Killarney's Victoria Hotel. A comfortable and convenient location on the Ring of Kerry.

 Killarney's Victoria Hotel. A comfortable and convenient location on the Ring of Kerry

Victoria Hotel on a March morning

Killarney’s Victoria Hotel, on the Muckross Road, is a comfortable and well situated base for a short break in Kerry. It is on the Ring of Kerry and the National Park is just a short stroll away.

We were immediately struck by the warmth of the welcome at the reception, later in the dining room and also in the breakfast room. The fact that this 33-bed hotel, owned by the Courtneys, has separate dining rooms indicate their focus on space and comfort.

Cashel Blue included in breakfast platter of cheese and charcuterie

Breakfast is excellent here and you won’t have to leave your seat. No buffet. Everything, including juices and breads and cereals is brought to your table. You just indicate your preferences sit back and enjoy. Quite a menu as well. We can recommend the pancakes, the Full irish (or variants thereof), and the Charcuterie and Irish cheese plate.

The Ivy Restaurant at Killarney’s Victoria Hotel is a splendid place to dine. Again, here’s a high degree of comfort and space, a friendly and courteous team, and the food (not to mention the drink) doesn’t disappoint either. We had dinner there and can give it a big thumbs up! More details here. 

On another night, we had dinner at the relatively new Harrow Restaurant on the town’s High Street, another splendid and comfortable establishment with a very high standard of service and cooking. Read all about it here.

Slea Head

We spent a brilliant day on the road with the main focus on Dingle and the surrounding coast, including the spectacular Slea Head. It was mid-March and the weather was mixed but our hours on the coast and in the town were enhanced by the sunshine even the winds blew hard.

Torc Waterfall, mins from hotel

A few months back, we came across a magnificent sea salt made by a small enterprise called West of Dingle. It is usually stocked by the well-known Little Cheese Shop in Green Street but they had run out. We were directed to the Health Food Shop on Main Street and here we were able to stock up.

Local brew in hotel

We were looking for a mini-snack ourselves (enough after that big breakfast in the Victoria) and called into Seed & Soul and my highlight here was their Gingerbread Latte. Not a great Latte man normally but I certainly enjoyed this one.

Great to see well-known places such as Dick Mac’s (lively lunchtime buzz there) as we strolled around. It may have been cool but that didn’t stop the punters piling into Murphy’s Ice Cream. Passing Ireland’s smallest shop, McCarthy’s Crepes, and a sign outside Bob Griffin’s Bar telling us that Soup of the Day was Guinness, raised a smile.

Since I was in Kerry I was keen to get my hands on some local craft beer, especially those that wouldn’t be readily available in Cork. And I found quite a treasure trove of craft a few minutes from the hotel. The Carry Out at the town end of the road down to Ross Castle had a huge selection including some from my own local the Cotton Ball. They also bottles from four Kerry brewers: Tom Crean, Torc, West Kerry and Killarney Brewery. Filled a big box there!

Just across the road from the off licence, a couple from Argentina run Tango, a café and bakery, with an interesting South American and European menu. Didn't have time to call on this trip but noted it. Another to check, nearby, out is Luna, a wine bar stocking some excellent natural wines.

The hotel and Harrow both serve local beers but if you want a large selection on draught then the best place to visit would the Celtic Whiskey Bar and Larder in the town centre. They do some very tasty food there as well.

I didn’t get to visit the new facility of the Killarney Brewing and Distillery Company out in Fossa on this visit but that was remedied on w/ending March 31st - I'll have a post up soon. Cheers!

On this trip:

Dinner at The Ivy in Killarney

Dining at The Harrow Killarney

Coming Soon

Sneem Hotel DBB

Brehon Lunch

Lunch at Killarney Distillery and Brewery in Fossa.

The splendid Ivy Restaurant at Killarney's Victoria Hotel

 The Ivy Restaurant at 

Killarney's Victoria Hotel

Goat cheese starter

The Ivy Restaurant at Killarney’s Victoria Hotel is a splendid place to dine. There’s a high degree of comfort and space, a friendly and courteous team, and the food (not to mention the drink) doesn’t disappoint either. We had dinner there recently and can give it a big thumbs up!

The Ivy by the way is the main restaurant of the lovely hotel on the Muckross Road but has its own entrance and exit to the car park. There was a very warm welcome and soon we were studying the menu while sipping one of the impressive ales from the Killarney Brewing Company as the fire glowed nearby. They have two fires in this ultra comfortable and rather elegant room.

Cod

They have quite a list of starters and “small bites”. I rarely turn down a dish when St Tola is listed and so I gave the nod to the Baked Goat Cheese Crostini (Warm St-Tola Goats Cheese, Toasted Garlic Croutes, Black Cherry Compote, Almonds, Balsamic Reduction) at 13 euro.

A terrific mix of flavoursome textures and colours and I was up and running. CL probably got one of the most colourful dishes in the place with the Melange of Melon, Strawberry & Orange Duo of Raspberry & Champagne Sorbet, Yogurt, Honey & Mint Dressing (€12). Something different, something delicious.

Colourful Starter

She followed up with the Pan-seared Kerry Coast Cod, Leek Fondue, Maple Glazed Beetroot, Chorizo Crumble Limoncello & Saffron Crēme (€25). Hard to beat that oozing freshness and flavour.

And no let down with my mains either, straight from the grill. It was the The Ivy Steak Sandwich, 6oz Sirloin Steak, Garlic Ciabatta, Dijon Mayo, Rocket Leaves, Crispy Dried Onions, Pepper Sauce & Fries (€ 20). A superb piece of meat enhanced by very appropriate accompaniments, all well cooked and so a well satisfied customer.

Steak sandwich

Could we manage dessert after all that? Well we’d share one, becoming the usual at this stage! They also have a list of desserts wines and drinks. With a full bar, you won’t go short and they offer wines from all over, cocktails galore, and the best of whiskeys and other spirits along with beers and non alcoholic options. The hotel itself is also spacious, comfortable an excellent as we found out over a two night stay. Hope to get a blog post on that up soon.

Rhubarb & Strawberry Crumble

Check out the full menus here.