Waterford County Restaurant Reviews..

JMcL

In Tramore, I'd have to agree about the Esquire (what's with that "world famous" bit anyway). We've eaten, or rather tried to eat there twice. First time a few years back, the food was not good. Overcooked steak, and everything too salty. We didn't go back for a long time, but other people said they'd found it ok, so we gave it another chance. Went in, were given menus and told to sit and wait for a minute. We sat and waited for many minutes, and nobody bothered their arse coming near us, or even asking did we want a drink, despite numerous attempts to catch the staffs eye. After probably 20-25 minutes of being ignored, we left, never to return.

Asila I have to say was disappointing. We gave it a go recently, and the food was pretty awful. The only decent thing was the steak, which actually was rare the way we wanted, and a nice piece of meat too. The veg was woeful though. The starter of breaded mushrooms was nice and crispy on the outside, but the mushrooms themselves were only half cooked, and watery. The less said about the veg on the side order the better. It's a shame, as it's a lovely room

On a positive side, the Vic (or Vee bistro as it is these days) is grand, though they could update their menu a bit more often

I like Belissimo a lot. I find the food very flavourful, and very good value for money as well.

It's a pity Sages closed, I guess they were a victim of what must have been a fairly rotten season last year

Fajitas!

Sages was a great spot.

scout353

Fajitas! wrote: »

Sages was a great spot.

Always thought it was hit or miss - usually cold, service generally slow and never reached the heights of her other place in Town - name escapes me but it was down the lane from Geroges Court to the Quay!

Fajitas!

Sounds like the Pantry yer on about.


I don't think I had a bad experience in Sages, but could just have been lucky!

JMcL

Fajitas! wrote: »

I don't think I had a bad experience in Sages, but could just have been lucky!

Same here, I always found the food was good. Not the most earth shattering menu in the world, but the kind of thing that goes down well on a wet Tuesday night, and god knows there was no shortage of those last year!

deisebabe

ok a quick review of the restaurants i've been to in and around dungarvan

Ming court: v. nice food, nice ambience...the place is a bit small if you are bringing a big group. Tried a dish of beef and oyster sauce..it was yummy.

Sea-Palace: When it first opened the food was great...now its nice but nothing special. Great place if you have a bit of a crowd. Some of the staff can be a bit hitlerish to get you eating quicker...and the last time i was there the waitress putting the plates on her table had her hair trailing across them. yuk!
Still i would recommend the place...just keep an eye on whats going on with regard to plates.

Indian on the quay: i cant see how anyone can recommend this place. The atmosphere is dead. The heat is intollerale. The staff barely speak english and they never ask if you want anything else after first ordering. We had to ask for water three times over the space of 20 mins(since noone was around) to get it.

Moorings: Lovely food in the restaurant in the evenings. During the day however their food is a bit hit and miss.

The Mill: Nice enough food. its gotten better since being taken over. At least if you ask for a medium steak now it is medium...before it would be charcoal!

The shamrock: lovely homecooked food. It really is mammy type food

Queelys(not sure how to spell that!) - the food is lovely there. not cheap but not too expensive. lovely wine.

Davitts - the food is edible. thats the best i can say about the place because the service is awful. Watch out for the freshness of their produce. Got an irish coffee there and the cream in it was stale. Got another one in its place(after they tried to poison me) which they then charged me for. Shocking service.

The italian - i've heard awful things about the place but the night i went there the food and service was good. I think i got lucky there!

Quasi - lanka - The food was terrible, the waitress didn't know how to make an irish coffee. the manageress was talking our ears off for a good 15 minutes. Enuff said.

bridgie terries - I got the nicest curry ever when i went for dinner there.

the seanachie - service was very good but the food was just adequate.

the interlude - very nice food and coffees etc. the service depends on whos working...i've had good and bad service.

Fajitas!

Been to Azzuro in Dunmore East twice now, both times it's been great, really good food. Haven't been to the more pricey place upstairs yet, but tbh, haven't needed to yet. First time I got a burger, was perfect, second time had prawns with pasta, was really nice.

Only complaint was, ordered an antipasta misto as a starter to share between three, and it was pretty pathetic... should have been a big enough plate for 13 quid, but was barely enough for one person.

Staff were good, fast, friendly, etc. Good coffee too, and plenty of beers and wines. Give it a go if you've a few extra bob.

jaxy999

A great place for dinner is Eurocuisine in Dungarvan. Dinner is only served between 12ist to about 2.30pm. It's run by the sisters of charity & provides employment for people with disabilities. You get a good wholesome dinner for about €7.50, which is very reasonable as most places charge from €9.50 upwards. I have dinner there nearly every second day & the place is always packed.

Roanmore

deisebabe wrote: »

Indian on the quay: i cant see how anyone can recommend this place. The atmosphere is dead. The heat is intollerale. The staff barely speak english and they never ask if you want anything else after first ordering. We had to ask for water three times over the space of 20 mins(since noone was around) to get it.

The food in this place (Indian Ocean) is great but the service does leave a lot to be desired. I ordered a beer there after being one of the first in there and had to ask twice for it after, that was the second time something like that happened.

Laurs_civic

i love the esquire , i get a great meal anytime iam in there and good service.

i would never go back to belismmo in tramore after a friend of mine found a screw it the middle of his pizza, he nearly cracked a tooth, imagine a child eating that they would be in bits.

alpha2zulu

Whitehorses Restaurant, Main Street, Ardmore.
Been visiting for the last couple of years.Reasonably priced, all the food well prepared and tastes fantastic, especially the steaks! All family run which gives the place a very homely feel. Whats especially a nice touch is if you arrive and you have to wait for a table you can head to a nice little pub across the road and they will come over to bring you across when your table is ready. If your going at the weekend I would suggest booking ahead as it tends to get quite busy.


As a previous poster was saying, The Shamrock has great quality tasty food at any time of the dayand the staff are good characters, their full Irish is always a treat too!!!

Sully

Laurs_civic wrote: »

i love the esquire , i get a great meal anytime iam in there and good service.

A lot of people find the Esquire very nice, but it got a few bad reviews here for some reason!

i would never go back to belismmo in tramore after a friend of mine found a screw it the middle of his pizza, he nearly cracked a tooth, imagine a child eating that they would be in bits.

Well, I am not a fan of their food your the first person to make such complaints. Its a restaurant that not everybody likes the type of food, and others do. Thats the type of complaints iv ever heard. A lot of people I know also liked it when they have eaten there!

Did your friend get any compensation (in terms of a free meal or whatever) for the incident?

Minto

Esquire is a really great place IMO, I love the potato skins there!

dreamer_ire

I notice no one has mentioned Richmond in Cappoquin. I've eaten there a few times over the years and with one exception (an earlybird) it's outstanding. Very pricey but worth it as a treat... much less pretensious than the Tannery imo.

Sully

I'm hearing a lot of great reviews on The Doneraile Restraunt in The Grand Hotel. A lot of tourists seem very impressed with the service and food there - keep hearing praise. Any of the locals been there recently? Its been a good year or so for me!

kitten_bar

Good afternoon all,

First post but spotted this and thought I'd pass on.

We ate there on the afternoon of Sunday 24th August - himself and myself were on a drive and passing through Fenor spotted the signs and decided to drop in.

4pm on a Sunday afternoon - there were two large groups (one 8 and one 12 say) perhaps 30 people in total in the place - one manager (I assume - she took the money and did the coffees from the bar) and 3 waitresses. More than enough for the numbers.

First impressions - the place is lovely inside. There is a feature fireplace which looks quite Persian and the overall decor is relaxed, quite country but with a few nice modern features thrown in.

Seating arrangements are quite awkward with two rooms - one small where the coffee/bar/till is which you need to walk through to get to the main dining area and the main area which is strangely split down the middle with a banister. perhaps they'll get rid of this in the future - it looks quite strange.

Toilets are very clean and everything quite modern.

Now on to the important stuff.

It took us 45 minutes for our order to be taken (please remember - approx. 30 people - 4 staff!)
We were on the verge of walking out when a woman at one of the large tables next to us got very vocal and we were finally paid attention to by virtue of being next to them.

At that stage we were a little caught for time so we just ordered one course each.

The menu whilst a little limited was interesting and nice and simple. No penchant for naff local names here (I'm not a fan of menus where every dish is "Dunmore East blah" and "Cork Rd blah" etc - certainly if the produce is local mention it but spare me the gimmiky dish names)

I went for a main course portion of the Chicken Liver pate and himself went for Sausages and Mash. I was driving so had a water and he ordered a glass of house red. House Red arrived 10 minutes later (we were no more than 6feet away from the bar) and was ok but cold. Our food did arrive fairly promptly and in fairness was delicious.

The Pate whilst still quite chilled seemed home made rather than scooped out of a packet and the gravy with the sausages and mash was divine. Portion sizes were good, the pate came with toasted batch bread which makes a nice change from botched melba and the dressing on the side salad was amazing... more on this in a second.

Overall I cannot fault it on food - coming back from the toilets I caught a glimpse into the kitchen and it looked small but very clean. The food coming out looked great and during the time we were there no dishes were sent back - though given the service that may be because no-one could get the attention of the waiting staff.

Here's the kicker: the service was SHOCKING. absolutely appalling. I cannot stress this enough - after we left we both agreed, worst service we have received *anywhere* in Ireland.

I know that may sound harsh but here's the back up:
1) It took 45mins for our order to be taken. During this time we tried to get the attention of the waiting staff on many occasions but the all had that 'eyes fixed to one spot on the wall as I walk past so I don't have to notice you' expression. Heads Down and avoid eye contact. There were 4 staff in total working a room of no more than 30 people - 2 competent staff could have managed that room well - 4 is inexcusable.

2) We were sitting no more than 6ft from the coffee bar/area where the manager(again I'm assuming) was working and whilst she made coffees and tried to work the till it would have taken 30 seconds for her to take an order from us. Finally when the woman next to us got *very* vocal she took their order and then got ours on the way back.

3) When the food had arrived we received the perfunctory 'is everything ok' visit from the same woman - and as I was replying "yes -can I ask something about the dressing?" (which was lovely - I wanted to know what was in it) well - I got as far a dressing and trailed off because she hadn't even waited to get our response before heading off to the big table to chat to people she knew there.

4) We finished our meal and gave up on trying to signal for a bill and went straight to the till area to pay. After waiting there for about 5 minutes to pay - the same manager had rung up bills for 2 waitresses and made a few coffees before acknowledging our presence - she gave us our change and without a thank you turned back to her till. No thank you, No call again, nothing.

Over all: good food - shocking service - wouldn't go back, which is a shame.

Small local restaurants like this pop up all the time and go out of business just as quickly. They need to realise that the customer service is so vital because once the high season is over it's the locals you need to go back and this local won't be.

I hope I don't come across as too harsh - we eat out a lot (well used to - credit crunch is hitting) and I always like to give new places a chance. I have every respect and admiration for people who follow their dreams and set up the small local places like this - I only hope that they can iron out the service kinks because they won't last long if they don't.

Just realised I’ve written a small novel on this subject –I’ll try and edit it down in future! ‘Til next time

xxx Kate

Poor Uncle Tom

kitten_bar wrote: »

I’ll try and edit it down in future! ‘Til next time

Hi Kitten bar,

Just wondering, have you found any other eateries that are definites or definitely nots in the county?

kitten_bar

morning poor uncle tom,

I thought I caught sight of a regional review thread so mod if this is straying too much from the original point feel free to move it -thank you!
pre-credit crunch (and mostly pre-"operation pay off wedding") we ate out perhaps twice or three times weekly so have dipped our culinary toes in most of the restaurant/eatery pools in the county.

There are some notable successes, some firm favourites and some also rans.
I'm working in Dungarvan, himself works in the City and we live in Portlaw so the County is our oyster when it comes to choosing where to dine and we do (or did) try to vary it.

Starting in the West of the County... Dungarvan
For day-time eating (their opening hours break my heart - wish they stayed open later) in Dungarvan you can't beat Interlude.
The decor I've always loved (reminds me of old-skool cafe Luna - my gut says it's Bang at the Salvage shop - it smacks of Sean and Miranda Corcoran... the menu has evolved in the few years I've been going there. Though we only land there once every couple months I was initially sucked in by a Chicken Teriyaki burger and then at the last visit wowed by the tapas menu... tapas for two and a pitcher of beer sitting outside on one of the few sunny days we had this year. Smashing. Prices reasonable, wine list ok - service when busy (most Sundays) can lack a little but in general friendly and fairly attentive.

Further along the Quayside is Sea Palace - the staff were attentive but the food overdosed in MSG and we didn't enjoy it. Only visited once and not inclined to go again - for Chinese/Thai/Oriental Food there are many other places we'd go again.

Also on the Quayside is Indian Ocean. This is the sister restaurant of it's namesake in Clonmel where we had eaten first. The one in Clonmel had great food but the service was painfully slow. none the less we were excited when we found out that it was the same people in Dungarvan.
Food very good but again the service - so slow. The simple task of asking for another Cobra takes three or four attempts - the only time it speeds up is when you ask for the bill! Apart from the service though, the decor is grand, the food enjoyable and quite reasonable - we've been back a few times now - it's good for a pre-cinema main course!

Merry's (not sure of the street name but the one behind and parallel to the Quay) I've eaten here in the restaurant as part of a large group and as a couple in the bar. Both times service was attentive and the staff were familiar with the menu and could answer any questions we had. Menu is limited but food combinations work well.
When visiting as part of a group (work evening - table of 16) I started with pate which was fine and for main course went for steak. I tend to order rare in smaller restaurants as with most places in Ireland if you order medium you get "Irish Medium" aka incinerated! Even ordering rare here the steak came out cooked through with no hint of pink. On the plus side, it was good quality beef and was still tasty - I chose to eat it anyway rather than send it back as it looked so good!
Eating in the pub side a few weeks ago himself got one of the best burgers he's ever had - it was good to see that the food quality and portions didn't falter simply because we were sitting in the bar. The prices didn't either - though I still found it reasonable. 15€ main approx.

The Tannery and Crews - you get what you pay for. Early bird in Tannery is good value as I find both over priced in general. Service in both is good though everything felt a little more harried in Crews. Only been there once though and that was a few weeks after they opened - we're planning on re-visiting in the near future. Saying that - were I to have the money for a meal in either in the morning I would probably spend it in Waterford! For me that's because a full meal and wine in Dungarvan means a b&b for the night if we don't have somewhere to stay.

Moving through the county: (wow I know I said I'd try to edit these down in the future... sorry)
Kilmacthomas - there's a pub in Kilmac with a cafe n the front - not sure of the name - but it does one of the best all day fries I've ever had. perfect for a hangover on a Saturday *grin*

Portlaw - only food available is in The Cotton Mill, they do pub grub till 6 on a Saturday and Sunday. For what it is, it's good – panninis /ciabattas /burgers and scampi etc. The toasted sandwiches are excellent (I recommend the Tannery Toasted Special) and the portions are huge.

Kilmeaden, two restaurants have opened in the last year - a Chinese called Mountain View on the Cork Road and The Cosy Thai the Cosy Thatch across from the Suir Valley railway. Mountain View has good pedigree as far as I'm away it's the same people who have Kongs on the Dunmore road but I haven't eaten there yet and most evenings it's empty as we drive by. perhaps it picks up at weekends. Anyone been?

The Cosy Thai got off to a shaky start - we weren't impressed by our first meal there and it was *Freezing* we kept our coats on the whole time. Since then however, we've been back with various friends and found it much improved. The menu is "Irish-Thai" but on par with Tuk Tuk Thai or Sabai though in more humble surroundings. The decor and restaurant is indeed 'cosy' (once warm!) and the staff very friendly (to be point of entertaining our friend's baby one quiet evening we were in so she could eat!) It is slightly un-nerving walking through the kitchen to get to the toilets though more could be made of an 'on-display' kitchen... making it a feature rather than oddity.

Waterford City... where do I begin?
I'll try and wrap it up with bullet points *grin* (try and fail)
Sabai - beautiful to look at, service interesting, food standard Thai, prices: overpriced.

La Palma - before the move I didn't enjoy eating at La Palma - I found the sauces stodgy and far too heavy and rarely if ever finished a main course... since they move to the Mall I find that honour has stayed in Espresso and the food in the new La Palma is delightful. Decor is beautiful, service attentive menu slightly over priced. Wine list is very good though.

Bodega - dependably good. Service is generally excellent - Frank is an excellent restaurant manager - always has a personal word for everyone. Inthe last few years they've been through a couple chefs and the menu has taken quite a journey (the Haggis starter on one occasion was an eye-opener) but has now settled and is very comfortable with itself. We were there a few weeks ago and I had the Steak Frites (such an easy dish to do well but so many places murder it) The steak was cook beautifully - there was a slight smoky flavour from it - you could almost get a flavour of wood chips - it reminded me of the bbq'd meat we had in South Africa - cooked from fresh - amazing. Their wine list is excellent with Cormac and Frank's wine knowledge clearly showing in the selection, especially at the affordable 'house wine' end of the list which I think is a sign of a great wine list.

L'Atmosphere. love love LOVE. no review by me of this place is going to be un-biased. We've been going from the start and are such avid fans of the early bird menu (20€ for 3 course and a glass of wine!) we were going once a week at one stage. We love the place so much we held our wedding dinner there in February (family meal - 50 seating - they were wonderful) One slightly critical note - there has been quite a change in staff over the last few months and some evenings there is a noticeable dip in the atmosphere but this is a small thing. There's many a time we've gone in to get the early bird and been seduced by the specials board. Great French bistro food at bistro prices is one of the best descriptions I've read. If you go - strike up a conversation - get involved. They'll love you for it

Emillianos - This place broke my heart. First time I went we had a wonderfully romantic meal - wonderful atmosphere and the food was great (we're talking perhaps 6/7 years ago) since then I've been back on numerous occasions (it's always popular with groups - I’ve mostly been back on work evenings) and I can tie my disappointment to one word: Salt. Every sauce, every dish so over-seasoned I can't enjoy it. The service if you're downstairs is fine - but end up upstairs, or as part of a group and it drops rapidly. I'm blinded by the salt thing though - oh and by an experience of a friend of mine... he'd booked in a table of 15 for a family gathering the weekend of his son's christening. as with all parents the group was running 10 or 15 minutes late between babies and slower moving grandparents, and each thought the other had called the restaurant. End result - they were turned away. no more than 15 minutes late for the table (I know - I'd be put out by them but who can turn their noses up at a 15-top?) they were told they weren't welcome and shown the door. This was early evening and I can't imagine that 15 minutes is going to make that much of a difference to later bookings. A good review you might tell three or four people- a bad one and you'll tell everyone.

La Boheme - my biggest issue with this place is the clientele. Mostly people who think that by paying the high prices they can be as rude as they like. We sat next to one couple where the husband spent no less than 15 minutes on his mobile talking about his game of golf that day very loudly. his poor wife just sat there staring at the table. The staff seemed so bound up by their over-politeness that they were powerless even though the whole dining room were clearly affected (this was the back room by the kitchen) my husband finally leaned over and very politely asked if he wouldn't mind saving the phone conversation until after his meal and got a firm "&^%& off" as response.
At that stage we asked a waiter if they wouldn't mind moving us and they were very accommodating. Ruined our dinner though. I see they have a good early bird advertised outside at the moment. Worth a visit.
Cafe Goa (Indian)- great prices, good service most of the time (there's one waiter who has some language difficulties but he's learning!) and the food is very good. we often get take away from here as well.
Eastenders (Indian) - for a long time was the best option for Indian but that crown has definitely gone to Goa!
That's it for now - there's more but I really should be doing some work ;-)

xxx Kate

Sully

Iv merged the thread on Bog'n'Bean with the Waterford Country Restaurant Review thread since the former was turning into a general review thread about various places (the very first post probably was better suited here anyway!).

Enjoy!

Topic Merged

Poor Uncle Tom

Thanks, I've eaten in all you've described except Merrie's, haven't tried it yet. I agree with you on most.

kitten_bar wrote: »

Portlaw - only food available is in The Cotton Mill, they do pub grub till 6 on a Saturday and Sunday. For what it is, it's good – panninis /ciabattas /burgers and scampi etc. The toasted sandwiches are excellent (I recommend the Tannery Toasted Special) and the portions are huge.

The cotton mill is very nice even just for a few drinks, if Blaah doesn't drink all the bud.:D

Sully

Asila in Tramore is closed (not sure for how long it has been) and will re-open in October (I think) under new management. King Palace is closed, and all business transfered over to Dynasty (yes I know KP is listed on Discover Tramore, will be removed shortly/updated).

Getting great reviews coming in for The Vee Bistro and Doneraile Restraunt in the Grand Hotel.

waterfordlassie

The best restaurant in dungarvan is crews. Some people find it expensive but these people obviously dont understand quality for money. If you go to the tannery it's an outragous price for a three course meal. Lunch in crews is quite acceptable, 10.95 euro for most of the main meals!! It's this price in the shamrock and the food is ineadible!!!

Night time meals are more expensive but in the run of the mill of food prices today it is not outragous. People have to remember steak and seafood is not cheap by any means!!!

next

We've been to Crews a few times and found the food was nothing special I'd rather the Tannery

Ponster

MY wife and I are travelling to Ireland next November and after visiting some friends in Cobh, driving back to Clonmel via Youghal, Dungarvan...

We were watching TV here in Paris a few months back and there was a news item on Irish eating habits and how it was now possible to find pretty decent eateries in the country that may not have been as popular 25 years ago and out of the 5 or so lpaces it mentioned one was in Dungarvan. So I though "perfect" lets go there and invite some of the family down for some lunch.

Though after reading this thread it seem that "The Tannery" isn't as good as what the program made it out to be.

I've been in Paris for 10 years now. I must admit that I eat well. There's a lot of choice over here and a midweek meal can be as cheap as €20 for 3 courses and wine or up to €40 (per person). Anything more than that and it's going to have to be special. Not that I'm not willing to pay more but with the choice I have available I usually don't have to.


When I do eat in Ireland it tends to be the stuff I can't get over here. Pub grub, carvery lunches, Supermacs(!) and the last thing I want to eat is Continental style food, so where do you suggest? I'm really open as to where (the town) and I don't mind about the price as long as the food is great.

So...stick to the Tannery or venture elsewhere ?

next

I'm a great fan of the Tannery we've not got a bad meal there, yes it is expensive but I think its worth it crews seems to be the new in place in Dungarvan but I just can't see the attraction the food is good but nothing special, another favoured place of mine is the white horse in Ardmore prices are inline with the Tannery if not even more expensive, if your driving through Conmel you could try Catalpas nice little rest with very good prices,

JMcL

Ponster wrote: »

So...stick to the Tannery or venture elsewhere ?

Though I haven't eaten in the Tannery in a while (too long), the several times I have, it's been a very good experience. I'd rank Paul Flynn as one of the most talented chefs in the country. It's expensive, but worth it. Eating well in France and Ireland can't really be compared in terms of value. You can have an excellent meal throughout france and not pay a lot. I've even had a superb meal in a Michelin 2 star restaurant in Paris for €50, 5 courses, wine included (!!). The difference in my experience is you'll ALWAYS pay a lot to eat well in Ireland (ok, that was a blanket statement, and there will be some honourable exceptions, but by and large true), but unfortunately it's common to pay a lot and have a mediocre meal as well.

The Tannery would be one of the places I'd rank as worth it though.

Sully

Cleaned up the topic (only one post) due to a slanderous post from someone with a chip on their shoulder it seems. If your going to give out about a restraunt, constructive criticism please. Stupid posts about any individual or group that could result in possible legal issues will be removed (and so will you) at once.

Topic Cleaned

JLemmon

Tannery is nice, got a desert there once strawberries and a shortcake biscuit thing. Feck the shortcake was absolutely amazing, not normally a fan of it but it was very good.

durrus

Surprised no one has mentioned the restaurants at the other end of the county - McAlpins Cottage Bistro and The Suir Inn, both in Cheekpoint. They both seem to be very popular. Skipping back accross the county the restaurant at the new Cliff House Hotel in Ardmore is out of this world - top end for sure in terms of price but you can really see the money on the plate.

durrus

BTW anybody tried the new Banyan restaurant in Tramore - it's in the old Coast building. Lovely new makeover, flashy bar with green velvet trimmings and white leather high stools. Good menu and well executed food and REALLY good value. Recent visit: 2 x starters, 2 x Mains, 2 x Desserts for €67.00 total and that's not an early bird price.