Galway grail!

A babymoon with a difference? this is the city for the perfect gastro getaway to satisfy your food cravings

THERE are two kinds of pregnant women – the ones who cherish being pregnant, post pictures of their blossoming bump on Insta and revel in their ability to publicly cradle their creation at every given opportunity.

Then there are the other kind of pregnant women – the ones who don’t necessarily resent being pregnant, but see carrying around a couple of extra kilos as a cumbersome means to an end rather than something to revel in.

You really don’t know which kind of pregnant you’ll be until you actually get pregnant, but I can confirm that although I’m very much looking forward to the birth of my first baby, I firmly fall into the latter camp.

That being said, the one thing that unifies all pregnant women is food, whether we’re posting pictures of it on Instagram or not, so what better way to indulge all my culinary cravings than with a foodthemed babymoon?

While I can’t get behind many American pre-natal traditions like gender reveal parties, where the sex of the baby is revealed to friends and family via objects concealing the colour pink or blue (cutting into a pink or blue cake is possibly the most popular, but the trend for all-American dads keen to exercise their second amendment right by shooting a balloon filled with blue or pink confetti is also gaining momentum), the one concept I think every pregnancy woman should get on board with is a babymoon.

DEFINED as ‘a relaxing or romantic holiday taken by parentsto-be before their baby is born’, many mums-to-be opt for spa-based breaks, but for me, focusing on food and eating out before I need to worry about babysitters was also a priority, so where better than foodie haven, Galway.

We based ourselves in the fourstar Galmont Hotel & Spa Galway, formerly the Radisson Blu. Situated just steps away from Eyre Square, The Galmont was the ideal base to explore all the culinary delights the city has to offer.

First up on our foodie hit list was Loam. Opened in 2013, the restaurant run by husband and wife team Enda and Sinead McEvoy was awarded its first Michelin star 2016 and has retained the accolade ever since, recently retaining its one star status for 2019.

Head chef Enda’s food philosophy centres around only using locally sourced ingredients that celebrate all the west of Ireland has to offer. This means no spices or imported kitchen staples like olive oil are used in the kitchen, and foraged and locally sourced ingredients inform the innovative and ever-changing menu instead.

Seated directly across from the open kitchen, we opted for the seven-course tasting menu and looked on in amazement at the quiet reverence deployed by McEvoy and his team as they prepared each dish.

While the restaurant says it is ‘rooted in tradition’, it isn’t a slave to the past and each course offered up something totally unexpected and utterly delicious. Tasting menus start at €75 for seven courses or €95 for nine courses. Wine pairings are also available, starting at €120pp.

The next morning, appetites restored, we begand our day with the works from The Galmont’s breakfast buffet before I headed to the hotel’s Spirit One Spa for a pregnancy massage and manicure.

The Galmont also boasts a new Himalayan Salt Stone Massage from Saltability. The first in Ireland to offer this luxurious new full body massage treatment, the treatment has been designed to restore balance and harmony in the body, as well as promote emotional wellbeing.

Fluffy robes and massages aside, if you don’t want to venture outside of the hotel, guests can enjoy a three-course meal at Marina’s Grill, for only €40pp, or add an extra special touch to their stay with afternoon tea beside an open fire in Coopers Bar & Lounge, from €25pp.

Blissed out and somehow hungry again, we spent the day wandering around the city before getting, yes, more food.

Although technically a coffee shop, Coffeewerk and Press located on Quay Street, describes itself as a ‘multi-purpose space’ and as well as providing us with a much-needed caffeine perk, was also the perfect place to browse local and international craft, a collection of illustrations and prints, and coffee table books by interior gurus Kinfolk and Gestalten, as we sipped on our small but perfectly formed flat whites.

Beans come courtesy of Copenhagen’s Coffee Collective and local roasters Calendar Coffee, and bites from Limerick sisters Eliza and Evie Ward’s Nutshed, however an earlier procurement of Man of Aran fudge meant I stuck to coffee only.

Next on our hit list was Ard Bia.

Full of charm and offering up plates of unpretentious hearty goodness, Ard Bia’s interior is quintessentially Irish without a hint of twee, and its no-nonsense attitude to home-cooked style food equates to the kind of menu that makes it very difficult to narrow your choice down to just one item.

I opted for a Christmas style turkey and stuffing sandwich, while my husband went for the venison chilli.

And because we had dinner back at the hotel planned for later that night, we reluctantly decided to share a giant slice of plum cake (the best kind of slice) washed down with an equally giant pot of tea to finish off our meal.

On our last day we had planned to go to Kai for brunch, but after yet another mammoth hotel breakfast (pregnancy aside, I can never show restraint at a buffet), we were forced to accept defeat and sensibly concede that we couldn’t physically eat another bite, much to my chagrin.

But I’ve no doubt I’ll be back, only next time I’ll have a much emptier belly.