Husband and wife team Stevie Lane and Amanda Fahy have created the perfect blend of old and new at the former Brownes Pub in the centre of Tuam.
Since saving it from dereliction on returning to their home town in 2016, they have transformed the traditional pub where they met over 15 years before into a modern restaurant with respect for the past that reflects their creativity and love of high quality local food. They share a passion for hospitality and, having spent many years honing their skills in leading restaurants, they were ready to bring something new and different to Tuam.
Arriving diners are welcomed by a cheery fire in the cosy front bar, The Grocery, where all the groceries sold in traditional Irish pubs once lined the walls. Brownes was always renowned for serving a good pint of stout, so here - in addition to Irish craft beers on tap (8 Degrees, Independent Connemara Pale Ale and MacIvors Cider among them) - draught Guinness takes pride of place.
There’s a rotation beer tap too, as well as an interesting wine list and a range of Irish gins and cocktails, so diners can sample new brews from Irish craft breweries. And, with treats such as Castlemine Farm pork croquettes, homemade crisps and house roasted nuts to nibble on, the short snack menu in The Grocery gives a clear hint of the good things to come on the main menu served in the simply stylish dining room.
Modern Irish cooking is the style and every delicious dish is designed to showcase the very best of local produce. Stevie works closely with local producers and the food philosophy couldn’t be clearer: “We are committed supporting local producers and suppliers and use local, seasonal produce as much as possible throughout out menu. All our fresh meat and poultry is 100% Irish and all our fish is landed at Irish ports and delivered to us by Galway companies.”
A closer look at the Suppliers list (posted on their website) shows the sheer quality of the producers and suppliers they work with, including no less than three excellent fish and seafood suppliers (Gannet Fishmongers, Galway; Mary’s Fishmongers, Galway and Glancy Seafood, Tuam), two famous meat and poultry producers (Castlemine Farm,. Roscommon and The Friendly Farmer, Athenry, Co. Galway). Dairy suppliers include Galway Goat Farm of Dunmore, Co. Galway and the unique Velvet Cloud Sheep’s Yogurt in Co Mayo, and growers such the nearby Fuinseog Farm and Heneghan Nurseries of Athenry are equally carefully selected.
Menus are simply presented, mostly with three or four word descriptions - Friendly Farmer Chicken, Romesco, Leek; Castlemine Farm Pork Belly, Beetroot, Pak Choi - and, while mainly an evening à la carte destination, there’s a heartily rustic casual Famer’s Market lunch on Fridays and a long lunch on Sunday. Everything is made freshly in-house by Stevie and, although there’s nothing too showy about the cooking, his fine dining background comes through in the deep flavours and careful presentation of each skilfully prepared dish.
Stevie is committed to creating exceptional food with premium ingredients and passionate about serving the very best from the West. All this, together with a warm ambience and lovely friendly service, combine to make Brownes - and Stevie and Amanda's home town of Tuam - a favoured destination over wide area. Where it was once necessary for discerning diners to go to Galway for a special night out, Galway folk can now head for Tuam and go to Brownes instead.
