Ireland
English-speaking, supermarket-strong, and a vegan dining scene growing faster than most visitors expect.
Ireland's dairy-forward food culture is the main friction point; everything else — language, labelling, supermarket access — works in your favour.
Ireland ranks #12 globally — a strong result driven by excellent supermarket provision, consistent EU allergen labelling, no practical language barrier, and a vegan restaurant scene that has grown substantially over the past decade. Scope: this page covers the Republic of Ireland. Northern Ireland is covered separately within the United Kingdom ranking. Dublin as a city scores considerably higher than the national figure; it sits among Western Europe's faster-growing vegan capitals, with a dense cluster of fully dedicated restaurants and cafés, particularly around Portobello and the south city centre. Outside Dublin, Cork and Galway offer reliable restaurant options. In smaller towns and throughout rural Ireland, self-catering from supermarkets is the practical baseline — plan around it rather than hoping to find dedicated vegan venues on arrival.
The primary challenge is Ireland's deep dairy culture. Butter appears on bread, vegetables, and mashed potato as a matter of course rather than by request — this is not negligence, it is simply how Irish food has traditionally been cooked. Always ask explicitly. EU allergen rules mean milk and eggs are clearly emphasised on prepacked supermarket labels — usually in bold, but sometimes by a different typographic style — which genuinely helps for shopping. This does not extend to café menus, bakery counters, or restaurant kitchens. Always check labels on packaged goods, especially bakery items and ready meals where butter and dairy appear without obvious signalling.
Ordering Scripts
Say This at the Restaurant
| I'm vegan — no meat, fish, dairy, eggs, or honey | Opening any order; establishes the full exclusion baseline | Full baseline |
| Is this soup made with meat or chicken stock? | Before ordering any soup at a pub or restaurant | Stock check |
| Is the brown bread or soda bread vegan — no butter or buttermilk? | Any time bread is served, offered, or in a basket | Bread check |
| Can the toast come without butter, please? | Café or breakfast order; butter is spread automatically | Auto-butter |
| No butter on the vegetables or potatoes, please | Ordering any side dish; mash and veg arrive buttered | Dairy on sides |
| Is the chowder cream-free and seafood-free? | Coastal pubs and restaurants, especially the west coast | Chowder check |
| Is white pudding included in this breakfast? | B&Bs, hotels, traditional cafés serving cooked breakfast | Breakfast audit |
| Is this beer or cider vegan-friendly? | Ordering draught at any Irish pub; craft ales especially | Fining agents |
| If this matters to you: is this cooked in a shared pan with meat or fish? | Grilled or pan-fried dishes at pubs and casual restaurants | Cross-contamination |
Survival Guide
What Actually Works
Lead with the supermarkets
Tesco Ireland, SuperValu, Lidl and Aldi all stock own-brand and third-party vegan ranges — plant milks, vegan cheeses, ready meals, meat alternatives. EU allergen rules mean milk, eggs, and related derivatives are clearly emphasised on most prepacked supermarket products, usually in bold. Useful for self-catering anywhere in the country. Dunnes Stores is solid for fresh produce and staples.
01Use HappyCow before you eat out
Dublin has dozens of fully dedicated vegan restaurants with long track records. Cork and Galway have reliable café circuits. For any town outside these three cities, check HappyCow before you arrive rather than hoping to find options on foot. A safe fallback in most Irish towns is a well-established Indian restaurant — dal and chana-based dishes are often genuinely plant-based, though always confirm no ghee in the cooking.
02Lean on allergen labelling — but know its limits
EU allergen legislation means milk and eggs are clearly emphasised on prepacked food labels in Irish supermarkets — a genuine advantage for shopping. It does not solve café menus, bakery counters, or restaurant kitchens: a kitchen can add butter to a dish without it appearing on any label. Use the labelling system for what it covers; ask directly for everything else.
03Know your reliable safe orders
At a standard pub: confirm chips are cooked in a dedicated fryer with oil only — shared fryers are common. Dressed salad without cheese is usually safe once you confirm the dressing. At an Indian restaurant: lentil-based dal and chickpea dishes are the safest defaults — ask about ghee. At a Chinese restaurant: tofu in black bean or garlic sauce with steamed rice — confirm no egg or oyster sauce in the cooking.
04Know Before You Go
Where It Gets Harder
Ireland's high ranking reflects its urban strengths and supermarket infrastructure — but there are consistent friction points that catch even experienced vegan travellers off-guard, particularly once you move beyond the main cities.
In towns beyond Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick, dedicated vegan restaurant options are sparse. Traditional Irish pub menus are built around meat and dairy, with limited flexibility for substitution. The practical rule: identify your nearest large supermarket before you travel and plan self-catering as your primary strategy, not a fallback for when dining out fails.
Ireland is one of Europe's largest dairy exporters and that culture runs through traditional kitchen practice. Butter is added to mashed potato, steamed vegetables, and pasta and spread on bread without asking. Cream appears in soups, sauces, and desserts by default. Specify every exclusion individually — "no dairy" does not reliably communicate the full picture in a traditional Irish kitchen; name each item: no butter, no cream, no milk.
The traditional full Irish breakfast includes white pudding, black pudding, sausages, rashers, eggs, and buttered soda bread. Some B&B hosts will prepare plant-based alternatives if contacted in advance; others have genuinely limited flexibility. Message the host before your stay — not on arrival — and ask specifically what vegan options are available. Self-catering accommodation sidesteps this entirely.
Along the Atlantic coast — Clare, Galway, Mayo, Donegal — seafood chowder is the default starter and soup-of-the-day at almost every pub and restaurant. It is cream-based and fish-heavy. "Vegetable soup" at the same venues is frequently made with meat stock. In coastal areas especially, always ask what the soup is made with before ordering — never assume the vegetable option is plant-based.