Galway’s November food festival brings Portuguese stories, Japanese flavours and Irish folklore

Galway’s autumn food programme offers a way to explore Irish traditions alongside Portuguese and Japanese influences this November. Blas na Samhna brings tastings, storytelling and shared meals to venues across the city and county.

The Galway Advertiser’s preview (advertiser.ie/galway/article/152976/galway-gets-into-the-spirit-of-the-season-with-blas-na-samhna), published on 15 October, describes a festival beginning on 28 October and running through November. Rather than one large festival site, it is a series of separately booked events.

Why this matters

For someone new to Galway, choosing an activity can be an easier starting point than trying to find a whole new social circle. Food and storytelling give you something to share and talk about. The programme includes both paid evenings and a free event, so check the price before choosing.

Three ways to explore food and culture

The organiser’s programme (atasteofgalway.com/events) lists these November options:

5 November, 5pm to 9pm: Kombu, Druid Lane. An Irish-Japanese menu draws on Samhain and Japanese ghost stories, with autumn ingredients. Use the programme’s restaurant link to check the menu, price and booking.

13 November, 7pm: Alma Restaurant, Bóthar Irwin. Magusto: Portuguese Food & Stories brings together food, music and storytelling. The programme gives 085 277 6918 for table bookings but does not state a price. Ask before reserving.

21 November, 1pm to 3pm: Súil Eile, Bearna. Tae agus Téanga combines tea tasting and storytelling. Entry is listed as free, with booking required. Follow the organiser’s ticket link and confirm availability directly if it does not load.

A longer storytelling evening at Daróg

Between Two Worlds at Daróg Wine Bar (darogwinebar.com/wine-events/between-two-worlds-a-samhain-wine-tasting-storytelling-at-darg) takes place on Monday 2 November, from 7pm to 9pm, at 56 Lower Dominick Street.

Sommelier Zsolt Lukács leads a tasting of five wines with a cheese board, while Rab Fulton tells stories linked to Samhain. It costs €65 per person and is for adults only. Booking is essential. The venue says its kitchen will be closed and its regular menu will not be available that evening.

Before booking

Check dietary requirements, step-free access and any age limits with the individual venue. A festival listing is not a guarantee that places remain. Bearna is a separate location from the city-centre venues, so plan your journey home as well as your arrival.

Use the full festival calendar (atasteofgalway.com/events) for other tastings and workshops. Dates and prices checked on 28 October 2026.

Image: Quay Street, Galway, photographed on 6 August 2023 by Marathon / Geograph (geograph.org.uk/photo/7583763), via Wikimedia Commons (commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Quay_Street,_Galway_-_geograph.org.uk_-_7583763.jpg). CC BY-SA 2.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0). Cropped and resized; the adaptation is shared under the same licence. Archive photograph of the city, not the 2026 festival.