Photo courtesy of The Wicklow Heather, Courtesy image
Editorial Review
The Wicklow Heather
The Atmosphere
“The Laragh room that has fed Glendalough walkers for over fifty years, open from breakfast, with a whiskey library at the back.”
Laragh is the village at the bottom of the Glendalough valley, and the Wicklow Heather is its kitchen. It has been there more than fifty years, it opens early enough to feed you before a walk to the Upper Lake, and it stays open late enough to feed you after one. The rooms run back through the building, panelled and hung with framed writing, and there is a whiskey and library room that people linger in longer than they mean to. The cooking is Wicklow lamb, trout, brown bread, big portions: exactly right for a day spent outside.
The long version
Laragh's kitchen for over fifty years: open from breakfast, ten minutes from the Upper Lake, with a whiskey room at the back.
Laragh is the village at the mouth of the Glendalough valley, a crossroads with a bridge, and the Wicklow Heather is the building everybody stops at. It has been there more than fifty years. It opens early enough to feed you before the valley fills with coaches and late enough to feed you after a full day of walking.
The rooms run back through the building, panelled, hung with framed pages and pictures, and at the rear there is a whiskey and library room that people intend to look at and end up sitting in.
The food, by time of day
Breakfast is the underrated service: eat at half eight and you will have the Upper Lake nearly to yourself. Lunch is soup, sandwiches and hot plates aimed at people who have been outside. Dinner is Wicklow lamb, trout, steaks, brown bread, and portions calibrated for walkers.
It is not delicate cooking and it is not trying to be. It is exactly the right food for the day the valley gives you.
Handling Glendalough
Glendalough is the busiest heritage site in Wicklow and it is best done either before ten in the morning or after four in the afternoon. The Heather's early hours make the first of those possible, which is the single most useful thing about it.
The restaurant runs a local shuttle, which matters if you are staying nearby and want wine with dinner on roads that have no footpaths.
The whiskey room
The back room holds a serious spread of Irish whiskey and the staff will pour a flight rather than lecture you. For anyone who has done the distillery tours in Dublin or Midleton it is a good place to compare notes without a guide.
Lynham's, a few doors along, is the pub alternative when you want a pint rather than a table.
If you take one piece of advice from this page, make it the early breakfast. Glendalough receives more visitors than anywhere else in Wicklow, and the difference between the monastic city at nine in the morning and the same place at noon is the difference between a private hour and a car park. Eat at half eight, walk in through the gateway while the valley is still cold, and be at the Upper Lake before the first coach arrives.
The whiskey room is the other half of the argument for staying in Laragh rather than driving back to Dublin. A valley walk, a long dinner, and a flight of Irish whiskey poured by someone who will talk you through it makes a complete evening within fifty yards. Very few places in the county can offer that, and none of the ones that can are this easy to book.
What we would not pretend
It handles a great deal of visitor traffic and at peak times in summer it feels like it. Go early or late; the middle of a July day is the weakest version of the place.
How we would use it
Breakfast before walking to the Upper Lake, then dinner here or at Lynham's the same evening while staying in Laragh.
Insider Intelligence
How we would book The Wicklow Heather
The table to ask for
Eat after the Glendalough walk, not before. Book at weekends.
Paste this into the booking request
We will be walking at Glendalough and would like a late lunch table.
Book direct with the restaurantGround truths
- Laragh fills with walkers on fine weekends. An early or late lunch is easier.
- It is hearty food after a walk. Order for the day you have had.
- Parking at Glendalough carries fees. Walk in from Laragh if you can.
Public guest perspective
What guests consistently notice
Guests praise generous Irish cooking, warm service after a day in the hills, and the atmospheric whiskey room.
The honest caveat
The restaurant absorbs heavy Glendalough traffic, so peak periods can feel crowded and less intimate.
Guests return for
- Wicklow lamb and hearty portions
- A welcoming fireside atmosphere
- A notable whiskey collection
How to order
Choose local lamb or trout, then ask for whiskey guidance rather than ordering by familiarity.
Before you book
Breakfast early or dine after day visitors leave. Ask whether the local shuttle is operating.
Rooms Worth Requesting
What it actually feels like.
Breakfast before the valley fills is the best service of the day. They run a shuttle locally, which is useful if you want a glass of wine at dinner.
Why we recommend it
A space that justifies the journey.
Everyone who stays near Glendalough eats here at least once, and unlike most places carrying that traffic it has kept its standards and its hours.