The Duck
Courtown Road, Gorey, Co Wexford, marlfieldhouse.com
If you're beach- or ferry-bound, the Duck, at Marlfield House, near Gorey, is worth making some extra time to visit. In a converted stone outhouse next to the big house, this is a casual-dining spot that benefits from a high-end kitchen garden in the grounds and a real sense of what makes a good lunch. CC
The Fatted Calf
Church Street, Athlone, Co Westmeath, thefattedcalf.ie
When next in the midlands, take whatever route leads through Athlone so you have an excuse for lunch at the Fatted Calf. Dee Adamson's plates of food are surprising in the best possible way, with dishes such as pickled Irish silver darlings (pickled herrings) with dill, chive sour cream and anise-poached beets as lovely to look at as they are to eat. LC
Brownes
The Square, Tuam, Co Galway, brownestuam.ie
They only serve lunch on a Friday here, but it's based on the farmers' market, so it's worth putting on your itinerary if heading west or east as an above-average lunch on the road. Stevie Lane is the grandson chef of the original owner of Brownes, and he and his wife, Amanda, have reinvented the place with a focus on excellent food. CC
The Twelve
Barna, Galway, thetwelvehotel.ie
This hotel is a destination in itself, but if you're travelling farther up or down the coast, make time to stop here for lunch. The Pins Gastro Bar does friendly casual eating with high-end ingredients, with snacks such as Doon Castle oysters. Or try the in-house Pizza Dozzina, where a wood-fired Connemara taco with chilli-spiced lamb awaits. CC
Sweet Beat Cafe
Bridge Street, Sligo, sweetbeat.ie
The best kind of vegetarian restaurant is one where you don't miss the meat. Carolanne Rushe grew this lovely cafe from a market stall in Strandhill, and it has been our regular pit stop in Sligo town on the way to Donegal or farther west. Flavour-filled salads, soups and sandwiches are all here, and the hummus, made in house, is some of the best in Ireland. Bring at least one tub with you when you leave.
Strandfield Cafe
Ballymascanlon, Dundalk, Co Louth, facebook.com/strandfield
Yes, it will take you off the conveyor belt that is the M1 but I guarantee the extra time will be worth your while. On the grounds of a farm, this is a shop and garden centre too, without the bewildering too-muchness that can come with that particular food and retail experience. There's wood-fired pizza, brilliant baking from scratch and lots more to make a trip up north or a spin down south a proper pleasure. CC
Hunter's Hotel
Newrath Bridge, Rathnew, Co Wicklow, hunters.ie
It's probably one of the oldest pit stops in the country, an inn where once your horses might have been watered while you took a turn around the garden to take the kinks out of your legs after a long, bumpy carriage ride. The food at Hunter's is the definition of timeless cooking, but that's what its customers love about it, and this place still does it with style. CC
Cafe Hans
Moor Lane, Cashel, Co Tipperary, facebook.com
There are plenty of people who aren't passing through taking up the seats in this lovely little cafe. When I visited they didn't take cards, so they are not visibly catering for the passing motorway crowd. As a second-generation restaurant family (father Hans-Peter Matthiae once had a Michelin star at Chez Hans), they know food. The good stuff, home cooked and served with a lot of charm. CC
Ubh Cafe
2 George's Street, Piercetown, Newbridge, Co Kildare, ubh.ie
Ubh's owner, Emma Spain, worked as a pastry chef in fine-dining restaurants before deciding she needed a more balanced lifestyle. Simultaneously, she decided that Newbridge, not far from where she grew up, needed somewhere to get "a banging lunch", and so Ubh (Irish for egg) was born. The plates burst with colour and flavour, they roast their own coffee, and the loft-like upstairs feels more New York than Newbridge. LC
360 Cookhouse
Castle Street, Dungarvan, Co Waterford, 360cookhouse.ie
Nothing at 360 Cookhouse is ordinary, not the bountiful food, and not the covered, greenery-filled secret garden at the back. Whatever the weather, you can comfortably retire here – the roof will keep the rain off, and the heaters will keep the cold at bay – leaving you to enjoy the 360 fish pie with salmon, smoked haddock, cod and prawns so large you didn't know they made them that way, or the Castle Street fish and chips with buttermilk and panko-coated cod, cucumber, mint and radish salad, preserved lemon yogurt and fries. LC
