Leitrim to Wicklow: Tom Doorley's favourite spots, from top-flight restaurants to cut-above-the-rest coffee shops.
CO LEITRIM
THE OARSMAN BAR & CAFÉ
Bridge Street, Carrick-on-Shannon, 071-9621733, www.theoarsman.com
Open for lunch from Monday to Saturday; open for dinner from Thursday to Saturday
The Oarsman is an oasis of great food and hospitality. It has also been one of the most interesting and exciting finds on this survey of the country's restaurants. Essentially this is a pleasant, characterful gastropub with a very sophisticated restaurant upstairs. Sligo-produced Noodle House fresh noodles are often served for lunch; they have lots of oriental flavours and a chilli kick. Desserts are legendary at this stage. Soups are always a little different and tremendously wholesome but moreish at the same time. You can sense that the Oarsman values food the minute you walk through the door - and you can taste it in everything put in front of you. A legend in the making. Lucky old Leitrim.
Good points: A real sense of caring about food
Bad points: Having to choose between the bar and restaurant
How much? Main courses €19-€26
What tastes best? Loin of venison
CO LIMERICK
GREEN ONION CAFE
Old Town Hall, Rutland Street, Limerick, 061-400710
Open for lunch and dinner from Tuesday to Saturday
Green Onion has been going for so long it's clear that it knows what people want. What I like about this centre-city cafe is not just the quality of the open sandwiches (as good as they get) but also the informal atmosphere, the seating on two levels (the upper bit being quite high up) and the exceptionally pleasant staff. The food is good pit-stop stuff, but the wine list, while short and to the point, is not just the usual suspects. You can eat well without spending a lot and without feeling that you need to dress up.
Good points: Smack in the centre of town
Bad points:
How much?
What tastes best? Sandwiches are the best option
CO LIMERICK
THE MUSTARD SEED AT ECHO LODGE
Ballingarry, 069-68508, www.mustardseed.ie
Open for dinner daily
Dan Mullane moved his restaurant from Adare to this delightful small country house a few years ago, and much of the fresh produce now comes from its organic kitchen garden. Much of the rest comes from small, artisan producers and organic farmers in the area. Add a talented chef in Tony Schwartz and you have a recipe for serious pleasure. Mullane's unerring instinct makes him a host in a million - and makes the Mustard Seed a restaurant worth staying at, if you'd like to sleep in one of the rooms
Good points: Stylish country-house atmosphere
Bad points: If you want a room, you'll need to plan ahead
How much Set dinner menu €40
What tastes best? Beef carpaccio
CO LOUTH
CUBE
5 Roden Place, Dundalk, 042-9329898
Open daily for lunch and dinner
There is no reason why a town such as Dundalk should not have a brilliant, modern, well-priced restaurant, but for some reason Cube still comes as a very pleasant surprise. The interior is much more Dublin 4 than those of most restaurants in Dublin 4, and the deceptively simple cooking requires serious skill in the kitchen. I deliberately ordered a starter of mushrooms, smoked bacon, cream and mozzarella on the cynical basis that it was unlikely to work - only to find a dish that was pure alchemy. The fish and chips with pea puree and the ham terrine were also outstanding, underlining the fact that simple food is unbeatable when it's done really well. A big but passionately put together wine list (with Dublin prices, it must be said) is the icing on the cake.
Good points: Great food, great value (especially for lunch)
Bad points: A little dark at lunchtime
How much? Main courses €25-€50
What tastes best? Ham hock terrine
CO LOUTH
NUMBER 32
32 Chapel Street, Dundalk, 042-9331113, www.no32.ie
Open for dinner from Monday to Saturday
Susan Heraghty's food is outstanding value for money (especially between 5.30pm and 7pm), making Number 32 a winner with locals and an eye-opener for Dubliners who might care to spend an hour on the motorway to see what all the fuss is about. "Does Dundalk deserve somewhere as good as this?" asks one Co Louth reader. The early Express menu is "incredible value", writes another. And Heraghty herself has not been shy about writing to point out how good her grub is. Number 32 is a landmark restaurant.
Good points: Express menu is amazing value
Bad points: Evenings only
How much? Main courses €21.95-€25.95
What tastes best? Lamb shank
CO LONGFORD
AUBERGINE CAFE
17 Ballymahon Street, Longford, 043-48633
Open for lunch from Tuesday to Sunday; open for dinner from Wednesday to Sunday
Aubergine is above a clothes shop that rejoices in the almost unbelievable name of Way Out Fashions, so you might gather that this outpost of decent food is not in a habitat that is quite up to the minute. This may explain the decor, including cream banquettes, which suggests that Big Tom and the Mainliners might pop in before a gig. Guinness and Budweiser on draught also imply that customers wouldn't like to be taken for, you know, foodies. The food is sound enough, however, and the lunchtime steak sandwich is a proper meal. The menu is eclectic and quite accomplished, and the wines are from Wines Direct, in Mullingar (usually a good sign). Great steaks, friendly service and generally very good value - despite a woeful lack of local competition.
Good points: The only place to eat in town
Bad points: The decor is to someone's taste; perhaps not yours
How much? Main courses €10.95-€19.95
What tastes best? Steak ciabatta
CO MAYO
CROCKETS ON THE QUAY
Ballina, 096-75940, www.crocketsonthequay.ie
Open daily for dinner and for lunch on Sunday
This combination of large pub and restaurant has been garnering quite a reputation in recent years, with dishes such as pressed oxtail marking it out as somewhere not content to stick to the usual suspects. The arrival in recent months of Seamus Commons, former head chef at L'Ecrivain, in Dublin, looks set to establish Crockets as somewhere very special in the west of Ireland. Although not presenting itself as a "restaurant with rooms", Crockets has a small bed-and-breakfast facility. It would certainly seem that this is the place to watch in Co Mayo.
Good points: L'Ecrivain influences
Bad points: Loud tourists
How much? Main courses €11.50-€20.50
What tastes best? Local salmon
CO MEATH
CALDWELL'S
Summerhill Road, Dunboyne, 01-8013866
Open for dinner from Tuesday to Sunday; open for lunch on Sunday
Caldwell's is an ambitious restaurant with a pretty sophisticated look that appears slightly at odds with the surroundings. It could be something you would find in the leafy purlieus of south Dublin. I enjoyed a quick bite, although several readers have been less enthusiastic, claiming that the kitchen needs to get a bit sharper. The eponymous Mr Caldwell, a cousin of Sallyanne Clarke's, spent time at L'Ecrivain, so there is considerable hope. One of the problems with running a restaurant in a place such as Dunboyne is that the younger, more adventurous eaters are all up to their necks in mortgage repayments while those who can afford to eat out are often meat-and-three-veg fans.
Good points: Very cool space
Bad points: Food needs a fillip
How much? Main courses €17-€27.50
What tastes best? Roast quail with polenta
CO MEATH
THE LOFT
26 Trimgate Street, Navan, 046-9071755
Open daily for dinner
The Loft isn't a serious restaurant in the sense of being about chef-driven food, but it understands the needs of its very loyal and largely young customers. The food is punchy and eclectic (consistent with the buzzy atmosphere and magenta interior), the service is charming, the atmosphere is great and the wine list has been vastly improved since a tapas bar opened on the ground floor. We're talking Irish tapas here - tasty bites with a faint Spanish accent - in an environment that is much more Dublin 4 than the exuberantly eccentric dining room.
Good points: Full of people having fun
Bad points: Not a place for a quiet, reflective meal
How much? Main courses €13.95-€27.95
What tastes best? Thai prawns with coriander
CO MEATH
VANILLA POD
Headfort Arms Hotel, Kells, 046-9240063, www.headfortarms.ie
Open daily for dinner
The Vanilla Pod is a pleasant restaurant with an attractively uncluttered dining room and exceptionally helpful staff. It also hosts a monthly wine tasting which is usually a good sign, although I have to say that the wine list doesn't exactly set the pulse racing. This is beef country, and the steaks are good. There is an attempt to use local produce and there's an early bird menu. My chicken with Asian noodles was not a success, it has to be said, but this is the kind of place where if you keep it simple, you will probably eat fairly well. Kells is fortunate to have a restaurant that is at least making an effort.
Good points: There's not much else around here
Bad points: A bit over adventurous
How much? Main courses €13.95-€22.95
What tastes best? Steak
CO MONAGHAN
THE RESTAURANT AT NUREMORE
Nuremore Hotel, Carrickmacross, 042-9661438, www.nuremore.com
Open daily for dinner; open for lunch from Sunday to Friday
Raymond McArdle, who heads the kitchen here, is one of the country's most accomplished chefs. His food, although quite classical and formal, is refreshingly straightforward and lacking in vanity. What a shame, then, that it should be served in a hideous diningroom with a claustrophobically low ceiling. If I ran the Nuremore I would be building a diningroom worthy of this chef's food. Mind you, the customers are the grey-suited Mercedes-driving classes who are probably used to golf-club decor. Although some effort has been made with the wine list, it's still not up to the level of the food. But that's quite a tall order.
Good points: Cooking of the highest order
Bad points: Horrendous diningroom
How much? Set dinner menu €48
What tastes best? Roast pork fillet with braised ham hock, belly confit and choucroute
CO MONAGHAN
CASTLE LESLIE
Glaslough, 047-88109, www.castleleslie.com
Open daily for dinner
I remember Castle Leslie when it was falling down, with no hope in sight for this lakeside Victorian pile. How times change. Samantha Leslie has turned her ancestral home into one of the most fashionable country-house hotels in these islands. And it's not just wind and weatherproof, which was the initial challenge: it's exceptionally comfortable, too. The glorious diningroom is the theatre in which Noel McMeel presents his ambitious food. It's way beyond the usual country-house stuff, pleasant as that can be. The food at Castle Leslie is inventive without being silly, and the setting is perfect.
Good points: Good food in a glorious diningroom
Bad points: So close to the Border that your mobile might incur roaming charges
How much? Set dinner menus €52 and €57
What tastes best? Shank of lamb with champ
CO OFFALY
EMMA'S CAFE DELI
31 Main Street, Birr, 0509-25678
Open daily
Emma Ward, a former nurse and medical rep, started her exceptional cafe only last year, partly because she was finding life on the road incompatible with parenthood and partly because of her passion for good food. It means that she has more time with her young family and Birr now has a food outlet to shout about. Outstanding sandwiches, panini and organic soups have been the hallmarks so far, but soon this gem of a cafe will be maturing into a full-blown wine bar (with most of the wines coming from James Nicholson's list). The beautifully simple interior is a delight; its shelves groan with first-class pasta, rice, olives, coffee and more. Above all, there's a sense of determination to do things properly. I wish it was in my locality.
Good points: The food, the service, the colour of the woodwork
Bad points: Having to leave
How much? Main courses €1-€5.50
What tastes best? The club panino
CO OFFALY
THE RIVERBANK
Riverstown, Birr, 0509-21528
Open daily for lunch and dinner
It's hard to miss the Riverbank. It's the rather luridly red building on the bridge before you enter Co Tipperary. The assertive shades are continued in the diningroom, which is decorated in Barbara Cartland pink. Add to that the chintzy curtains and high-kitsch wine glasses and you could be forgiven for thinking that this exceptionally busy restaurant is just another exercise in, well, a certain kind of taste. This would be a serious mistake. Prices are keen, the service is unfailingly helpful and kind, and the cooking is robust but thoughtful. The wine list is a bit flaky, but this is a restaurant with a huge local following. They are right, of course. It's what's on the plate that matters, and the Riverbank delivers.
Good points: Good old-fashioned cooking
Bad points: The place is a celebration of kitsch
How much? Main courses €17-€20
What tastes best? Steak with mushrooms and pepper sauce
CO ROSCOMMON
KEENANS BAR & RESTAURANT
Tarmonbarry, 043-26098, www.keenans.ie
Open for dinner from Monday to Saturday; open for lunch daily
I have to thank Georgina Campbell's encyclopaedic Ireland Guide (www.ireland-guide.com) for help in finding what may be the only really good place to eat in Co Roscommon. I had tried the bush telegraph, but answer came there none, even from natives of that fine county. I descended on Keenans for lunch at the height of the First Communion season and found it full of saintly seven-year-olds and their beaming families. Keenans is very child-friendly and the food is good, solid stuff. My steak sandwich with chips and all sorts of trimmings was excellent, and the pint is pretty good, too. This friendly pub is on the bridge in Tarmonbarry, just round the corner from the marina. But it is most certainly in Roscommon, if only just.
Good points: It's an oasis
Bad points: It's either here or a long drive
How much? €8.95-€23.95
What tastes best? Steak sandwich
CO SLIGO
MONTMARTRE
Market Yard, Sligo, 071-9169901
Open for dinner from Tuesday to Sunday
Now almost six years old, this very French restaurant is a source of constant pleasure to Sligo readers, judging by the e-mails I've received. It must be distractingly good, because nobody so far has managed to spell it correctly. Either that or the wine list. Expect excellent seafood, including proper fish soup with rouille, and the lobster is spoken of in several counties.
Good points: Great value for lobster
Bad points: Dinner only
How much? Main courses €15.95-€23.89
What tastes best? Lobster
CO TIPPERARY
CHEZ HANS AND CAFE HANS
Moore Lane, Cashel, 062-61177/63660
Cafe open for lunch from Tuesday to Saturday Restaurant open for dinner from Tuesday to Saturday
Opened in a disused church in the shadow of the Rock of Cashel in 1968, Chez Hans is one of the oldest restaurants in Ireland. Now run by Jason Matz, the founder's son, it retains some old favourites, such as the rich, buttery cassoulet of seafood, while being quite contemporary in other areas. An early-bird menu is said by many readers to offer the best value anywhere in the country. Next door, Cafe Hans is a bright, busy little restaurant with perhaps too many US tourists trying to find out how little they can get away with spending. It does terrific salads and open sandwiches, and the potato gnocchi with various rich sauces are invariably great. Good puds and coffee, too. Cafe Hans is a gem.
Good points: Ecclesiastical splendour
Bad points: Proximity to the Rock of Cashel
How much? Main courses €25-€31
What tastes best? Pannacotta and berry compote
CO TIPPERARY
COUNTRY CHOICE
25 Kenyon Street, Nenagh, 067-32596 www.countrychoice.ie
Open daily for lunch
Peter and Mary Ward's deli-cum-cafe is a bit like
Dr Who's Tardis, in that it looks small on the outside but contains a cornucopia of good things to eat and drink. The Wards' capacity for making jam and chutney is positively bionic - and the products' quality is second to none. It is impossible to leave this extraordinary place without many impulse purchases, such as country butter, home-made marmalade, Champagne, tinned duck confit, fresh herbs and slices of the finest cheeses. There is a tiny eating area at the back, various daily specials - which might include a goats'-cheese tart or a stew of wild mushrooms - a wine of the day by the glass and crackingly good coffee. This is Ireland's true shrine to the better things in life. Go and pay homage.
Good points: Peter, Mary, the food, the wine . .
Bad points: Very hard to leave without buying up the shop
How much? Main courses €3.95-€9
What tastes best? Field mushrooms
CO TIPPERARY
LILY MAI'S
Thomastown, Golden, 062-72847
Open for dinner from Wednesday to Saturday
I'm sticking my neck out with this one, as I have yet to eat here, but I've been very impressed by the response of several readers who appear to know their onions. What takes my fancy about Lily Mai's, however, is the fact that it puts a standard mark-up on wine, so encouraging you to trade up. It is said to have Château Lynch Bages 1994 (drinking well) at €94, for example. If you know of anywhere else in the country where this wine gives you change from €100 I'd be very keen to hear about it. Rossignol-Trapet's Gevrey-Chambertin is €48, Delas Frères Crozes-Hermitage les Launes is €28 and Conde de Valdemar Rioja Reserva is €23. One to watch.
Good points: Fixed mark-up on wines
Bad points: Wine list could be more exciting
How much? Set menu €48
What tastes best?
CO WATERFORD
COAST
Upper Branch Road, Tramore, 051-393646, www.coast.ie
Open for dinner from Tuesday to Saturday; open for lunch on Sunday
Coast occupies one of those fine old Victorian houses on the seafront that probably once accommodated holidaymakers. Its bright, spacious rooms with tall windows makes it peculiarly suited for restaurant use, and there are now rooms where you can stay. Food is modern and eclectic but not silly or pretentious; indeed, there's a sense of careful discipline in the kitchen. Coast rarely puts a foot wrong, and the commendably short wine list is full of pleasant surprises at reasonable prices. There's a very chic cocktail bar, too, and very pleasant service.
Good points: Great diningroom
Bad points: Coast is Tramore's finest feature
How much? Main courses €18.50-€25
What tastes best? Steak and chips with Bearnaise
CO WATERFORD
TANNERY RESTAURANT & TOWNHOUSE
10 Quay Street, Dungarvan, Co Waterford, 058-45420, www.tannery.ie
Open for lunch and dinner from Tuesday to Sunday
Whenever I eat at Tannery (which is fairly frequently, as it's my local restaurant), I always swear that next time I'll just have a couple of starters. This is not just because west Co Waterford appetites tend to be large. Portions at Paul Flynn's restaurant reflect the man's generosity and pleasure in the good things of the table. How he manages to combine supreme cooking skill, originally honed in Nico Ladenis's London kitchen, with a delight in earthy flavours is one of those pleasurable mysteries. Recently evolved into a restaurant with rooms, Paul and Maire Flynn's establishment could hold its own anywhere in the world. That it's in Dungarvan makes it more special.
Good points: Some of the best cooking in Ireland
Bad points: Wine list does not live up to food
How much? Main courses €18.50-€28
What tastes best? Crab creme brulee
CO WESTMEATH
GALLERY 29 CAFE
29 Oliver Plunkett Street, Mullingar, 044-49449
Open daytime from Tuesday to Saturday
Steak sandwich on ciabatta with home-made potato wedges is one combination that readers in the Mullingar area cite as a major attraction in this busy cafe. But don't overlook the salads and customised sandwiches.
Good points: Mullingar's meeting place
Bad points: Can get noisy
How much? Main courses €4.30-€10.90
What tastes best? Sandwiches
CO WESTMEATH
ILIA COFFEE EXPERIENCE
28 Oliver Plunkett Street, Mullingar, 044-40300
Open daytime, daily
This is not so much a coffee shop as a Mullingar experience. Good Java Republic coffee is joined by lots of chunky grub, including the top-selling Bagel Combo, which comes with bacon, cheese and chutney.
Good points: Comfortable and relaxing
Bad points: Too easy to linger
How much Main courses €5.50-€12.90
What tastes best? Sandwiches
CO WESTMEATH
KIN KAO THAI
Abbey Lane, Athlone, 090-6498805
Open daily for lunch and dinner
Is this one of the very few Thai restaurants in the country with a claim to authenticity? Located in a brightly painted little building on Athlone's west bank - or the Roscommon side - Kin Kao is run by Adam and Jayna Lyons, he Irish, she Thai. When so many Thai restaurants are either dull ambassadors for that nation's cuisine or franchises, it's a pleasure to stumble on the real thing. I ate little rice-paper spring rolls to start, impeccably fresh and zesty, followed by pad gra-paw, a Thai stir-fry of prawns with garlic, lots of chilli and basil leaves, followed by silky, aromatic coconut custard and sticky rice. Add a powerful double espresso and a charming Thai waitress and you have a delicious dinner.
Good points: Probably the best Thai food in Ireland
Bad points: The decor doesn't quite measure up to the food
How much? Main courses €16.95-€23.50
What tastes best? Sticky rice pudding
CO WESTMEATH
THE LEFT BANK BISTRO
Fry Place, Athlone, 090-6494446
Open for lunch and dinner from Tuesday to Saturday
This pretty cool restaurant seems to do fish particularly well - simply, freshly and at a decent price. Some readers comment that it could be a bit more adventurous; others say that it is one of the few places in Athlone to do the kind of food that food enthusiasts really like.
Good points: Lovely space, good food
Bad points: Not on Mondays
How much? Main courses €19-€27
What tastes best? Hake with green-olive tapenade
CO WESTMEATH
WINEPORT LODGE
Glasson, 090-6439010, www.wineport.ie
Open for dinner daily
I have never had a bad meal at Wineport, whose location and diningroom view are beyond reproach. There is a good "value" selection of wines, at €25, but the wine list proper is a little underwhelming for a restaurant with "wine" in its name. There is a now a highly-spoken-of hotel attached to the restaurant. Owners Ray Byrne and Jane English (above) are consummate professionals.
Good points: The view
Bad points: South Dublin boat owners
How much? Main courses €18.50-€30
What tastes best? Duck confit
CO WEXFORD
DUNBRODY HOUSE
Arthurstown, 051-389600, www.dunbrodyhouse.com
Open daily for lunch and dinner
Kevin Dundon and Phelim Byrne are responsible for a menu that leans heavily on local produce, especially seafood. The cooking style is sophisticated without getting in the way of excellent raw materials - carefully judged, adventurous, meticulous but unpretentious. Everything about Dunbrody House and its cookery school breathes an easy confidence, as distinct from arrogance.
Good points: The seafood
Bad points: No wet dogs or wellies
How much? Set dinner menu €45-€55
What tastes best? Seafood
CO WEXFORD
FORDE'S
Crescent Quay, Wexford, 053-23832
Open for dinner daily and for lunch on Sunday
I first encountered Liam Forde's adventurous but disciplined cooking when he was in the kitchen at The Sky and the Ground, on South Main Street. In time he moved on here, to his own restaurant, which has a very loyal following. A relaxed atmosphere, candles, a view of the harbour and dishes such as moules marinieres make Forde's exactly the kind of place you want to go if you want to relax over good food and maybe even put your elbows on the table.
Good points: Not Hyacinth Bucket's kind of candlelight
Bad points: No lunch
How much? Main courses €19.50-€29.95
What tastes best? Chocolate mousse
CO WEXFORD
GALO GRILL
19 Main Street, Enniscorthy, 054-38077
Open for lunch and dinner from Tuesday to Sunday
At last: somewhere to eat in Enniscorthy. This cheerful and keenly-priced Portuguese restaurant does not stand on ceremony, but it does have a very effective chargrill that dishes out exquisite fresh sardines and smashing steaks. Friendly service, very child-friendly, real food and not too dear. It's easy to see why it's a hit with everyone within hailing distance of Enniscorthy. The team that runs the Galo Grill is so industrious that I suspect satellite restaurants will eventually appear, perhaps as far afield as Gorey and Bunclody. I certainly hope so.
Good points: Friendly service and child-friendly
Bad points: The wine glasses
How much? Main courses €8-€17
What tastes best? Grilled sardines
CO WEXFORD
LA DOLCE VITA
Trimmers Lane, Selskar, 053-70806
Open for lunch from Monday to Saturday
Wexford has, for a town of its size, more decent restaurants than anywhere else in the country. That La Dolce Vita is the best in town, and possibly the best Italian restaurant in the country, should be a source of burning local pride. Chef-proprietor Roberto Pons doesn't hide his light under a bushel and, one imagines, would be surprised if he didn't get such plaudits. A daily risotto is invariably the best in the country, salsiccie with lentils is just as you would get it in Genoa, and even the pasta is done just a shade more than al dente, reflecting Pons's homeland of Liguria. All the wines are directly imported and sold on at a modest margin, which means it's the best-value Italian list in the country. La Dolce Vita opens for dinner during the opera festival, but unless your parents put your name down at birth don't be too sure of getting a table.
Good points: Possibly Ireland's most authentic Italian food
Bad points: Not open for dinner
How much? Main courses €6.50-€9.95
What tastes best? Salsiccie and lentils
CO WICKLOW
MARC MICHEL ORGANIC CAFE
Kilpedder, 01-2011882
Open for lunch from Tuesday to Saturday
Be warned: this place is not cheap (nor is Avoca, for that matter), but it's a terrific place to eat, whether for coffee and home-made croissants in the morning or for lunch. There are usually terrific salads and vegetables from the organic farm just outside the door, and the organic hamburger with hand-cut organic chips is the stuff of local legend. Located in a huge greenhouse with a sliding roof and ancient olive tree, this is a smashing place to eat. One of Wicklow's few culinary gems. Be careful on the narrow drive, though, and beep your horn when the signs tell you to. Otherwise you could really spoil your lunch.
Good points Wholesome but delicious
Bad points: Rather earnest customers
How much? Main courses €9.95-€19.95
What tastes best? Steak and chips
CO WICKLOW
THE HUNGRY MONK
Church Road, Greystones, 01-2875759
Open for dinner from Wednesday to Saturday and for lunch on Sunday
Pat Keown's first vocation, as a Trappist monk, was doomed to failure, as all his friends had told him it would be. But, happily, he went on to make a career in wine and, latterly, as a restaurateur in Greystones, where he opened the Hungry Monk in 1992. The upstairs restaurant shows its age in terms of decor - lots of chintz - but it also has a pleasingly old-fashioned menu, with well-executed classics, and a legendary wine list. Downstairs is a more modern, informal bistro, whose keen prices, good service and interesting wines, not to mention Keown's quiet, self-effacing presence, make it the toast of the area.
Good points: Good old-fashioned grub
Bad points: Trying to get a word out of the owner
How much? Main courses €18-€27 (restaurant;) €7-€19 (bistro)
What tastes best? Sole on the bone
CO WICKLOW
GRANGECON CAFE
The Old Schoolhouse, Tullow Road, Blessington, 045-857892
Open from Tuesday to Saturday; closed in January
It may seem odd that the Grangecon Cafe is in Blessington rather than Grangecon, but the name is a tribute to an earlier incarnation. Grangecon Cafe is a Wicklow legend among those who want good food in unpretentious surroundings without its breaking the bank. The food is simple but often quirky - that old reliable of quiche and salad is first rate. Great desserts, cakes and coffee, too. They don't serve wine, but you are welcome to bring your own. More than worth a detour. "We are very lucky to have this on our doorstep," writes one reader. Dead right.
Good points: Cheap route to good food
Bad points: Name is a bit misleading
How much? Main courses €7.50-€9.95
What tastes best? Spinach and ricotta pancake
CO WICKLOW
THE STONECUTTER
Main Street, Aughrim, 0402-36985
Open daily for lunch and dinner in summer
It shows that Brian Murray, the chef behind this tiny gem deep in the Wicklow countryside, spent time at Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud. Not so much in the robust cooking of savoury dishes (such as bean soup with chorizo, Gorgonzola and potato pizza or even citrus lamb shank with root vegetables) as in the baking, which deserves to be called patisserie. Not much in the way of wine on my last visit, but the cooking is superb, the diningroom is delightful and the service is warm and friendly. This is a great find, but be sure to book: there are only a few tables, and it's a long way to go.
Good points: Startlingly good food in a caff
Bad points: It's tiny
How much? Main courses €14.50-€23
What tastes best? Lamb shank