Handily located about halfway between the Dublin-Galway motorway and Loughrea, chef Danny Africano's keenly anticipated restaurant, Lignum, opened to well-deserved acclaim in September 2019.
Instantly making rural East Galway a must-visit destination for food lovers, Lignum has already earned a reputation as one of Ireland's most exciting new restaurants - recalling memories of the late John Huston's former home nearby, St Clerans (now a private residence), when gifted Japanese chef Kumagai Hisashi ('Kuma') created magic in the kitchen there two decades ago and attracted many discerning diners to the area.
Today, Lignum at Slatefort House has a similar appeal. Danny's parents ran Slatefort House as a restaurant with rooms when he was growing up, so he cut his culinary teeth here and - while the house is almost unrecognisable following its sophisticated transformation into a spacious, light-filled contemporary restaurant - his mother is a warm and welcoming front of house presence in this new venture, and Danny's palpable sense of purpose is matched by a very pleasing pride of place.
And does Danny ever have a sense of purpose. Although still in his 20s, he brought back sharply focused ambitions from time well spent working around the world and, not only did he supervise the creation of a unique modern restaurant, but he also assembled a highly impressive team - including an exceptional pastry chef,Gráinne Mullins, who is also from the locality but joined Lignum from OX in Belfast and, mentored by Danny, won the highly prestigious title Euro-Toques Young Chef of the Year 2019 only six weeks after opening.
Lignum is latin for wood - and that's what this kitchen is all about. On arrival you will notice three types of logs - birch, ash and oak - neatly stacked just inside the front door. They are sourced from local woodlands and used for all the cooking, over the bespoke Ox Grills (made in England and revered by top chefs, includung Nathan Outlaw) and a woodburning oven - which Grainne had to master, in order to bake the stunning breads that are such a special feature of the Lignum experience.
The woods are mixed as needed for flavour enhancement and, using the embers from the oven, everything is cooked over the three grills designated for vegetable, fish and meat. "Our principle is to cook over robust burning embers using a variety of Irish wood and from this simplistic method of cooking elevate it to a refined plate,” says Danny. "It is challenging, but we believe it showcases our incredible local produce." The aim is to use as much locally sourced produce as possible. All of the protein is Irish and, until next year when they will be growing their own, a local organic farm supplies all of the restaurant's vegetables.
Evening diners choose from a weekly-changing five or seven-course tasting menu, with wine or non-alcoholic pairings available. On Sunday there's a more casual experience when a very reasonably priced 3-course sharing style menu is offered and children over 12 are welcome.The drinks list includes well chosen wines with an understandable leaning towards Italy (tasting notes would be nice addition), craft beer (notably Kinnegar, from Co Donegal), kombucha and soft drinks including Tipperary apple juice (from Con Traas at The Apple Farm, although not named) and there's also a mixologist working closely with the kitchen team, to offer "an urban style cocktail list in the countryside". This menu will change with the seasons, according to Danny, "Creating bitters, tonics and drinks inspired by our surroundings.”
The food that is brought to your table, whichever menu you choose, will be extraordinary. Enormous care has clearly gone into each dish, and the depth of flavour is exceptional, simply singing with memorable umami tones. And you'll find that the kitchen sends through all manner of extra little treats that you weren't expecting. The chef himself might come along at certain points of your meal, to pour, perhaps, a pork broth subtly flavoured with oriental spicing over an exquisite piece of plaice. Or a waitress might arrive with bread and crackers that are like no other you've ever had - and butter which is made in-house daily.
Specialities that bring happy diners back established themselves from an early stage - those amazing breads, for example, and Luker's Chocolate, a sublime dessert that will have you hooked even if you tend to pass on dessert.
The portions, as with all tasting menus, are not large, but the intensity of flavour and the number of taste sensations you'll experience in one single item, leave you feeling completely satisfied at the end of the dinner.
Service throughout is attentive and knowledgeable - and the entire experience will linger in the mind for a very long time to come.
