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Set well back from the road with plenty of parking at the front, Siobhan Sweeney’s atmospheric restaurant is warm and welcoming, with a big open fire, lots of wood, good art on the walls and views over to the harbour from some upstairs tables.
A Ballymaloe-trained chef, Siobhan is now hosting front-of-house and Allasdar O'Riada (her sous chef for 10 years) has taken over the kitchen, so there's a confident sense of continuity.
Down-to-earth menus offering half a dozen choices on each course have a pleasing focus on seasonal ingredients (with local suppliers credited) and prices are very reasonable for the quality.
Main courses include a fair amount of seafood, including interesting dishes such as Hake a la Gallega (poached fish in a casserole of slow roasted new season vegetables, with artisan chorizo and fish stock & blistered sourdough bread) while other specialities include a warmly spiced Moroccan Lamb Shoulder. Vegetarian dishes are equally tempting - the day's soup, for example, may be Purple top turnip with roasted garlic (and a swirl of honey...) while Toasted spiced cauliflower makes a tasty main course, with freshly made hummus, tzatziki, pomegranate and flatbread.
Quality ingredients are handled with creativity and culinary skill throughout, and daily prepared desserts might include someyhing like a gorgeous chocolate délice with hazelnut crumble, which is even better if enjoyed with a macchiato...
An informative wine list is broadly organised by price (Everyday Wines/Fine Wines) and offers plenty to encourage you to linger on a little after dinner - and an inviting selection of craft beers come from as far away as the Dungarvan Brewing Company (try their Blackrock Stout) and as close as Letterkenny, where the Kinnegar Brewery makes some excellent ales
This is a very friendly place, where caring service backs up the good work going on in the kitchen - the restaurant team are very helpful, and Siobhan takes time to chat with the tables, making sure that everyone's having a good time.
