Set well back from the road with plenty of parking at the front, there is no garden but some strategically placed plants soften the approach a little and, once inside, Peter Byrne and Siobhan Sweeney’s restaurant is warm and welcoming.
Peter shows arriving guests up to the first floor bar, where the luckiest guests will get seats at a corner table with big windows on both sides and views over the harbour.
Waiting here for your table is no hardship, but once orders are taken from Siobhan’s down-to-earth à la carte menu, offering nine or ten choices on each course you’ll be whisked away downstairs again, to an atmospheric dining room with a big open fire, lots of wood and good art on the walls.
Specialities here include a really good house chowder served with home-baked brown bread and, along with a well-judged range of favourites, you’ll find some less usual dishes too, such as crispy fried whitebait and whole boned quail.
Main courses include a fair amount of seafood; pan-seared scallops served with a fino sherry & balsamic jus and organic mixed leaf salad is a house speciality but you’ll also find delicious meat dishes such as slow cooked belly of pork, or shank of lamb, and imaginative vegetarian dishes too.
Quite an extensive, informative wine list is broadly organised by price (Everyday Wines/Fine Wines) and offers plenty to encourage you to linger on a little after dinner.
Seats 42. D Tue-Sun (& Bank Hol Mons), 6-9pm; early bird D, 2/3 course, €20/25; also á la carte; house wine €18. Reservations recommended; toilets wheelchair accessible; not suitable for children under 10 yrs after 6.30pm. Closed Mon (except Bank Hols) and Jan - 16 Mar. Diners, MasterCard, Visa, Laser.
