With a BA in Culinary Arts and a chef for over 12 years, Ethna had most recently worked at Shells in Strandhill before opening her own café in 2016 in the small village of Collooney. But don’t let its small size or slightly out-of-the-way location fool you. This charming little cafe soon became one of the area's most popular spots for breakfast and lunch. Its oilcloth-lined tables, jugs of fresh flowers and large kitchen dresser filled with cookbooks and mismatched teacups give it a homey feel, almost like being in a friend’s kitchen.
During the Covid period, Nook made some changes, extending the offering to become half café-restaurant and also a little grocery, selling a mix of Irish cheeses, high welfare charcuterie, wines, lots of Irish sauces, condiments etc - also a great takeaway breakfast and lunch menu, along with tailored picnic boxes and catering.
The first thing you’ll notice about the menu – besides how tempting every dish sounds – is the focus on fresh, local artisan ingredients, from the meat to the cheese and right down to the beautiful salad leaves.
The breakfast menu features lots of Ballysadare eggs, sourdough bread and local leaves in various guises, be it an omelette, huevos Nook, poached eggs on top of sourdough bread, avocado and Macroom buffalo Greek-style cheese, eggs Benedict or a breakfast burrito special with local kale, mushrooms, feta, scrambled eggs and tomato relish. Homemade baked beans and toast and porridge are available too.
For lunch, the pork belly bahn mi is such a favourite that it often sells out, so get there early if you have your heart set on that. Or you might prefer a sandwich of roast Irish chicken with herbed mustard mayo, the ‘naanwich’ – a soft folded naan filled with tandoori spiced fried buttermilk chicken, tikka mayo, house pickle and local salad and slaw – a burger served on a brioche bun with Gubbeen cheese and the Nook burger sauce, or Jordan’s Atlantic Seaweed sea salt and herb crusted fish of the day with house fries, slaw and chunky Markree herb tartar sauce. For something lighter, a summer seasonal salad might be made with Fivemiletown goats’ cheese, Irish strawberries, blueberries, spinach, pickled fennel, balsamic and sourdough, or there might even be a vegan taco on offer.
Even the drinks are special, with a homemade lemonade made with local rhubarb, gooseberries, loganberries and lemon basil on offer, and the coffee sourced from Art of Coffee in nearby Carrick-on-Shannon.
As good as the main menu is, and it changes monthly to reflect what’s available in season, the daily specials are always worth considering too – perhaps something like a sandwich of Irish pork belly, black pudding, grilled peaches, Knockanore cheddar and rocket.
A real highlight at Nook is the kids’ menu, which reflects the focus on quality and freshness. Whereas you’d be hard pressed to find a vegetable anywhere near a child’s dish in most restaurants, at Nook, good-quality choices are at the heart of their offering for younger diners, from a mini smoothie of the day to organic porridge with jam or local honey, beans and toast with loads of hidden veggies in the sauce or organic Bunalun pasta with a hidden veg tomato sauce, or their Proper Chicken & Chips.
Ethna has created a seriously impressive menu in this little gem of a café. It’s an absolute delight to find it in Collooney and well worth a stop on your way to Sligo town or even a destination in its own right - and has more recently been joined by a charming younger sister, Nádúr, in nearby Coolaney (west of Collooney).
