Please mention ireland-guide.com when enquiring.

Greenes Restaurant @ Hotel Isaacs

Opposite the Everyman Palace Theatre and approached through a cobbled courtyard, this attractive hotel offers comfort in spacious rooms at a fairly reasonable price.

Recent major renovations have made this a much more confident and comfortable hotel: new windows have reduced traffic noise, the fourteen newer superior rooms are quietly impressive and have set the standard for refurbishment of all the existing bedrooms, which is now complete so that all rooms have double glazing and air conditioning.

A few of the rooms at the back have a charming outlook on to the waterfall, which is a feature from the restaurant - and destined to become the centrepiece of the new covered courtyard, which is to be glazed (And a new lift installed) shortly after we go to press.

Small Conferences (50); broadband wi/fi; secretarial services available (from reception), video conferencing by arrangement; laptop sized safes in bedrooms. Children welcome (under 3 free in parents room, cot available free of charge, baby sitting arranged). All day room service. Car park nearby. No pets. Garden (courtyard). Self-catering apartments available (open all year).

Rooms 47 (14 executive, 4 shower-only, 37 no-smoking, 2 for disabled). Lift. Room service (all day). B&B €75 pps, ss €25. Closed 24-27 Dec.

Greenes:

Despite being next door to the well-known Isaacs restaurant (with the confusion of the hotel's similar name) Greenes is well-established as a successful stand-alone restaurant and has earned a following. The approach from the street is attractive, under a limestone arch to the narrow courtyard with the waterfall - which is floodlit at night - making an unusual feature when seen from the restaurant.

The reception and the two restaurant areas have character and the atmosphere is definitely 'independent restaurant' rather than 'hotel dining room'.

Head chef Frederic Desormeaux's menus are quite adventurous, offering modern renditions of classic dishes, sometimes with a French slant and often based on local ingredients, especially seafood. Starters might include air dried smoked Connemara lamb on salad leaves, with fresh figs, beetroot dressing & balsamic reduction, while main courses include classics like pan-fried T-bone steak with home-made chips and perhaps a speciality tajine of monkfish and Ballycotton mussels cooked in a fishy. tomato broth with turned potatoes and rouille and garlic croûtons.

Seasonal fruits feature strongly among the desserts (a dessert platter for two to share is an option) or, unusually, you can have a selection of Tipperary cheeses, with chutney, home-made biscuits and a shot glass of port.

Accurate cooking, attractive presentation and friendly, helpful service - plus a lively atmosphere and quite reasonable prices - should ensure an enjoyable meal. The early dinner menu is especially good value.

Seats 100 (private room, 36, outdoor, 30); outdoor dining in heated courtyard; barbecues in summer; children welcome (high chair, childrens menu, baby changing facilities). L summer only Mon-Sun, 12.30-3 (to 3pm Sun); D daily 6-10 (Sun & Bank hols to 9.30); value L €15; early D €30 (6-7pm); set 2/3 course D €38/45; also á la carte; set Sun L €30. House wine from €22. SC 10% on groups 10+. Closed D 24 Dec & 25-27 Dec. Amex, Diners, MasterCard, Visa, Laser.

Directions:

City centre - 400 m down MacCurtain Street, on left; entrance opposite Everyman Palace Theatre, through cobblestone archway.