The Garryvoe Hotel's bistro, the Lighthouse, is revamped and revitalised, offering a varied and delicious menu for you this summer!

The Garryvoe Hotel's bistro, the Lighthouse, is revamped and revitalised, 

offering a varied and delicious menu for you this summer!

When I polished off my Cassoulet in the Lighthouse Bistro (Hotel Garryvoe) last week, I was a happy man. So much so that I began to wonder why I had ever fallen out of love with this classic French Bean stew.

Well, you know the old saying: familiarity breeds contempt. I was staying in Sarlat (Dordogne) for a month and every night, in every restaurant, Cassoulet was on the menu, along with Coq au Vin. You started with Fois Gra, after the mains came the Rocamadour goats cheese, followed by a dessert such as Crême Brûlée, most washed down by a bottle of Pecharmant rouge. 

All very fine and the restaurants were full of happy French tourists but this visitor just got a bit fed up of the same thing night after night. So much so that, back at the gite, we asked our Serb host Milos to recommend something a little different and he helped us find an out of town Portuguese steakhouse. Their steak on the stone was superb and gave us the break I needed!

For all that I was delighted to see Cassoulet on the `lighthouse menu. By the way, the bistro itself has been renovated and the menu has been revamped. Cassoulet, packed with beans and meat, and served very hot, with a crusty French bread, seems more like a winter dish but I was in Sarlat in July. In any event, while we were tucking in, a wicked wintry shower powered in from Ballycotton Bay.

Chicken Kyiv

The Lighthouse version, billed as Authentic Cassoulet is a slow Cooked Stew with those tasty White Beans, Duck Confit, Pork cubes and Spiced Sausage and yes a warm bread from local bakers Cuthbert’s. Powerful stuff in the bowl and you’ll need a spoon as well as the knife and fork. Very Highly Recommended.

And the recommendations also came from the other side of the table where CL relished another dish of foreign origin, Sachin’s Curried Chicken Kyiv (Kiev is no longer politically correct, if it ever was). The enclosed chicken was mildly curried and served with Potato & Squash Saag Aloo and Coriander Oil, pleasing the eye, the palate and the customer.

New and all ready for you this summer

Portions are usually enormous here and we shared a starter bowl of Moules Mariniers with White Wine, Cream, Garlic & Parsley, and some of that crusty Cuthberts bread. Service was friendly all through, helpful when ordering and quietly efficient thereafter, as is always the case there.

The Garryvoe Hotel last Tuesday

The new menu showcases a wealth of fresh, locally sourced produce from suppliers such as Ballycotton Seafood, Ardsallagh Goats Cheese, O'Farrells, O'Connor & Sons, Shellfish Ireland, Cuthbert Bakers, Gubbeen, The Village Grocer, Macroom Buffalo, and Ballymaloe relishes,. The kitchen, under ~Head Chef Kevin O’Sullivan, ensures there’s a dish to please every taste.

If you need a quick turnaround at lunch, then there’s a range of sandwiches to choose from, also soup and chowder (between 1.00pm and 5.00). The Bistro menu, kicks in at one but goes on well into the evening.  You may check the full menu here.

By the way, there is quite a lot to do and see in the area, so give yourself a few hours, even a few days at the lovely friendly hotel. Check out my guide to East Cork here.