If you're on the move around Ireland this summer, treat yourself to a meal at one of Tom Doorley's favourite 20 restaurants outside Dublin
LET'S START WITH a definition. What follows is a list of 20 restaurants, all outside Dublin, about which I'm excited. Some are old favourites, others are just good places to eat in areas where such places are a bit thin on the ground. It's not a list of "best" restaurants, just a personal selection, in no particular order, that I think will be of interest to the discriminating traveller. As always, feedback is greatly appreciated, as it's impossible for one critic to keep his finger on the pulse of every establishment.
1 Ard Bia Spanish Arch, Long Walk, Galway, 091-539897, www.ardbia.com. Why is Galway not the restaurant capital of Ireland? It has thousands of tourists, lots of students and academics, and plenty of well-heeled inhabitants but very few good places to eat if you exclude a pretty lively cafe culture. There's also great local seafood and some excellent relatively local growers. Ard Bia is a beacon, and it's clearly doing the right thing, as it has been reproducing, with a new restaurant in what was Nimmo's. I tend to think of Ard Bia as like the Winding Stair, in Dublin, but with a twist (which may be unfair to both). Real food and wines that you won't find at the off-licence. (If you're in the area, consider also the Malt House - www.themalthouse.ie, 091-567866 - which I much enjoyed last week).
2 Ballymaloe House Shanagarry, Co Cork, 021-4652531, www.ballymaloe.com. It's strange to think that the Ballymaloe phenomenon - for that is what it is - started way back in 1964, when Myrtle Allen, the doyenne of Irish food, placed an ad in the then Cork Examiner offering dinner in a lovely old country house near Cloyne. It's a luxurious place to stay, but there is a Quakerish simplicity and honesty to Ballymaloe that is unique in Ireland. The restaurant, like Homer, nods very occasionally, but generally you finish a meal with a remarkable sense of well-being, and the wine list, which was once a little patchy, is now quite exciting. This is local food prepared with a minimum of fuss but with a sense of delight and pampering that is unique. A place to which I return again and again.
3 Cafe Hans Moore Lane, Cashel, Co Tipperary, 062-63660. I have never eaten at Chez Hans, the formal evening restaurant that is a sibling to the cafe, but by all accounts the same philosophy is employed there. Cafe Hans is a busy little restaurant where busloads of tourists gain a rather misleading view of Irish food - in that it's bloody good and served with commendable enthusiasm. The sandwiches and salads are much more than those words would usually imply; they are crafted, carefully thought through, generous and impeccably presented. The gnocchi are always bathed in something wickedly delicious, such as Gorgonzola and cream. This is much more than a cafe, but I applaud the team for using such a modest term for a place that is truly worth a detour on the road to and from Cork. No bookings or credit cards.
4 Cafe Merlot 6 Church Street, Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, 048-66320918. Blake's of the Hollow is one of Ulster's great pubs, completely unspoilt and lovingly maintained, and a pint of creamy Guinness in the splendidly Victorian bar makes a perfect aperitif. There's a rather grand restaurant upstairs, but in the basement is one of the province's little gems. At Cafe Merlot the food is modern, eclectic in terms of influences and, most importantly, executed with real confidence. The wine list is a stunner, fairly priced and containing some great rarities. This is a restaurant worth travelling for.
5 Cafe Paradiso 16 Lancaster Quay, Cork, 021-4277939, www.cafeparadiso.ie. I once wrote that you could make a strong case for cloning Denis Cotter, as the country needs more people like him. It's misleading to call this a vegetarian restaurant, although you won't find a scrap of meat or fish here. It's a restaurant that does wonderful, thoughtful, creative food, ranging from the simple to the highly complex, and it happens to be free of anything animal. The proof of the pudding, as it were, is when you look around the dining room. Yes, there are homespun organic types and bearded ecologists, but most of the punters look as if they could enjoy a good steak and have never been tempted by a nut cutlet. It's just that they have been seduced by Cotter's inimitable cooking. One quibble, however: no French wines, which seems odd at this stage.
6 The Chart House The Mall, Dingle, Co Kerry, 066-9152255. Dingle is a funny little town. In high summer it can smell refreshingly of the sea and, less attractively, of hot cooking oil that is past its best. There are lots of terrible places to eat, just like everywhere else, but the Chart House is a great exception. This restaurant does not yield to the minimalist-chic tendency, and the design has elements of the old Irish cottage. It is warm and welcoming and unpretentious. You could be forgiven for expecting food that is prepared with the mid-market tourist in mind, but in fact the kitchen goes way beyond that - not that it ever goes over the top. There is a straightforward goodness to the food that means the brilliant local seafood will never be messed about. I bet they never use chilli jam here.
7 Deane's Deli 44 Bedford Street, Belfast, 048-90248800, www.michaeldeane.co.uk/deli.asp. Michael Deane has a Michelin-starred restaurant, recently revamped and on my must-visit list, which traditionally served haute cuisine to Co Down's "gold coast" residents and senior Stormont types. Deane's Deli, on the other hand, has always been down to earth and preferred by those Ulster food enthusiasts who kindly keep me posted about developments north of the Border. Actually, it's not a deli at all but, rather, a kind of modern, and cool, take on the traditional bistro. Prices are keen, there's always a buzz and, although I don't agree with one reader who describes it as Belfast's answer to L'Gueuleton, in Dublin, I can see what she's getting at.
8 La Dolce Vita 6-7 Trimmers Lane, Wexford, 053-9170806. It's a curious thought that some of the best and most authentic Italian food in Ireland is served, during daytime only, in one of the backstreets of Wexford town, where Roberto Pons presides somewhat magisterially over the kitchen. This is no red-sauce joint, to borrow an Americanism, and serves food that could not be farther from the trattoria tat that passes for the Italian eating experience in almost every Irish town. The risotto of the day is invariably impeccable, and the wines, imported directly, are keenly priced and refreshingly different. Don't worry if many of the names are new to you, as Pons will advise with great gusto. English opera-lovers of the kind who put their sons down for Eton at birth employ a similar approach to booking during Wexford Festival Opera, when, unusually, La Dolce Vita opens for dinner.
9 Fishy Fishy at the Gourmet Store Guardwell, Kinsale, Co Cork, 021-4774453, www.fishyfishy.ie. There are now two Fishy Fishys in Kinsale, but I loyally stick to the original version, in the shadow of St Multose's Church in the heart of the town. Kinsale may once have been the so-called gourmet capital of Ireland, but there was not much competition in the 1970s. It has much to do to regain that title (and I'm not sure anyone says "gourmet" these days), but Fishy Fishy is in the vanguard. In a county with a bountiful supply of great seafood but few places that sell the best of it, Fishy Fishy is a tonic. The fish counter is crammed with all manner of goodies, straight from the sea, and the kitchen will cook your choice with elegant simplicity and confident panache. On a sunny day, get a table outside. The food is so good it quite makes up for a pretty dull little wine list.
10 Ginger 7-8 Hope Street, Belfast, 048-90244421, www.gingerbistro.com. The name implies some kind of fusion cooking with the emphasis on spice, but in fact it comes from the red hair of the chef-owner, Simon McCance. This is one of Belfast's places of pilgrimage for people who take their food seriously and want confident, even slightly brash cooking. It is certainly a great favourite with chefs, which is always a good sign. This is very much the new Belfast, cosmopolitan and discriminating. The combination of informality, invention and fun can be quite intoxicating.
11 Les Gourmandises 17 Cook Street, Cork, 021-4251959, www.lesgourmandises.ie. There are not too many Irish restaurants where, after a glass of wine too many, you could readily imagine yourself to be in France. I happen to be barred from one of them - but not, happily, from Les Gourmandises, which many say is the best place to eat in Cork city. There is some competition for that accolade, but Les Gourmandises is certainly a contender, with its luxurious cuisine bourgeoise at decent prices, a good wine list, an impeccable cheeseboard and proper coffee. If you close your eyes and think hard, you can conjure up a whiff of Gitanes, and before you know it you'll be ordering a pastis.
12 Phoenix Street, Cork, 021-4277387. Any restaurant that does a special deal on a half-bottle of manzanilla, the bone-dry and slightly salty sherry from Sanlúcar, with pre-meal nibbles, gets my vote as a place that tends - nay panders - to my weaknesses. Jacques has been doing good food for two decades, and it retains a passionately loyal clientele, many of whom are serious wine enthusiasts - a point that is underlined by a list that goes well beyond the usual suspects. I always eat fish here, possibly as it is always perfectly fresh and perfectly cooked. Cork is a city that should have many more restaurants that are worth a special visit, but when the standard is set by places like this, it's perhaps understandable that others find it hard to keep up.
13 Kelly's Resort Hotel Rosslare, Co Wexford, 053-9132114, www.kellys.ie. There's no doubt that Eugene Callaghan's cooking in Kelly's La Marine restaurant is a major draw for people all over the sunny southeast, but this can mean that the hotel's main dining room is sometimes overlooked and left to the residents. My family and I adore the food at Kelly's, and a further draw is a wine list that has to be one of the best in the country, certainly as far as the Rhône and Burgundy are concerned. The value for money is astonishing, especially when you consider the rarity of much of what is on offer. The menu is solid and traditional, well executed and generously served. There is a comfort about the dining room that is old fashioned in the best sense of the word, and Bill and Isabelle Kelly are the best hosts you could hope for.
14MacNean House & Restaurant Blacklion, Co Cavan, 071-9853022, www.macneanrestaurant.com. There was a time when Michelin inspectors confined themselves to the cities, but now, it seems, they have broken out. In which case, I suspect, it is only a matter of time before Co Cavan gets stellar recognition thanks to the sheer skill and energy of Neven Maguire, by all accounts the nicest chef in Ireland. His cooking is well rooted in tradition and classic techniques, but he has a spirit of adventure and innovation that puts him at the forefront of modern Irish food. If Maguire was cooking like this in Dublin, the world would be beating a path to his door. As things stand, you have to go to Blacklion, where rooms are available for the weary traveller.
15 Lisloughrey Lodge Cong, Co Mayo, 094-9545400, www.lisloughrey.ie. Generally speaking, ambitious food - the sort of thing you would never dream of trying at home - makes my heart sink. Unless, of course, the kitchen is in very capable hands, as it is here in deepest, lovely Mayo. There's a faint hint of the upmarket bordello to the decor - and where's the harm in that? - but the food is inventive, precise and, yes, ambitious. Try to get a table with a view of the little harbour on the lake, and remember to keep room for pud, because Lisloughrey also has an exceptional pastry chef. Luxurious rooms and very patchy mobile coverage make Lisloughrey an excellent spot for a true escape.
16The Oarsman Bridge Street, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim, 071-9621733, www.theoarsman.com. It's odd how many people think that Co Leitrim is a bit of a desert as far as good food is concerned. In fact, I reckon the counties in which you have to travel farthest for a good meal are Roscommon and Tyrone. Leitrim has lots of great local producers, stunning scenery and, in the Oarsman, a restaurant and gastropub that has really put the county on the foodie map. There's a choice between a more formal restaurant or the cosy bar, with its great menu of simple, eclectic dishes. I like the cosiness of the bar.
17 The Old Convent Mount Anglesby, Clogheen, Co Tipperary, 052-65565, www.theoldconvent.ie. This is a family favourite not too far from where we live. It is also an establishment set in wonderful countryside that is unknown to far too many Irish holidaymakers. It lies in the shelter of the Knockmealdowns, not far from the Vee, and offers not just radical, exciting food but bed and breakfast, too. The menu is simple in that there is no choice, just a multicourse sequence of small, perfectly formed dishes in which the standard never seems to falter. The food is full of surprises and has more than a hint of decadence. The servings and pacing are carefully judged, and the atmosphere is friendly with just a hint of refreshing eccentricity.
18Packie's Henry Street, Kenmare, Co Kerry, 064-41508, www.kenmarerestaurants.com/packies. I love Kenmare, and one of my dream breaks would be to stay at the Park Hotel and breakfast each morning in the big bay window. It's a good place to eat, too, but I'm perhaps more at home at Packie's, down the town, where the food is always thoughtful and never silly. This is skilful cooking, the kind of thing most of us would like to cook at home if we had the time, ingredients and ability. There's a lively atmosphere, friendly service and a feeling that you are somewhere rather special.
19 Fuchsia House & the Gables Bar Dundalk Road, Ardee, Co Louth, 041-6858432. This somewhat unprepossessing building on the outskirts of Ardee contains a gem. Good Indian food is still a rarity in Ireland, but at Fuchsia House that is precisely what you get. It's well worth a detour. They do general "European" stuff, too, and very well, but the Asian dishes are outstanding, an extremely pleasant surprise in an unexpected location. Service is utterly charming, and you will leave feeling better in every sense.
20 The Tannery 10 Quay Street, Dungarvan, Co Waterford, 058-45420, www.tannery.ie. Paul Flynn, who has been running the Tannery for more than 12 years, is one of Ireland's great chefs. A protege of the notoriously finicky Nico Ladenis, he is also a talented food writer whose passion for the subject steams off the page. Occasionally, his urge to push at boundaries can lead to some curious combinations, but by and large his cooking is among the best in the country. His Dublin outpost, Balzac, has turned the terrible old La Stampa into a dramatic place to eat good brasserie classics. The Tannery's wine list has been improved recently.