Galway Oysters

Galway Bay produces the native flat oyster, a different animal from the farmed Pacific oyster that makes up most of what Europe eats: rounder, flatter, stronger in flavour and slow to grow. Its season runs through the months with an r in them, roughly September to April, and that is a genuine biological limit rather than a marketing line. The beds sit around Clarinbridge and Kilcolgan at the inner end of the bay, where Atlantic water meets fresh water running off the Burren limestone. Two festivals mark the opening of the season in late September, one of them running a world oyster opening championship. Brown bread and stout is the standard accompaniment, and it works.

What you actually see

• The native flat oyster - the local species, available only in the colder months.
• Clarinbridge and Kilcolgan - the villages at the inner end of the bay.
• The opening championship - competitive shucking at the September festival.
• Brown bread and stout - the standard accompaniment, and the reason it works.

When to go

September to April for the native flat oyster; outside those months you will be served the farmed Pacific variety, which is perfectly good but not the same thing. The festivals fall in late September and sell their marquee tickets in advance. Midweek in October or November is the calm way to eat them, straight off the ice.

Honest expectations

Native flats are expensive, sold by the half dozen, and in short supply in a poor year. The festivals are ticketed marquee events with a strong corporate streak and a great deal of drinking. Raw shellfish carries a real if small risk. And plenty of people simply do not like oysters, which no amount of local pride will fix.

Nearby

Galway city is fifteen minutes north; the Burren begins across the bay to the south.