Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for April - Ard Bia

The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for April is Ard Bia in Galway City

Happy the food lover visiting Ireland’s western capital who happens on Aoibheann MacNamara’s trio of restaurants at Spanish Arch.

A wonderful stone-built medieval customs house overlooking the Claddagh Basin is home to Ard Bia (literally ‘High Food’) and its sister restaurants, Ard Bia Café and Nimmo’s, plus a constantly changing exhibition of modern art. It’s full of character and atmosphere and everybody loves it for the quality and interest of the food, and the long opening hours - between the three operations, Aoibheann and her team cater for everything from a casual brunch to dinner.

Aoibheann - a key player in the Galway food scene for many years – is known for her enthusiasm, energy and commitment to quality local foods, and a glance at her new menus will have foodies heading straight to her welcoming bright red door.

Menus read lip-smackingly well. You couldn’t do better than start a long day around town with ‘McGeough’s lovely full fry’ for example, featuring breakfast meats from the famed Connemara butcher and Ard Bia’s own chutney. Or, later on, perhaps a St Tola’s goats cheese salad, with cheese from the milk of Burren goats in nearby Co Clare; or a bowl of Ard Bia creamy seafood chowder, full of local fish - smoked cod, seatrout, mussels and clams - supplied by the aptly named Gannet Fishmongers...

Evening menus kicking off cheerfully with a ‘Spring Tipple’ of Hedgerow Prosecco are very well constructed to allow a 2/3 course early bird choice from the main à la carte (Sun-Fri, 6-7pm) which offers terrific value for the quality at €23/€27, with no supplements.

But it’s what Aoibheann has added to the back of her menus that’s really exciting. Not satisfied with giving a summary list of suppliers (useful as that is), she’s given a concise rundown of a dozen of her main suppliers, with a mini profile of each and enough information (address, phone number, website) to encourage interested diners to visit them, or see their produce for themselves in local shops or at Galway Market.

It begins with a mission statement: “At Ard Bia we cook everything in house. We strive to provide food that is ‘Great for Galway’. When sourcing produce we think local think fresh think forage think sustainable and are fortunate to have amazing suppliers who think as passionately about their produce as we do.”

And those suppliers are the best. Meats, poultry and fish are supplied by McGeoughs Artisan Butchers of Oughterard; the Friendly Farmer (Ronan Byrne) of Athenry; Gubbeen Smokehouse; Galway Free Range; Stephane Griesbach’s Gannet Fishmongers; Burren Smokehouse of Lisdoonvarna Co Clare.

Fruit, vegetables and herbs come from respected organic growers Green Earth Organics, Sloe Hill Farm and Steve Gould. Cheese suppliers include St Tola Farmhouse (Burren goats’ cheese) and Gubbeen, Murohys of Dingle supply ice cream - and ‘the healthiest oil you could cook with’ comes from Donegal Rapeseed Oil Co.

When it comes to supporting producers of quality local foods, Aoibheann MacNamara has always ‘walked the walk’ - now it’s great to see her ‘talking the talk’ too, and sharing that great passion for local foods with her lucky customers.

While reluctant to take personal credit – “I see Ard Bia as a team of 25 dedicated people who make it work rather than just me” – there’s no doubting the source of the inspiration and determination to do things right. And it’s no wonder that Ard Bia has become a favourite destination for both Galwegian food lovers and visitors to the city.

SAMPLE MENU

Ard Bia at Nimmo’s

EARLY BIRD MENU SUN-FRI 6-7PM 2 *COURSES €23.00 / 3 *COURSES €27.00

SPRING TIPPLE
Hedgerow Prosecco €8.00

STARTERS

* Spring warming soup €6.00

* Ard Bia mezze with sumze, pumpkin hummus, beetroot hummus & homemade flat breads €7.00

Warm marinated local langoustine salad with candy-stripe beets, fennel, blood orange & za’atar dressing €8.50

* McGeoughs Lamb & pistachio kofta borek with chipotle aioli €7.50

Potted local Gannet crab with walnut and pear salad €9.00

Irish Gubbeen charcuterie plate with Coolatin aged cheddar and quince & rose compote €9.50

MAINS

Pan roasted Colleran’s pork chop with celeriac puree, green earth kale, organic spuds, cardamon sauce €19.00

Spiced North Atlantic monkfish with beetroot risotto, pomegranate, rose salt & garlic yoghurt €21.00

28 days Aged striploin steak with green beans, smoked bacon lardons, sautéed organic baby potatoes and Bellingham blue crème fraiche €22.00

Pan-fried squash and 5 Mile Town smoked cheese gnocchi with artichoke, pickled fennel & carrot, hazelnut pesto €16.00

* Grilled fillet of Witch sole with swede & tahini mash, sautéed greens, orange and saffron butter €21.00

* Chickpea pancake stuffed sprouting broccoli, wild garlic, Irish feta and piquillo pesto €17.00

A BIT ON THE SIDE

Mustard and herb crushed potatoes €4.00

Green Earth Organics’ wilted greens €4.00

Mixed leaf salad €4.00

TREATS

* Bread & butter pudding, rum & raisin ice cream €5.00

* Pecan pie with sea salt ice cream €5.50

* Arlene’s shortbread, chocolate mousse, whipped cream stack €5.50

Lemon posset with anise biscuits €6.00

Irish cheese board Coolatin, Cooleeney, Milleens and Crozier Blue with walnuts & two seed crackers €10.00

Mini cheese board with a glass of red dessert wine €6.00/€11.00

BACK OF MENU:

At Ard Bia we cook everything in house. We strive to provide food that is ‘Great for Galway’. When sourcing produce we think local think fresh think forage think sustainable and are fortunate to have amazing suppliers who think as passionately about their produce as we do.

MCGEOUGHS ARTISAN BUTCHERS
From small beginnings in the West, McGeough’s is now one of Ireland’s top butchers. James McGeough is passionate about his craft and has awards from the Irish Food Writer’s Guild for his air-dried Connemara hill lamb and the Irish Craft Butchers for his specialty meats. Visit their shop on Camp Street in Oughterard. www.connemarafinefoods.ie

FRIENDLY FARMER
Ronan Byrne, the Friendly Farmer rears pasture fed chickens, free range ducks, bronze turkeys and geese on his farm in Athenry, Co. Galway. To eat the best tasting seasonal poultry in Ireland at home visit the Galway, Moycullen or Kinvara farmers markets. thefriendlyfarmer@gmail.com 0876203765.

GANNET FISHMONGERS
Gannet’s, Stephane Griesbach and his team are dedicated to local fishermen. Most of their produce is sourced in Ireland with the majority from the Galway and Aran Fishermen’s Co-op in Ros a Mhil. Located downstairs in the Eyre Sq Shopping Centre and the Galway Market. Phone 091507019

GREEN EARTH ORGANICS
From their farm to your door, this is a family run organic farm offering the freshest and best seasonal produce in Galway. Try the scrumptious juices at our café or they provide a wonderful box scheme for homes. www.greenearthorganics.ie

SLOE HILL FARM
Suppliers of fantastic fresh fruit, veg and herbs to Ard Bia, Sloe Hill are certified organic. Don’t miss our warming seasonal sloe hill soups this winter at Ard Bia. Contact Joachim Hees at 093 43515 or email jeannette.kochen@gmail.com
STEVE GOULD
Organic grower. Headford. Amazing salad leaves and greens.

ST TOLA FARMHOUSE
Made in the townland of Inagh just south of the Burren in County Clare since the early 1980s, St Tola supplies a range of award winning goat cheese. The farm is organic and sustainable and the cheese is delectable. You can even visit the goats. www.st-tola.ie.

GUBBEEN FARMHOUSE & SMOKEHOUSE
From grass to cows to milk to cheese to whey to pigs and herbs to cured meat is the Gubbeen Farmhouse food cycle. Family run business in West Cork. www.gubbeen.com

GALWAY FREE RANGE
Home of the happiest hens in Ireland, Galway Free Range is the leading supplier of fresh eggs in the west www.freerangeeggs.ie

BURREN SMOKEHOUSE CLARE
Set up in 1989 by Birgitta & Peter Curtin, the Burren Smokehouse is part of the Burren Ecotourism Network and supplies our wild organic salmon and trout. Lip smackingly good. www.burrensmokehouse.ie

MURPHYS ICECREAM
Artisan ice cream made from scratch from the milk of Kerry cows with wonderful flavours from Dingle sea salt to brown bread to fresh peppermint. Available at finefood shops. www.murphysicecream.ie

DONEGAL RAPESEED OIL CO.
Small, locally owned and operated company in Raphoe, Co. Donegal. The crops are grown by specially selected, individual, small farm holdings dispersed throughout the county. The healthiest oil you can cook with. www.donegalrapeseedoilco.com


SPECIALS [samples]

SOUP Courgette, fennel & roast garlic €6.00

STARTER Braised Friendly Farmer chicken €8.00
with caraway squash, spiced pumpkin seeds
and quince aioli

MAIN Pan-roasted wolf fish
with courgette & fennel puy lentil salad, wild garlic pesto €20.00


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VIEW ALL JUST ASK RESTAURANT OF THE MONTH WINNERS

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“Just Ask!” is a public awareness campaign that aims to encourage consumers when eating out to look for information on where the food (particularly meat) on their plate comes from, and encourages chefs to provide this information on their menus. The programme supports both large and smaller artisan suppliers, encouraging both Irish diners and visitors from abroad to support restaurants that are in turn supporting their suppliers.

Here at Georgina Campbell Guides we have always been avid supporters of the ‘eat local’ concept, and we always enjoy reading menus that have a real sense of place. The dining experience is greatly enriched by knowing that the food on your plate is inspired by the produce and traditions of the area, and sourced nearby – and we would love to see more chefs sharing that precious information with their guests. 

If you are a visitor to the area, learning a little about local food and the people who produce it adds a special extra dimension to the visit – and, for residents, it reinforces a natural pride in the good things of their locality and makes a meal all the more enjoyable.

So, we are delighted by the high standard of menus that continue to be submitted for our ' “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month Competition', menus that really speak of the best of Irish foods – and the dedication of both the people who make them, and the chefs who select them to create wonderful dishes with real Irish flavour for our enjoyment.