Ilia Tapas & More
Category: Restaurant
37 Dominick Street Mullingar Co Westmeath
Tel:+353 (0)44 934 5947
Please mention ireland-guide.com when enquiring.
Ilia Tapas & More
A younger sister establishment to the Ilia Gourmet fine food store and the original café, Ilia A Coffee Experience (see entry), this stylish tapas bar-cum-restaurant in Mullingar has proved such a hit locally that reservations are always essential, even early in the evening.
Bearing little resemblance to a typical standing room only Spanish tapas bar, it’s a pleasing contemporary restaurant, in a room well designed to create interesting shapes and break up the space into more intimate areas - and (one case where lack of authenticity is welcome) the seating is very comfortable indeed.
Although it’s the sort of place where you can eat as much or as little as you like, the point of tapas here seems to be mainly its sociability; servings are of the generously-sized rather than a small nibble variety, making them particularly well-suited to groups sharing, and in the Guide’s experience they like you to order the full meal at the start, as in other restaurants.
The menu, which may prove a little confusing, is made up of two pages of tapas, i.e. International tapas (including some traditional Spanish items like platters of Spanish meats, or olives), and Tapas to share (a mixture of beautifully presented and fully garnished starters), then main courses (‘More’) offer a balanced range of popular fish, meat, poultry and vegetarian dishes, not specifically Spanish.
The sharing theme returns at the end of the meal, with the option of ‘Ilia Delight’, a fondue with strawberries and marshmallows to dip, or a shared cheeseboard. A reasonably priced international wine list includes some by the glass.
This is a fun and relaxing place to dine out with family or friends, the food is clearly carefully sourced and tasty dishes are cooked with flair and served efficiently – and, once you get the hang of the way the menu works, it offers a good value too: no wonder it’s always full.
Open Tue-Sat 6-10pm. Closed Sun, Mon. MasterCard, Visa, Laser.
