🍣🍒Dining well at the Celtic Ross
in the summer of 23🍕🍷
It has been a few summers since I sampled the food at the Kingfisher Bar & Bistro in the Celtic Ross and glad to say that we enjoyed a superb evening meal there recently. Local produce is, as always, well handled here and well presented. Even though all our six dishes got the thumbs up, the gorgeous dessert featuring Bushby Strawberries, a superb finalé, stole the show.
We spotted a 20% off midweek deal in the Rosscarbery Hotel a few months back. There was no hesitation in booking the two-night (including one dinner) deal. Glad that we did as the hotel is looking very well indeed both outside and in. Our room, with a view out towards the Warren, was splendid, beautifully furnished, spacious and very comfortable indeed.
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| Scallops |
Over the two days, we had a superb base for visiting West Cork. We started with a visit to the outstanding Mizen Head on the way in from Kerry. Later, we would enjoy a road trip that included Union Hall, Glandore, Reen Pier, Castletownsend (lunch at Mary Ann’s), Baltimore, Lough Hyne, and Clonakilty.
We know that Celtic Ross manager Neil Grant’s fitness regime includes doing the cliff walk between the local Warren Strand and Owenahincha so we took that short sharp trek in as well and loved the views over the strand and out to Galley Head.
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| Hake |
As we studied the menu in the busy Kingfisher (and for a good while after), we sipped one of our favourite ales, the KPA by Blacks of Kinsale, another illustration of the hotel’s support for local and very refreshing after an active day. No shortage of local spirits on offer as you might expect.
As it happened we each picked a starter with Asian touches, leaving Seared Beef Carpaccio, Roasted Beetroots, Local Smoked Salmon, and Stuffed Mushrooms for another day.
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| Sticky Beef |
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| Blacks KPA |
I was also on a winner with the Sticky Beef Salad, Cucumber & Red Onion Salad, Chili Vinaigrette, and Roasted Peanuts; loved the beef, the salad (the onion outstanding), the crunch of the nuts, the crisp carrots, the tickle of the little greens. Superb! More than a starter.
And I moved on to another beauty. Shepherds Pie may not sound all that exciting but this Braised Lamb Shoulder 'Sheppard's Pie' with Herb Crumb and Roasting Gravy was a different class. That meat and gravy at the bottom was just so good that I took my time with it, the better to enjoy every morsel.
CL’s mains was the Hake Creamed Roaringwater Bay Mussels & Leeks, local and fresh and full of flavour but I think I was the big winner as this was the Best shepherds pie ever and soon I would be having one of the best desserts ever.
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| Pie |
The dessert list consisted of Raspberry Pavlova, Lemon Posset, Sticky Toffee Pudding, Warm Salted Chocolate Caramel Brownie, Selection of Sorbets and Selection of Irish Cheese. They also had a selection of coffee liqueurs and digestives, some based on the local and popular Five Farms Cream Liqueur.
Not a strawberry on the list but, when the Pavlova came, it was plastered from head to toe with those delicious Bushby Strawberries and even the one or two raspberries on view were also top-notch. A superb end to a surprisingly super meal illustrates there’s delicious life in the Celtic Ross kitchen despite the upheavals of recent years. But their loyal customers know that! I’m just alerting travellers in the area to put the Kingfisher on their list.
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| The Celtic Ross Hotel as seen from the nearby cliff that starts at the eastern side of the Warren Strand |
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