The Best Seafood Near House, by the Record

A double-fronted Victorian house a short walk from the beach in a small Waterford seaside town, Beach House is a bistro where the menu is short and seafood does most of the talking. The fish and chips changes with the day's catch, which keeps things honest. The wine list dips into some older vintages, a pleasant surprise for a room this relaxed. Exactly the kind of place you'd drive an hour for and feel smug about afterwards.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

The daily menu changes with whatever the West Cork boats bring in, and the kitchen runs a fin-to-gill policy that turns off-cuts into something worth fighting over. This compact, lively seafood spot on Oliver Plunkett Street earns a Michelin Bib Gourmand without the prices that usually follow that kind of attention. International touches keep the fish from feeling dutiful. Come early, come hungry, and prepare to be elbow-to-elbow with half of Cork doing the same.

1. Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand

Down a country lane in rural Wexford, this cheerful restaurant earns its Michelin Bib Gourmand with a seafood menu that's practically a family operation: the chef's father fishes off Hook Head, the gardens out back supply the vegetables, and crab and lobster show up as a matter of course. The owners run the room with the kind of warmth that's hard to fake, and if you're staying over, the bedrooms come with hot water bottles and home-baked cookies.

1. Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand