Easy to find on the main street with its striking blue exterior and orange door, Kevin Stirzaker and his wife Shirley opened the Dining Room in Mayo’s county town of Castlebar in 2016.
It was the fulfilment of a long-held dream for the couple, who have worked in restaurants for over 20 years and have food and hospitality in their genes. While not large - about 12 tables, set well apart from each other to give space and privacy for diners, and with a small bar area at the back - this evening restaurant is comfortable and relaxing, with dark wood, soft lighting and easy-listening music that is not too loud.
Shirley is a natural host - warm, friendly and completely unruffled even when the restaurant is busy. Drinks orders are taken straight away and diners are advised on what is particularly good on the day's menu - staff menu knowledge is excellent and it's obvious that servers have eaten the dishes themselves.The choices are balanced and descriptions are unfussy and clear. A speciality starter that's well worth trying, for example, is Crispy Dozio cheese bon bons with BBQ pulled pork and chilli jam, Dozio being a local cheese.
Kevin, a GMIT-trained Manchester native, has a background in butchery and from the start the couple determined to focus on local artisan producers to give them the building blocks for their modern Irish seasonal menus - and their local suppliers include legendary names like Andarl Farm pork, Velvet Cloud sheeps’ milk cheese and yoghurt, Kelly’s Butchers and farm produce from Joe Kelly.
Kevin has worked in other top restaurants - at London's Hind Head (Heston Blumenthal), for example, and Mayo favourite An Port Mór in Westport - and he likes to let the ingredients speak for themselves, without fuss. As in so many good restaurants, the bread is a simple highlight - walnut and raisin, baked in house, it is accompanied by delicious Cuinneog butter with a whisper of Smoked Achill Island Sea Salt on top. How good is that.
The presentation is fine dining. There are cubes and blobs of sauces, but only in a way that really adds to the dish. A standout speciality seafood dish is a single scallop: cooked to perfection (with roe attached) and served with a slice of grilled Andarl Farm black pudding, a strip of Andarl Farm pork belly, some celeriac remoulade and little cubes of pickle, it is a faultless starter.
Fillet steak is another house favourite, served with with a tangle of sweet caramelised onions without a trace of black, peppercorn sauce, a blob of butternut squash purée and another of celeriac purée with dashes of pan juices and herb oil perfection. Accompaniments may include a smooth and buttery mash and a fantastic vegetable dauphinoise made up of butternut squash carrot and onion – an unusual combination which really works. Very satisfying dishes with a real sense of place.
Outstanding flavours continue to the desserts and the tasting plate - of warm chocolate orange brownie with chocolate sauce, sticky toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream and a darling little silver churn of lemon posset.- is recommended. The pistachio panna cotta has just the right amount of wobble, is deliciously light - and really tastes of the nut.
The drinks list is well chosen, including excellent house wines and a selection of premium wines offered by the glass, using a Corivin system - and diners are often offered a glass of Stonewell Tawny as a digestif.
The Dining Room is a welcome destination in a town that is often overlooked in favour of Westport - and no wonder so many diners are keen to return.
