chowder itself was gluten free, but they did not have gluten free bread to serve it with.

Our meals were served not minutes after we had ordered, and Jason was given a small basket of regular brown bread with his soup- It was in a separate plate, so it was not a danger, but it seemed like the kitchen went too fast to make special orders happen.

The chowder was delicious, and the drink selection was extensive, but we did not check to find out if any other menu items were gluten free- I would recommend making sure the whole dish is safe, and avoid making substitutions. The pub gets very busy from 5:00 onwards, partly due to being one of the few pubs that accepts reservations, and the kitchen works like a well oiled machine, pumping out food orders like nobody's business. Even if you only come for drinks and the evening's live music, McGann's is worth dropping by. They have speakers throughout the building, so you can still hear the band play if you're not seated in the right room.

Jason here. I was excited to go out this night and enjoy some live music, after my previous night of drowsiness. By this point I had learned seafood chowder was my favorite Irish meal. I was secretly getting my hopes up that McGann’s would have some gluten free chowder available, so I was ecstatic to discover they did. Naturally, I ordered two bowls before last meal call. Since it may be a bit of wait for music depending on when you arrive, be sure to spread out your meal order and take your time to enjoy the food and atmoshpere.

As Kayleigh mentioned, the chowder was delicious. Just behind Wilton’s this was my second favorite chowder in Ireland. Like everywhere else it was filled with large chunks of seafood.

Bobo's Gourmet Irish Burgers

Kayleigh here. We found this place after leaving the Guinness Storehouse at closing and getting very, very lost on the way back to Kilmainham. The sign out front promised that they could work with any allergens or restrictions, and the menu itself stated 'Ask server for gluten-free options'. As we found out, the chips were fried in the same fried as the battered foods, so they were out, but most of the beef burger were safe as-is if served on lettuce instead of a bun (I'm sure you could bring your own gluten free bun in with you). And since the kitchen was right out in the open, we could see that the bread and breaded items had their own sections on the grilltop, so cross contamination was minimized.

Bobo's is a great option for fast, convenient food, although you may need to order a couple of burgers to get a full dinner. The burger menu is huge, though, and they were very open to customizing and building your own if none of them catch your fancy. Beware, though, that they get quite busy during mealtimes and there are not that many tables, so there may be a wait until one clears up.

Jason here. We wandered around for quite a while before finding a place that mentioned gluten free food. As Kayleigh mentioned the burger menu was quite extensive. However, that’s just about all your find here. It was delicious, although a bit messy as all lettuce wrapped burgers tend to be. I ordered my usual bacon cheeseburger, and enjoyed every bite. It was properly cooked, and had plenty of toppings and sauce which I enjoyed.