After a decade during which Galway transformed into one of the best cities in the world in which to eat well, changes and closures have seen chefs and owners regroup, retrench and rebirth. 

But here’s the thing about Galway: it’s a difficult place to leave. The magic ether that spritzes the Corrib, the Claddagh and the West End isn’t to be found anywhere else. Galwegians stay put. Incomers put down roots. The city has its own feedback loop for food, with new talent rushing in to maintain the diverse culinary network.

Today we look at the new talent in West Restaurant, at the iconic Twelve Hotel at Barna, a few miles out the road along Galway Bay. And we describe the seamless assumption that has created Blackrock Cottage, an old famine-era house which has become a Salthill powerhouse.