A short drive from Mizen Head, the southernmost point in Ireland, Emma and Freddy Olsson run this popular pub cum restaurant.
The old inn, always attractive to the yachting fraternity and tourists, has been extensively renovated in recent years without diminishing its traditional character: stone floor, open fireplace, beamed ceiling, wooden bar counter and tables, bench and banquette seating (some quite cramped) with extra tables outside for al fresco dining in summer.
During the season it is a bustling place, diners cheek by jowl with pint drinkers and sports fans watching television. (An oddity, given the premium on space, is the house practice of carrying a large blackboard from table to table in a crowded pub; a couple of smaller boards, easily carried, would be much handier.)
Chef Freddy is serious about his food and, although service can be tested at busy times, unflappable Emma and her bright young staff keep the show on the road at a brisk pace.
The menu of about half a dozen starters and eight main courses is supplemented by daily blackboard specials, emphasizing the ready availability of locally caught fish and seafood, Grilled Fresh Prawns in a salad with tomato and ginger vinaigrette, for instance. Local sourcing is evident also in The Crookhaven Special, combining Gubbeen smoked bacon, fried potatoes, cheese, egg and lettuce with herb dressing, and in Crab & Avocado salad. The soup of the day, at around €5, may be mushroom - rich, creamy, very mushroomy.
The conventional menu divisions tend to be somewhat blurred in some cases but very good dinner dishes that are clearly main courses (rising to around €20-25) may include Scallops with Bulmer’s Beurre Blanc, or Rack of Lamb sauced with mint and red wine.
Generous desserts include a variety of fruit tarts and cakes and sticky toffee pudding, all priced at around €7.50, with very good Illy coffee to follow.
The wine list offers a range of about twenty French, Italian and New World wines with House choices of Chilean Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc, Australian Shiraz and Chardonnay, all at about €21.90 per bottle (€5.25 per glass). Worth noting is the 2006, Montebastia Gavi from Italy, a gorgeous, fragrant, easy-drinking white at €24.
For above average fare (with, of course, prices to match) and great atmosphere, The Crookhaven Inn is worth seeking out, particularly in summer.
Children are welcome “under supervision” but there are no chips!
L daily 11am to 5pm, D 5-9pm (to 8pm low season weekdays). Value D €17.90 Mon-Fri 5-7pm. House wine €20.90. Children welcome (high chair). MasterCard, Visa, Laser. Closed Tue & Wed in April only; mid Oct-1 April.
