Fernhill House Hotel. Its history and its beautiful gardens.

Fernhill House Hotel and its beautiful gardens.

You notice the ferns straightaway. After all, they are planted in groups around Fernhill House Hotel in Clonakilty. And, of course, in the 14 acres of gardens, (itself divided into three sections: managed, lightly-managed and wild). Garden Designer Mary Reynolds has plans and, because Fernhill is a great wedding venue, ferns just have to be included. 

The first reason is that they’ve always been here and the second is one of Mary’s inspirations. Cloich na Coillte is the Irish name for Clon and means ‘Stone in the woods’. Ferns help form the carpet that clothes the earth as part of  healthy woodland, covering the ground in a soft carpet of feathers. “In ancient Ireland, every plant was associated with certain energies. Ferns represent marriage and the secret bond of love. The gentle unfurling of the fern fronds symbolise the slow blooming of love in a committed relationship.”

And so couples come from all over West Cork to get married here, sometimes in the more managed part of the garden. Here, their photographer has some amazing backgrounds to work with, especially at dusk when parts, including the little bridge, are highlighted by fairy lights. 

And, on the Valentine’s Day after their wedding, the couple are invited back to plant an apple tree.

Our September visit to Fernhill started with a warm welcome from Michael O’Neill (jnr), the fourth generation of the family in the hotel. The hotel is built around the original house which dates from 1826. The Atkin family were the first owners. They didn’t have much luck on the male side. When the father died, the family, including Robert Travers Atkin (born Fernhill 1841) went to Australia where he went on to be “the founding father of social justice” in that country. He too died prematurely and the family headed for England. Here, a son of Robert’s became Lord Atkin and was directly responsible for opening the way for compensation claims.

Michael O'Neill and a herb spiral

The Wrights and the Cowpers were other families associated with the house as the 19th century closed and the 20th began. Michael Collins was a visitor in 1920 and, during the war, the Irish army were based here (an ammunition bunker from that time still stands here). The mansion house was bought by M.J. O Neill in the 1940’s and was turned into a hotel by his son Con with his wife Mary in the 1960’s.

The hotel has “grown” around the original house and so too has the wedding business and the garden is a key part of that. But the 14 acres accommodate much more nowadays. Many apple trees grow here and other fruit as well.

Ferns, and a well worn mill-wheel embedded in the wall

And expect to see many varieties of Irish trees and bushes under Mary’s direction, even if there are many here already. And not planted willy nilly! During the tour, Michael explained that they use a layering system with bushes or small trees in the first row, medium sized specimens  next and then the tallest; always with the aim of keeping compatible species close to one another.

We had just 30 minute for so in the garden but you could spend all day here to take in all the detail. As you move from the more fully managed area to the semi-managed area, you come across their stone circle (they built it themselves - it’s not an ancient one!). Here in the grassy circle on certain days you will see a group doing their yoga.

Move on a little further and you will hear the calming sound of running water as the river flows down the glen. Just sit here and relax. Indeed, forest bathing tours can be arranged here. Michael said he slept like a baby after his first experience of the bathing. Foraging tours are also done here, the schedule somewhat curtailed these Covid days, so do check availability with the hotel.

Listen to the birds and see those layered ranks of trees and imagine how they’ll look in the future. And as you stroll up the slope, note the series of terraces near the river. Here, trees are being planted and each terrace will be harvested (and replanted) in rotation, with the harvested timber going to the hotel’s wood-burner.

The family are much into sustainability. They have solar panels in place and have their own sustainable water supply. Michael jnr himself is a director of Sustainable Clonakilty and was a board member of the European Union’s EDEN group. His group had plans to plant no less than 10,000 tress locally this year until the Covid interruption but, still, they managed to get most of them into the ground.

Michael is also a keen historian and his starting point is the house. You can read some of the early details in our first post on our visit here and you’ll know that quite a few well known people have been through its doors. The early families, who lived in the 1826 built mansion and its then 1,257 acre estate, were part of the landed gentry. They had lawn tennis courts, a cricket pitch, a four storey castle tower, an ornate orangery and more. In fairness, they also ran a soup kitchen to feed the starving during the famine.

What may not be so well-known is that Fernhill has quite a literary connection as well, ranging from Margaret Wolfe Hungerford, the Victorian novelist, credited with the phrase “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” to Louise O’Neill author of the bang up to date “Asking for it”. Louise, by the way, is a cousin of Michael’s and a great grand-daughter of MJ who purchased the house in 1946.

The Irish army march through Clon during WW2

Michael has put together a folder showing other literary connections with sites that relate directly to the history of Fernhill and its surrounds.

Louise O’Neill - Almost Love and Asking for it

Sophie Hannah - Closed Casket (a Hercule Poirot story set in a Georgian mansion in Clonakilty)

Margaret Wolfe Hungerford (wrote as The Duchess) - Molly Bawn

Tim Pat Coogan - Michael Collins; Eamon De Valera.

Tim Crowley - In Search of Michael Collins

James Douglass - JFK and the Unspeakable

Henry Ford - My Life and Work

Mary Reynolds - Garden Awakening

Damien Enright - Scenic Walks in West Cork

Alison Wickham - Irish Women Speak.

From the garden to the kitchen

Michael had arranged lunch for us but before that he had another little surprise. He showed us some pretty old scrapbooks, full of newspaper cuttings. As with many such collections, the dates had been trimmed from the scraps but, judging by some that still had dates, it seemed they were collected in the early decades of the 20th century.

There were a few recipes that caught my eye:

Lobster Omelet (US spelling).

Salmon Kedjeree (sic)

Little Cheese Custards

Macaroni a la Napolitaine

Kidney Toast

Savoury Vermicelli

Roes and Mushrooms on Toast.

Needless to say, none of those were on the day’s lunch menu! It was a meal that we enjoyed very much indeed and you may read all about it here.

Clonakilty’s Historic Fernhill House Hotel: Lovely Lunch and Visit

Clonakilty’s Fernhill House Hotel: Lovely Lunch and Visit

Salmon

An invitation to visit Fernhill House Hotel in Clonakilty was immediately taken up and we spent an very interesting few hours here, much of it in the company of our host Michael O’Neill, the fourth generation of the family who have been here since the 1940s. The original house itself was built in 1826 and the hotel has grown up around it. And it all sits in the middle of 14 acres of gardens in 3 sections, one managed, another semi-wild, and the other part more or less wild. Michael took us through the house and gardens.

Fernhill has historic connections. The man credited with the foundation of social justice in Australia was born here. His son, Lord Atkin, is credited with the initiation of compensation for civil claims, the famous case of the snail in the bottle of ginger ale. Michael Collins, who lived close by, visited here and, during WW2, the Irish army were billeted here. 

Strong literary connections also, ranging from Margaret Wolfe Hungerford, the Victorian novelist, credited with the phrase “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” to Louise O’Neill author of the bang up to date “Asking for it”. We’ll return to the house and gardens in future posts.

After our tour we sat down for lunch in the bright and airy dining room. The menu was encouraging, full of local produce, from the likes of Gubbeen, Cashel Blue, O’Neill’s Black Pudding, Shannonvale, Toonsbridge, Macroom Buffalo, Michael Twomey, Union Hall, not to mention herbs, veg and fruit from their own garden.

Loads of choices in the starter section. Everything from soup to large plates and also sandwiches and salads and various combinations on offer. 

Featherblade

CL picked the Citrus Cured Union Hall Salmon (shaved fennel and orange, marinated beetroot, mixed leaf salad, orange vinaigrette). Union Hall, another family firm, are highly regarded in West Cork and the Fernhill kitchen certainly made the best of the salmon.

And my Salt Cod Fishcake (chorizo and sun-dried tomato dressing, confit garlic aioli, pickled  mussels) was also excellent. A superb combination of flavour, texture and colour, a class or two above your regular fishcake offering.

The Beef Burger, with Michael Twomey’s Wagyu beef starring, was a very tempting dish on the mains, again quite a list of choices. My pick though was the Roast Agnus Feather Blade of Beef (crushed potatoes, creamed carrot and horseradish, rainbow carrot, jus roti). Very happy with that too, since again the accompaniments enhanced the leading element.

Duck

And contented sounds too from the other side of the table where CL was tucking into her Slow Cooked Barbary Duck Leg (sautéed potatoes, confit onions, buttered Savoy cabbage). Both dishes were excellently presented, nothing too fancy but neat and tidy.

We had seen apples and white raspberries growing in the garden during our tour and they turned up in the dessert menu. The Fernhill Orchard Apple Lattice Tart (served with crème anglaise, Ice-Cream, and apple crisp) made the most of the freshly picked apple while the raspberry appeared in the fruit that came with the Peach Crisp, also served with crème anglaise, Ice-Cream plus a shortbread biscuit. Lovely and warm, just like the sunny scene outside.

If you come here in the winter, or in future winters, the heat you notice originates in the garden. The O’Neills are very much into sustainability. On the walk, Michael pointed to a series of terraces on a slope near the river in the glen. Here, trees are being planted and each terrace will be harvested (and replanted) in rotation with the timber going to the hotel’s wood-burner.

Apple

There is so much going on here…

In the garden alone, you’ll see a stone circle (where Yoga sessions are held), an Ammo bunker from WW2, lots of apple trees interplanted with support plants, permaculture, those terraces of timber, and the impressive wedding facility. The plans of garden designer and artist Mary Reynolds are taking shape here but it is early days yet. You can take you’ll be seeing more and more native Irish flowers, plants and trees. So much to look forward to. 

Read more about the house and its superb gardens here.

Richy's "No Menu" Night. Huge Success

Richy's "No Menu" Night. Huge Success

Richy Virahsawmy is a happy man this weekend. "The first no menu night was a huge

success, full house !! Thank you all. The next one is on 14/11/2019. Bookings open now!!"

Now wonder it went down well  in the Clonakilty restaurant - just look at these pictures of

 the wonderful dishes created by Richy's Head Chef Meeran Gani Manzoor. You can see

 that this talented guy has learned well from his time spent working in

 Michelin starred restaurants.

House cured salmon with Turmeric, lemongrass & gin, lime fraiche, apple & cucumber gel, wasabi pearls, lemon oil, fermented rice crisps! 

Pumpkin and pink peppercorn brûlée, goats curd, sage and pistachio

Scallops, cauliflower poriyal, tamarind & palm sugar glaze.

Duck, celeriac, red cabbage, carrot and hazelnut 

Chocolate & coffee

Clonakilty in 24 Hours. A July Excursion!

Clonakilty in 24 Hours.

A July Excursion!

Clonakilty Black Pudding and strawberries, delicious starter at the Emmet Hotel

Lunch on the beach at The Fish Basket

Mussels (left) and Fish Tacos on the lunch menu at The Fish Basket. Both polished off.

The sun is out as we arrive at Long Strand after the drive down from Cork city. The idea was to have lunch at the Fish Basket which has established itself in a wooden shack on the edge of the beach. But we are a little too early as lunch service doesn’t start until about 12.45am. So that gives us time to take a walk on the long and pleasant beach, taking in the splendid views of Galley Head.

When we get back, the Fish Basket crew, a friendly and efficient bunch, have turned the kitchen after a busy breakfast service and we check out the lunch menu. We went on to enjoy two delicious fish dishes, well cooked and neatly presented. There are a few dozen seats inside and as many outside. Great spot and Very Highly Recommended.

Scannell's, a Bar with a Back-Garden Buzz

Together again, in Scannell's

After lunch we headed back to a private visit to the industrial unit in Bandon where Philip O’Connor and his staff turn out those delicious Seymours Irish Biscuits. By the time we get back to Clonakilty, we agree that we deserve a drink and so we called to Scannell’s who we know, from previous visits, serve craft beer. 

Hardly anybody in the bar but the extensive beer-garden at the back is buzzing. It is the 4th of July and there are quite a few foreign accents and every French person in the area seems to be here. We get a seat at a bench (under the shade in our case) and enjoy some Blacks of Kinsale 1601 lager and also the Franciscan Well Chieftain Pale Ale.

The Friendly and Central Emmet Hotel

Fish for dinner

Our base for the night was the O’Keeffe family owned Emmet Hotel, situated in the Georgian square that also owes its name to the Irish patriot. Lots of Irish patriots honoured in the lovely flower bedecked West Cork town. There is a statue of Michael Collins in the square and nearby streets are named, Ashe, Wolfe Tone, and there are more. Indeed, you may visit the Michael Collins house right here in the square.

This is a small high-ceilinged hotel with 20 rooms, a lovely dining room, a garden room and a garden for barbecues and other events. Might be small but there’s a lot going on here. 

It was long been known as a supporter of local producers and this continues with the likes of Caherbeg Pork, Fresh Fish Deli, Irish Yogurts, Rosscarbery Recipes, ZT Fish Rosscarbery, Gloun Cross Dairy, Shannonvale Foods, Bushy’s Strawberries, Clonakilty Black-pudding, and Clona Dairy listed.

Pancakes with superb local bacon

We had our dinner and breakfast here, both very enjoyable. The Emmet is well worth checking out, a lovely friendly well-run spot right in the town centre.

After that breakfast, we strolled around the Friday Farmers Market, which now sets up in Emmet Square, before our visit to the nearby Clonakilty Distillery, the newest attraction in this lively town. And we had lunch in the distillery’s Whale’s Tail Bistro before a leisurely journey back to the city.

Also on this trip:
Clonakilty Distillery
Bandon's Seymour Biscuits

Frédéric Desormeaux and his Fantastic Fish at the Mountain Bar.

Frédéric Desormeaux and his 

Fantastic Fish at the Mountain Bar.

French chef Frédéric Desormeaux, well known from his days in Greene’s, is loving life in West Cork. And producing plates of fantastic food in the kitchen of the Mountain Bar in Ardfield. Fifty covers last Saturday night! One hundred and fifty the Sunday before. And the numbers will go up in the summer when Fred cooks outside with customers accommodated in two marquees.

When we arrive in this seemingly isolated country pub, we are presented with the specials board. We know we are in for a treat and, eventually pick the fish specials, as Fred is noted for his fish dishes. 

At the bottom, there is a Buttermilk marinated Southern Fried Chicken Burger, Dubliner cheese and smoky bacon, Brioche bap, aioli, and Parmesan cheese and wedges. Fred likes this, maybe too much! “Never trust a skinny chef,” he laughs. We stick with the fish. I should mention, just in case that you don’t like fish, that the Mountain is also well known for its steak!

We’d never really heard of this pub until recently. But lots of people have, as you can guess by the numbers turning up. It is about ten minutes from Clonakilty, about fifteen from Rosscarbery. There are beaches nearby, some stunning ones, some  fantastic scenery too, including Galley Head. So lots of visitors around and quite a few have holiday homes in the area. 

And, for just over 12 months now, many of them have been flocking to Patrick and Carol O’Sullivan’s Mountain House. The O’Sullivan’s acquired the premises in 2010. Travel The Distance Taste The Difference, they say. We did, on both counts. Not that the distance is all that much: Ardfield is just about 45 minutes from Cork city.

There is a regular lunch menu here including soups, sandwiches, burgers, fish and chips and so on and also a Sunday Lunch. But we didn’t really go past the specials. There was a dish of Quail breasts, confit duck potato croquettes, Turmeric baby pear, broccoli sprout, yogurt and beetroot dressing, light jus. Also one of Chicken, Prawns, Gubbeen Chorizo Caesar salad, crispy potatoes, garlic brioche croutons and poached egg. Pub grub? I ask myself.

My pick is Seared Tuna on a smoked tuna potato salad, pea purée, roast garlic aioli, squid ink tuile (19.95) . A masterly and vivid rendition of the fruits of sea and the garden, the tuna so fresh and flavoursome, the salad a little masterpiece on its own, all topped off with the delicately wrought squid ink tuile. Very Highly Recommended if you get the chance!

Across the table, there was another hymn of praise being murmured as CL engaged with her Fresh Rigatoni Pasta with Salmon, Prawns, Mussels, Gubbeen chorizo cream, Parmesan and Garlic bread.  A magnificent combination, another harmonious song of the sea with that Gubbeen too playing a key role, even the garlic bread was noteworthy. By the way, everything is fresh here, that beautiful pasta was made that morning.

We had a very friendly and helpful server and also a wee chat with a lady who I presume was one of the owners and both seem to be enthusiastic about the food, know the dishes well, always a good sign.

Another chat then with our chef, about old times and new. And what would we have for dessert? There was a choice of three or four. Fred recommended the Tiramisu (made fresh that morning) and I'd seen the Mango Creme Brûlée flying out to a group at a nearby table. So they were the two that we ordered and that we shared. Needless to say, both were superb.

After that excellent meal, we stepped from the restaurant room into the bar and there was Fred preparing a slightly raised section to accommodate the numbers expected that evening. You may also eat in the bar itself. An older gent was tucking in when we first entered and a threesome were eating at the counter as we said au revoir to Fred. Great to hear him say “I’m very happy here”. And many customers of the Mountain will be glad of that as well.

* By the way, if do get to Ardfield, and you should, check across the road from the bar; there is a plaque to a famous English musician, Noel Redding, who came and enjoyed life here. 

Also on this 24 hour trip:
Celtic Ross dinner
West Cork Farm Tours

Getting Curried Away in Clonakilty. Richy's Indian Foodesessy

Getting Curried Away in Clonakilty

Richy's Indian Foodesessy 

Food galore from Bangalore

Last week, we were in Bangalore, enjoying the local cuisine, including Sagu and Alulugedda. Not really in Bangalore! But in Richy’s in Clonakilty at Week 3 of an 18-month culinary journey around the states of India, courtesy of  Head Chef Meeran Gani Manzoor.

Meeran, an accomplished chef with very high-level experience, is from the state of Chennai in the south-west and that city, capital of the state of Tamil Nadu, was featured on the opening night of the Curry Club with Beef Madras taking pride of place on the Thali* that also included Carrot Cauliflower Pickle, Lemon Rice and Dosa. On Thursday 26th Feb, the food was from Kerala, India. Malabar Fish Moilee, Coconut rice and other local dishes featured.

Richy told me this tasting tour around India with the Curry Club, takes place every 2nd and 4th Thursday of every month, for the next 18 months or so! “We will travel up the coast, showcasing authentic dishes from each state each time. Including a cooking demonstration and food presented in theatre-style, a real sense of community can be felt. Come and join us for a night like no other!”

Bangalore (also known as Bengaluru) as you may know is the technology capital of India. It is the capital city of Karnataka, the largest state with a population of over 12 million. Last Thursday’s curry was presented on a Thali with a circle of small bowls.

The main feature was perhaps the Korri Gassi, the chicken curry. There was also a Pudhina Chutney (a mint chutney), a very tasty Sagu (a mixed vegetable curry), Alulugedda (spuds!) and a Bisi Beli Bath (a traditional Indian rice lentil dish). So quite a bit of curry but all moderate, used more for flavour than spice. The only “jarring” note came from the Lemon Pickle and then only if you tried it on its own. Mix it in with some of the others and it became part of a delicious harmony of flavours and textures. 

And we even had dessert on the Thali. It was called Kesari, a Millet pudding with cream, cardamom, cloves, pumpkin seeds, cashew nut, and raisins. It’s not very photogenic but is deliciously sweet and not at all cloying. Quite a way to finish off this leg of the curry club trail that is going down very well indeed with Richy's customers.

Next stop on the Curry Club trek comes on March 28th with the spotlight on Andhra Pradesh. No menu available yet but the state is known for Chicken Biryani, spicy Tamarind rice, Fish Curry, with the light and delicious Curd Rice as dessert. No doubt Chef Meeran will come up with another superb selection on the night. Well worth the twenty euro!

Meeran Gani Manzoor, Head Chef at Richy’s Restaurant in Clonakilty since last year, is a graduate in Culinary Arts Management from the University of West London. His broad international experience has been acquired while working around the globe, in countries such as Belgium, UK and USA.

* Thali simply means plate and indeed, there is a friendly Nepalese restaurant, on Pope’s Quay, called Thali.

Harmony On An Indian Plate. Exquisite Food At Richy’s Tasting

Harmony On An Indian Plate. 
Exquisite Food At Richy’s Tasting

Tandoori chicken #2 on menu

Meeran Gani Mazoor, head chef at Richy’s showed his native cuisine to perfection at the Clonakilty venue on Wednesday evening as part of A Taste of West Cork. Oh yes, there was spice but such was the harmony created in each dish by the chef that nothing jarred as we enjoyed six amazing courses.

1 - South Indian lentil soup (sambhar). That harmony was evident from the start with this lovely soup. Indeed, we had had already begun with a delicious Prosecco with rose and pomegranate.

2 - Tandoori chicken, Bombay aloo, tandoori broccoli. Tandoori chicken like never before and that crisp broccoli was outstanding also. Aloo by the way means potato!

3 - Mali Kofta, puffed quinoa. Looks like meatballs on the plate but this, like the soup, was vegetarian, a vert tasty cream sauce based ricotta dumpling, the cheese a standout flavour in the mix.

4 - Scallops, sesame seeds, cumin and cashew crumble, pickled red onion, pea tikki, peanut ginger sauce. The harmony that Meeran mentioned afterwards is easily illustrated here. Take a piece of that pickled onion on its own and it is quite powerful. Take it with the rest and it blends in in a delicious almost gentle amalgam of flavours and textures. That pea tikki (patty) was another feature.

5 Mughal seekh kebab with pistachio, saffron butternut squash purée, spiced vermicelli, pomegranate raita. This was probably the piece de resistance. The meat (a marinated mince roulade) was perfect, not what you’d get in your takeaways, and the raita was a perfect accompaniment.

6 Gajar halwa, almond and cashew nut cake, vanilla ice cream, praline. Okay guys, I didn't know that I was getting carrot cake (Gajar Halwa) but I was glad that I did. Indeed, this was something of a tour de force of a dessert as both the Carrot and the superb Nut Cake would have been fine on its own or with the ice-cream. But we scored on the double here!

The restaurant had quite a selection of drinks available, as it always does, but we decided to go with wine. We didn’t spot any Riesling or Grüner Veltliner and picked the Birchmore Chardonnay from South East Australia and it turned out to be quite a delicious wine and, just as importantly, more or less a perfect match!

Meeran Gani Manzoor, newly appointed Head Chef at Richy’s Restaurant in Clonakilty is a graduate in Culinary Arts Management from the University of West London. His broad international experience has been acquired while working around the globe, in countries such as Belgium, UK and USA.

Daphny Hilven: Before working in L’Aperi Vino, Goei Goesting and Buon Eatalia in Hasselt, Belgium as Chef de Cuisine, Daphny worked at Bistro Binnenhof, which has a Michelin bib and La Source, which has 2 Michelin stars. This is her menu for the Belgian Tasting Menu, tonight, Friday in Richys (7.00). Call (023) 882 1852.

Soup Parmentier

Clonakilty Black Pudding & Truffle croquet, mustard sauace

Fish & Strofrietjes, Tartare Sauce

Organic Chicken Breast, mushrooms, pine nut purée, crisoy skin, dauphin potato.

Irish Hereford Beef medalion, béarnaise sauce, mash potato, gratin chicory wih ham.

Moelleux aux chocolate with Irish Whiskey salted caamel sauce, vanilla ice cream.

Richy’s Restaurant. Sixteen Years In Clon - Getting Better All The Time.

Richy’s Restaurant. 

Sixteen Years In Clon - Getting Better All The Time.

Warm chicken salad

Richy’s Restaurant is celebrating sixteen years in Clonakilty and is better than ever. Richy is an outstanding chef and the whole enterprise, the original restaurant and the newer R Cafe, is amazing. Here you can eat well all day long, every day of the week, and virtually everything on the menu is based on local produce. 

Here too you can learn about food. Richy is passionate about local produce, about sustainability, a campaigner against obesity and his food and classes reflect these concerns. A four evening course on Healthy Eating (with chef Matt Williamson) starts on April 24th details here. 

Renowned West Cork smoker Sally Barnes
is one of Richy's suppliers

But back to our lunch, the purpose of our recent visit. We had a good look at the menu, one page of which is given over to a list of local producers, some of them just a few yards away from the Wolfe Tone premises but virtually all of them from the general West Cork area, including familiar names such as Toonsbridge, Shannonvale, Clonakilty Black Pudding, Sally Barnes Smokery, Gubbeen and Milleens.

Quite a choice on the menu, including lots of pizzas from their own oven. Salads too, fishcakes, lasagna, a beef burger and a vegetarian burger and more. And then check the board for the specials. Here we saw a Monkfish and Bean Stew, Union Hall salmon with mash and veg, Seafood chilli pasta with the option of adding scallops, and a Pork Burger with apple purée and chips. 

And one (I had this on a previous visit) that you must consider is the Mauritian Beef Curry! A range of dishes and a range of prices too and family friendly as well with a special kids menu.

Frittata

My pick was the Warm Salad of Grilled Chicken with Gubbeen bacon and avocado, cherry tomatoes and baby leaves (11.95). Full of textures and flavours and those leaves were so fresh and well-dressed, a delightful lunch for a coolish spring day but one that could be just as satisfying in summer and winter.

CL meanwhile was making pleasurable progress with her Cauliflower, garlic, potato and red onion frittata, also with local leaves (8.95 small, 11.50 large). “Faultless,” she reported. “Salad was lovely too, the cauliflower a delicious ingredient, and the few halved olives gave a tarty bite as well.” So there you are, two happy customers and we went on to share a pot of tea after that.

After settling the bill in this bright and airy room we asked to say hello to the man himself in the adjoining white-walled restaurant. As our chat progressed, he told us how things have changed in the evening menu here, with a page now devoted to tapas (small plates, ranging in  price from 4.95 to 15.00). 

Local supplier

You may still have plenty of meat (48 hour Jacob’s Ladder, Slaney Valley Rack of Lamb, Carrigfadda Farm Shoulder of Pork, and Dexter Burger). Seafood too features in the list of mains, including a Roast fillet of Monkfish, a West Cork Fish Bake, Seared Beara Scallops, and a mega seafood plate with Lobster, prawn, crab and scallops. Indeed, reading the menu details, you realise you are in a really top notch restaurant.

So back to the Tapas, divided into meat and fish ones and also an equally long Veggie section. How about Panko Soft Shell Crabs with spiced tomato relish? Anyone for Clonakilty Black Pudding samosas with vegetable achard. Maybe Fillet of Beef medallions with rosemary potatoes? On the Veggie List, you’ll want those Spiced Lentils with spinach and Macroom halloumi. Would you prefer the Tipperary goats cheese balls, with cranberry relish and leaves? Reckon you've got the picture by now. Better to call down though and check out the real thing for yourself.