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The Red Door Restaurant

This semi-basement restaurant is at the back of the Bunratty estate, overlooking Bunratty Park and the castle; as you drive through tall iron gates and up the drive to Bunratty House, you can't miss the smart banner signs proclaiming that you've arrived at The Red Door Restaurant.

This hospitable and characterful restaurant's will to please quickly attracted a loyal following. You can sit outside in summer and there's a bar as you enter, with sofas to relax in and views across the park. The labyrinth of small rooms in the downstairs restaurant are well furnished, with red and cream brick walls subtly lit, and comfortable leather dining chairs, creating an intimate, relaxed ambience.

The Early Bird menu offers hearty main courses such as roast stuffed pork steak; lunch is a similarly generous affair offering dishes like well-made fishcakes (with identifiable pieces of fish in them, plus the odd shrimp), with handcut chips and homemade tartare sauce- or big, meaty sausages with nicely made gravy. The dinner menu is more ambitious, and a note informs diners that the beef is raised nearby and sourced from a local butcher.

A short wine list, grouped by country, is well-chosen and reasonably priced.

L & D Tue-Sun, 12.30-3.30 & 5.30-9.30. Early bird D 5.30-6.45pm. Closed Mon.

Directions:

Behind Bunratty Castle, at Bunratty House - enter tall tall iron gates & follow signs.