Bearú restaurant in New Ross, Co Wexford, run by husband-and-wife team Dave Rowley and Siobhán Ward, opened its doors on July 18th this year. It is the kind of place that makes you wonder why more towns beyond the predictable confines of Dublin aren’t doing this.
It’s simple, clever and knows exactly what it’s about. Set in the heart of the town, opposite a pub and down the street from a small theatre, it feels like it has been there forever, woven into the fabric of the town rather than merely dropped in for the occasional tourist.
Rowley has 20 years of kitchen graft behind him, including head chef positions at Bleu Bistro, Dalis, and Juniors. In 2020 the couple ditched the capital, relocated to Ward’s home turf of The Rower, Co Kilkenny, and they’ve turned this little spot in New Ross into something special.
The room seats 30 in the day, down to 26 at night, so it feels intimate. It strikes the right note: fresh paint, wood panelling, sturdy wooden furniture and a service area for coffees and drinks. Perched on a high shelf are well-thumbed copies of John Wright’s The Forager’s Calendar, Angela Humphreys’s Game Cookery, Simon Rogan’s Cookbook, J P McMahon’s The Irish Cookbook and Michel Bras’s Laguiole, Aubrac, France.
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By day, the cafe turns out solid breakfast offerings, like a poached egg on roasted mushrooms with salsa verde, while the lunch menu is more about sandwiches, made with sourdough from Plúr Bakery in nearby Borris, where Séamus Jordan grows and mills his own wheat. But the thing to go for, according to my pal Grainne, who lives nearby in Graiguenamanagh, is dinner on Fridays and Saturdays.
The concise menu is intelligently constructed – three choices per course – which read like dishes that will be equally appealing to regulars and destination diners. The short wine list is considered, and we order a well-priced bottle of Les Vignes de L’Eglise Vermentino (€28).
My pal nabs the evening’s top honours with her order of the goat’s cheese fondue (€12). I’m always game for a bit of fondue nostalgia, but this is no tired 1970s throwback. It’s a clever update on that vegetarian stalwart, the seemingly immutable combination of goat’s cheese and roasted beetroot. Here, it comes with flair and finesse: a feather-light, aerated St Tola goat’s cheese fondue – no doubt whipped to within an inch of its life by the wizardry of an espuma gun – paired with beetroot that delivers a gratifying crunch. And there’s more than enough sourdough and brown bread to ensure no drop of this delicious fondue goes to waste.
My starter of butter-poached cod and scallop (€15) harks back to the classics with the sort of confidence that makes you wonder why so much of this style of cooking has been abandoned. The scallop mousseline, including the often-neglected roe, has been deftly worked into a baton of cod and crowned with a delicate tuille. Shiso and nasturtium leaves provide a herbaceous hit, and the lightly pickled cucumber offers a refreshing finish.
Underlying skill is evident in the main courses. Monkfish (€28) has been lightly brined before being roasted and served with a tomato beurre blanc. It feels luxe without trying too hard. The Barbary duck (€30) has been cooked pink, allowed to rest and served with an elderberry jus and fondant potatoes, while generous sides of potato and broccoli ensure no one leaves hungry, because if there’s one thing this place isn’t skimping on, it’s the portion sizes.
Then there’s dessert. Claire Griffin, the pastry chef, rolls in at 6am every morning to knock out all the baked goods and help with the desserts, and it shows. The chocolate torte with kirsch cherries (€10) is ethereally light, served deconstructed (which I normally hate) with an almond crumble on the side. It’s not just filler at the end of a meal, but a reason to go back. So too is the panna cotta (€9), commendably one of the wobbliest I’ve encountered in recent memory, served with chunks of honeycomb and blackberries.
Bearú doesn’t need to shout. It just does what it does really well. It’s exactly the kind of spot that a town like New Ross needs: a convivial bistro serving confident, well-priced food without a hint of pretension. A breath of fresh air that blows well beyond Dublin’s well-trodden paths. It’s the sort of place that makes you think: wouldn’t it be wonderful if more of Ireland’s towns had something this good to call their own?
Dinner for two with a bottle of wine was €139.
The Verdict: Confident, delicious food in a convivial bistro.
Food provenance: Duncannon Fish Company, Trawler’s Catch New Ross, McCarron Meats and La Rousse.
Vegetarian options: One option per course, eg mushroom tart with confit egg yolk and goat’s cheese mousse; and saffron and scamorza arancino with aubergine caponata.
Wheelchair access: Accessible room with no accessible toilet.
Music: Background pop.
