Galway Food Tours highlights the city’s cultural gems and brings business to local shops

Galway patrons may have noticed the recent departure of several city centre staples, including the iconic pub Richardson’s and local favourite pub Caribou. Amidst closures and buyouts, one company is striving to bring tourist traffic back to local, family-owned businesses: Galway Food Tours.

Founded by Sheena Dignam in 2015, Galway Food Tours offers walking tours of the city centre, featuring stops at pubs, restaurants and cafes to showcase the best of what Galway has to offer.

Sheena says, “We want to relay the stories of those producers, owners, chefs…We feel it’s very important to have a sense of community and to know what we’re giving to our guests.”

Local impact

The company’s impact has been significant and continues to grow annually. Galway Food Tours hosted 4000 guests in 2019.  When the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020, the company was forced to pause in-person tours. In an effort to continue fostering business for the community, they released a guidebook allowing tourists to create their own ‘tours’. With a corresponding app, guests could scan QR codes around the city to access a recording of each business owner describing the story of their restaurant, pub or cafe. 

In 2022 in-person tours resumed and brought 4700 guests to the streets of Galway. Most recently, 2023 tours saw 5500 guests, the company’s largest number to date.

When asked about how the tours impact the local economy, Sheena says, “The direct impact is tourists coming to Galway City. A lot of restaurants or cafes talk about tourists coming back after the tour, which we love. We also give stickers for discounts so we can see the physical impact. It’s sustainable, slow tourism. We love supporting small, family run businesses. It keeps the money in the local economy.”

Businesses on the tour

Graham O’Riordan, co-owner of Little Lane Coffee Company can testify to the benefits of the tours. “We’ve actually been doing the tours since we were six months in, we’re over five years now on the tour and always busy. Sheena’s tour really highlights what Galway has to offer across all food offerings, it really is fantastic.” 

Stops along the tour include Galway Truffles, the Galway Farmer’s Market, Neactain’s Pub and McCambridges. Guests can expect to try a variety of foods, including seafood, curry, chocolate, pastries and charcuterie.

Despite the foot traffic and attention the tours provide, Sheena says that it’s not the right fit for every business. “I might not suit certain businesses because…we don’t want to go into places during their busy hours. Some places are always busy, so it just isn’t a good fit. It’s getting harder to have small venues on your tour. We can have up to 5-6 tours a day and you don’t want to overstress your venues.”

Guests on the tour agree that Galway Food Tours is beneficial to the Galway restaurant scene. 

Dublin-based student Megan Hernadi says, “It gives a great perspective on Irish culture and the food they offer. From the fish market to the food they turn it into, like the sushi—the farm to table aspect is something I don’t have back home.”

American tourist John Ryan agrees, saying, “It’s a great introduction to downtown Galway in general and the food options here.”

More information about Galway Food Tours can be found on their website and their Instagram.