Although this quayside bar and restaurant has always been known for excellent local seafood, the ante has been upped considerably - with the arrival of head chef Noel Dennehy in the kitchen.
Skilful cooking and flavour cormbinations come to the fore in dishes like The Moorings hot seafood medley of Dingle Bay prawns, Portmagee crab, fresh salmon and cod in light cream sauce with lemon and garlic.
Provenance and named suppliers lead menus featuring pan-fried Valentia scallops, Cromane mussels and oysters and Cahirciveen smoked salmon.
Diners can choose from just-arrived catch of the day posted on blackboards and may be lucky enough to coincide with a rarity like the fresh tuna that is an occasional summer visitor to the Skelligs islands across the bay.
For meat choices the beef comes from Killorglin and Ring of Kerry Quality Lamb features in the rack served on mint and spring onion mash and in the popular bar food dish of lamb's liver with Tralee smoked bacon, rosemary mash and red onion gravy,
Breakfast guests can enjoy the full Irish with local handmade sausages, oak smoked bacon and Sneem black pudding or the seaside treat of buttery grilled lemon sole.
The head chef's wife Maureen supplies the kitchen with organically grown salad. leaves, tomatoes and herbs, as well as the fruit which goes into homemade chutneys and jams, as well as desserts like the rhubarb pudding paired with Valentia Island ice cream.
Restaurant: D Tues-Sun, 6-9.30pm, a la carte. House wine from €18.95. Bar food served 12-8.30pm.
Accommodation:
The rooms offer a good standard of comfort without being overly fussy and bathrooms are sleek and modern with excellent showers. Seafront rooms face the harbour and bridge to Valentia Island, with constantly changing views of the windswept Atlantic.
Rooms 16 (4 junior suites, 8 family, 2 ground floor, 16 no smoking). B&B €45-50 pps. Children welcome (under 3s free in parents room, cot available free of charge, baby sitting arranged). Free broadband wifi. Equestrian, fishing, garden visits & golf all nearby. House closed 25/26 Dec. Amex, MasterCard, Visa, Laser.
