Patricia Fenton’s popular restaurant has a nice folksy atmosphere and a lovely garden where you can eat if the weather is fine.
A relaxing place, with simple wooden furniture, cheerful artwork on the walls and a stone fireplace, it’s known for straightforward traditional cooking based on fresh local ingredients – lamb from the family farm, for example, and a wide choice of fresh local fish.
Menus may seem a bit confusing as several may be offered (the main à la carte, and one or more specially priced 2- and 3-course menus).
Patricia's family has been in the fishing industry here for over a hundred years (the restaurant is on the site of her great-grandfather's mackerel curing yard) and, although her menus offer plenty of other choice, including the renowned Dingle mountain lamb, this is mainly a seafopod destination.
There may be proportionately less fish on set menus, but the choice of seafood on the à la carte is quite extensive, typically including sole on the bone, Ventry Harbour lobster, Dingle Bay scallops and crab, Cromane mussels and a good range of other locally caught fish. Sometimes there will be unusual ingredients too, such as periwinkles foraged in a little cove west of Dingle near their clifftop farm .
A la carte starters are pitched quite high but some dishes are very generous and might be more suitable as main courses, so it’s advisable to check from the very nice and helpful staff when ordering.
Although there are some international influences (cous cous and Moroccan spicing with lamb, for example), the style is mainly traditional – good soups, a starter of smoked fish paté or oysters with shallot vinaigrette and popular main courses like traditionally matured Angus steak, rack of Dingle lamb, poached organic farmed salmon with colcannon potato cake and cream sauce or pan-fried Dingle Bay scallop & monkfish with wild garlic butter are all typical. Desserts follow the pattern - fruit crumbles, baked cheesecake and banoffee tart, for example.
The à la carte can work out expensive, but the special menus offer good value and everything is fresh, cooked well and simply served.
Self catering accommodation is also offered.
Seats 50 (outdoors, 12); air conditioning; children welcome before 8pm (high chair). D Tue-Sun, 6-10. Early bird D €29.95 6-7pm. House wine €19.50. Closed Mon & Nov-Mar. Amex, Diners, MasterCard, Visa, Laser.
