Wineport

John_Rambo

I hear the chef from the Wineport, Fergal O'Donnell has moved to another venue or taken over a new place in Glasson? Anyone tried it? Another culinary delight for the midlands?

miss5

I didn't know he had moved, Have been to the wineport lodge
a few times and the food was always excellent.

John_Rambo

Yeah, was there recently, standards haven't dropped. I will keep you posted if I try the new place.

Seaneh

SMH...

miss5

John_Rambo wrote: »

Yeah, was there recently, standards haven't dropped. I will keep you posted if I try the new place.

Thank you, Has he opened his own restaurant in Glasson?

slowharry

He has taken over the running of Farrells pub/ The Village Inn across the road from Grogans. The food there was always good for me so cant wait to see if he can improve on it.

It will be strange not to see Joe and Kathleen behind the bar anymore.

I'm sure I'll be there shortly and will report back

John_Rambo

Seaneh wrote: »

SMH...

Was there are review in the Sydney Morning Herald?

slowharry wrote: »

I'm sure I'll be there shortly and will report back

Ah cheers, would love to know about it, Fergal is big in to his wild shot game, does some lovely stuff with it.

Seaneh

John_Rambo wrote: »

Was there are review in the Sydney Morning Herald?



Ah cheers, would love to know about it, Fergal is big in to his wild shot game, does some lovely stuff with it.

Shaking My Head.

If you thought that wineport has a high standard of food then I really don't know what to say.

They charge the same prices as michelin starred kitchens in Dublin, London and Milan and they are nowhere near the standard.

Fergal is an OK chef, nothing more, very unimaginative.

Wineport was lucky to have Shane and Linda (fergal's sous chefs) for as long as they did.

mr_edge_to_you

Much prefer glasson village myself.

eobphotography

cathal Moran is the head Chef now and is very talented. He was up for Chef of the year last year alongside Corrigan and Thornton so thats good company.

slowharry

Was in Farrells at the weekend or 'the Fatted Calf' as it has been 'rebranded'. First night of the new menu about 7-8 options for starter and main with around 5 for desert. Must say i enjoyed what i got. Came in around 70e for two with 3 courses each and tea and coffee (no wine) and some beers for me . Probably the best selection of beers in a pub around town now. Paulaner on tap, innis &Gunn , Bishops finger, Coopers and a few more in bottle. apparently a good selection of wine by the glass also.
First impressions were good decent sized portions especially the mussels.

John_Rambo

Seaneh wrote: »

Shaking My Head.

Ah, I didn't know what that meant. You are very clever!

Seaneh wrote: »

If you thought that wineport has a high standard of food then I really don't know what to say.

I did think that and still do, nothing much you can say!!

Seaneh wrote: »

They charge the same prices as michelin starred kitchens in Dublin, London and Milan

They don't, you got your facts wrong there I am afraid!

Seaneh wrote: »

Fergal is an OK chef, nothing more, very unimaginative.

Was it him that fired you?

slowharry wrote: »

Was in Farrells at the weekend or 'the Fatted Calf' as it has been 'rebranded'. First night of the new menu about 7-8 options for starter and main with around 5 for desert. Must say i enjoyed what i got. Came in around 70e for two with 3 courses each and tea and coffee (no wine) and some beers for me . Probably the best selection of beers in a pub around town now. Paulaner on tap, innis &Gunn , Bishops finger, Coopers and a few more in bottle. apparently a good selection of wine by the glass also.
First impressions were good decent sized portions especially the mussels.

Ah, great review slowharry, sounds good. Looking forward to checking it out.

mr_edge_to_you I am a big fan of Glasson Village restaurant too, very good place.

Seaneh

eobphotography wrote: »

cathal Moran is the head Chef now and is very talented. He was up for Chef of the year last year alongside Corrigan and Thornton so thats good company.

Cathal is a very good chef.

the difference in standard between wineport and lisloughry when he was there was insane considering the same person (Fergal) set the menu and the prices were the same.

John_Rambo

Seaneh wrote: »

Cathal is a very good chef.

the difference in standard between wineport and lisloughry when he was there was insane considering the same person (Fergal) set the menu and the prices were the same.

Are you a disgruntled ex-employee?

Did you ever work in the Wineport?

While I agree with you about Cathal, I don't about Fergal, and you seem to be getting it wrong looking at the above reviews of Fergals new place. Now, while your at it, put your money where your mouth is and tell us what kitchen you run? It's not nice to anonymously slate your brethren behind your keyboard without stating your own position and who you are.

Seaneh

John_Rambo wrote: »

Are you a disgruntled ex-employee?

Did you ever work in the Wineport?

While I agree with you about Cathal, I don't about Fergal, and you seem to be getting it wrong looking at the above reviews of Fergals new place. Now, while your at it, put your money where your mouth is and tell us what kitchen you run? It's not nice to anonymously slate your brethren behind your keyboard without stating your own position and who you are.

I worked as holiday cover there for a month and chose not to go back.
I have a lot of time for Ray and Jane. I have a lot of time for the staff, the restaurant managers and the front of house manager. I think Shane is a very able and talented sous chef, Linda was a damned good chef and Jenny and co are a great troop.

The menu was sub par for the price by any standards.
When I was there they were charging 32.50 for a course that consisted of half a pre-cooked and frozen lobster which had the claws crasked, shredded and stuffed into the shell to fill the cavity which was created form removing the sack and intestine, this was them topped with garlic butter and grilled to re heat it.

32.50 for reheated processed food?

GET THE BOAT!

on the same menu the veg option was a roast vegetable and goats cheese pizza.

The roast veg came from another dish and was grand, the sauce was extremely basic, the cheese was actually quite nice in fairness but the base? The base was a frozen, pre-made, bought in doughy horrible bready lump of flavourlessness.

They charged the guts of €25 for that pizza, it cost about €0.50 per serving and required zero skill or effort.

Fillet beef (in fairness, the beef is quality, they get it from James Kilbride) was served with deep fried asparagus which was done in a packet mix of cheap tempura style gunk.

They used a LOT of pre-preped veg from "fresh and ready vegetables".


They did some good deserts though and their G&T and Green apple sorbets were pretty good too.

The menu now is a lot cheaper and their early bird menu at 22 a head (although only served for 45 minutes) is actually good value, they also do stay and dine deals starting about about 100pp/pn which are good value as the hotel facility is beautiful. But for a long time their pricing was insane and their menu extremely bland.

The only thing that WAS good value when I was there was the sunday lunch.


The kitchen ran perfectly 4 days a week with Shane and Linda in charge, the other 3 days people were walking on egg shells and a quiet, relaxed kitchen turned in to screams and verbal abuse of young watiresses... Guess who only worked 3 days a week in Athlone?

John_Rambo

That happens when boss's arrive in work.

So overall your saying it's not that bad at all and fairly reasonably priced. Have you stopped shaking your head?

So, after slating a fellow chefs imagination and personality on a public forum, can you tell us what kitchen you run? I don't ever remember a 25 Euro Pizza. Last time I was there my main was 22Euro my starter was 12Eur, the wine was good, all four of us got a drink on the house and the Wineport covered our taxi back to Athlone town. That is nowhere near the prices michelin starred kitchens in Dublin, London and Milan charge.

It would take me a lot more than a month to find out the true dynamics of who is what and what goes on in a busy workplace.

Seaneh

John_Rambo wrote: »

That happens when boss's arrive in work.

So overall your saying it's not that bad at all and fairly reasonably priced. Have you stopped shaking your head?

So, after slating a fellow chefs imagination and personality on a public forum, can you tell us what kitchen you run? I don't ever remember a 25 Euro Pizza. Last time I was there my main was 22Euro my starter was 12Eur, the wine was good, all four of us got a drink on the house and the Wineport covered our taxi back to Athlone town. That is nowhere near the prices michelin starred kitchens in Dublin, London and Milan charge.

It would take me a lot more than a month to find out the true dynamics of who is what and what goes on in a busy workplace.

The pizza was there, trust me, I had to make the things.


Over all I said they have decent offers at certain times.
I said that the early bird menu was good value, I said that Slunch was good value, I said their stay and dine were good value because of the fact that the hotel is superb. I said their beef was quality, but that has a lot more to do with where it came from than anything else, seeing as they don't marinate their meats (they might do now that Cathal is in chagre). I didn't say that the restaurant is good value, althought it is a lot chaper than it was, it's still over priced but getting better quality wise so maybe some day they will level off.

I have eaten in michelin starred restaurants and paid a LOT less than the last meal I had in winport. 45 Euro for a starter and a main?

You could get two much better courses in Bon Appetit or L'Ecrivain the same price (or less).

Pay an extra €2 and you get two courses in Chapter one.

In London you could eat in L'Atelier, Arbutus, Hibiscus, St John's, Rasoi and The Cinnamon Club to name just a few for the same price or less.

In Milan I have eaten in D'O for less.


So yes, you can eat in Michelin Starred restaurants in Dublin, London and Milan for less.





Oh,and by the way, it takes about 15 minutes "understand the true dynamics" of a kitchen.


I never claimed to be a world class chef or to run anywhere. I basically pointed out that somehwere was over priced and that the chef (ex chef now) was not a very good chef.

John_Rambo

Seaneh wrote: »

Over all I said they have decent offers at certain times.
I said that the early bird menu was good value, I said that Slunch was good value, I said their stay and dine were good value because of the fact that the hotel is superb. I said their beef was quality, but that has a lot more to do with where it came from than anything else, seeing as they don't marinate their meats (they might do now that Cathal is in chagre).

Well, stop shaking your head then. Personally, I prefer premium cuts to be rare and not marinated, but, everyone's different with different tastes and preferences... Things would be very boring otherwise.

Seaneh

John_Rambo wrote: »

Well, stop shaking your head then. Personally, I prefer premium cuts to be rare and not marinated, but, everyone's different with different tastes and preferences... Things would be very boring otherwise.

I prefer premium cuts to be rare AND marinated...

Why would marinating meat mean you can't cook it rare? In fact, marinating is usually done to ensure that meat is even more tender when cooked rare...
Every other restaurant I have worked in marinated their beef.

Usually in the following. Olive oil, garlic, bay, rosemary, thyme and pepper corns.

John_Rambo

Well done. (not the meat though)

This thread is cooked. Anyone with any more reviews I would be happy to hear about them...

Zubeneschamali

Seaneh wrote: »

I worked as holiday cover there for a month

Jeez, you've spent more time moaning about that place than you spent working there!


http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055595915&highlight=wineport

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055478107&highlight=wineport

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055202395&highlight=wineport&page=3

miss5

I think as posters we should be wary of giving restaurants bad publicity especially
in this climate. By all means review the food and service honestly whether you like
it or hated it.

John_Rambo

miss5 wrote: »

By all means review the food and service honestly whether you like it or hated it.

+1

Telling people to avoid a place because you didn't like working there is a bit nasty. Naming and slating someone in the same trade as yourself anonymously is nasty to, particularly if the guy has just set up shop.

jd1986

i think ur jus bitter sean coz u wernt good enuf to work there, u only dont like feargal coz u were **** and he gave out to u and was on ur back, n u cudnt take it so u left. u lasted two weeks, u wernt there for holiday cover. so could u please stop talkin about the chefs of wineport, especially ones u dont even know and puttin us down and tryin to put people off coming to stay at wineport. u know way too much about the offers, the prices, and things that go on in wineport for someone who hasnt been there in years, and the fact that u are on here bad mouthing us like 3 yrs after u "worked" there is quite sad. get over it.

miss5

Have been in both Wineport and Farrell's lately and would have to say I found
both places excellent, The food was lovely and served promptly and the staff were
so friendly, Have heard nothing but good reviews from relatives who dine there
regularly. Highly recommend both.

mr_edge_to_you

Lads, ye are getting nasty there! Not in anyones interest.

veryangryman

Its in my interest. I like it when pretentious chefs insult each other

It saves me the bother

sea hens inn

As i have just joined boards for the first time, and typed in Wineport just to see what came up , i was astonished to read about the terrible things being said about the food!!
I am i chef myself and have been in the business for the last 16 years ,i have worked in many high end kitchens in my time not to mention Wineport lodge, i cant beleive the the down right bad manner of this so called chef Sean!!:eek: ok if you dont like food , and if its not up your street, seal the deal on the first post for god sake and dont bore us all to death with what you think you know, I have had the pleasure with working with all the above chefs and still keep in touch with some, they have a good solid team and do a great job ! i have never even heard of you Sean ? i suppose for obvious reasons :rolleyes:you probably think you talk the talk , but can you in fact walk the walk...... i doubt it!!!I have heard Feargal ( correct spelling by the way) has moved on and goodluck to him,i plan to have my wedding reception there soon and cannot wait! my mouth is watering at the thoughts of it, so Sean get a grip and stick to what you DONT know...............

Seaneh wrote: »

The pizza was there, trust me, I had to make the things.


Over all I said they have decent offers at certain times.
I said that the early bird menu was good value, I said that Slunch was good value, I said their stay and dine were good value because of the fact that the hotel is superb. I said their beef was quality, but that has a lot more to do with where it came from than anything else, seeing as they don't marinate their meats (they might do now that Cathal is in chagre). I didn't say that the restaurant is good value, althought it is a lot chaper than it was, it's still over priced but getting better quality wise so maybe some day they will level off.

I have eaten in michelin starred restaurants and paid a LOT less than the last meal I had in winport. 45 Euro for a starter and a main?

You could get two much better courses in Bon Appetit or L'Ecrivain the same price (or less).

Pay an extra €2 and you get two courses in Chapter one.

In London you could eat in L'Atelier, Arbutus, Hibiscus, St John's, Rasoi and The Cinnamon Club to name just a few for the same price or less.

In Milan I have eaten in D'O for less.


So yes, you can eat in Michelin Starred restaurants in Dublin, London and Milan for less.





Oh,and by the way, it takes about 15 minutes "understand the true dynamics" of a kitchen.


I never claimed to be a world class chef or to run anywhere. I basically pointed out that somehwere was over priced and that the chef (ex chef now) was not a very good chef.

ljr

a lot of over-reaction on this thread. I too think the wineport is good but rather over priced. I found Seaneh's comments interesting and am in broad agreement. I have had excellent courses and pretty mediocre ones there and all at high prices. Seaneh says things have improved recently (price wise) so maybe I will go again. the undiluted praise of the other posters makes me more skeptical rather than less.

I don't see any reason to question seaneh's integrity from what he wrote. The man worked in their kitchen and clearly disliked certain aspects of the food but not all. I would be just as interested in hearing the views of a jobbing chef as those of a sous or exec chef, probably more so. the fact that he got dumped on so severely over relatively mild comments says more about the other posters on this thread.

John_Rambo

ljr wrote: »

the undiluted praise of the other posters makes me more skeptical rather than less.

If that's aimed at me, nothing to do with the place, I am just a printer from Dublin that appreciates good food. I have people in Athlone, so we go there when I visit. I like the lake, the food, the atmosphere and the value (lately).

ljr wrote: »

I don't see any reason to question seaneh's integrity from what he wrote.

Really? Cause it looks like Seaneh's been caught by fellow colleagues who have and do work in the Wineport after anonymously bitching about his ex boss! Seems me might be caught out on a few fibbs too. I'd say he's cursing you for resurrecting the thread.

Now, have you been to Farrell's? If so, what was it like?

ljr

not really aiming my remarks at john rambo or anyone in particular. I just thought ye were all being a bit hard on him and I thought I would defend him as nobody else was! he probably is cursing me.

havent been to farrells yet but plan to go in the next couple of weeks. I too live in dublin but have reasons to be in Athlone every six weeks or so. fatted calf menu looks great with lesser seen menu items like crubeens, rabbit and duck rillette. prices seem very fair - suckling pig confit for 22 euro, and other good things at very fair prices. a different roast every day, lots of mention of suppliers (e.g. McGeoghs black pudding). I was emailed the menu by a friend who is related to the chef. I will upload it here if people are interested (involves a bit of picture editing that I don't have time to do this morning).

John_Rambo

ljr wrote: »

fatted calf menu looks great with lesser seen menu items like crubeens, rabbit and duck rillette. prices seem very fair - suckling pig confit for 22 euro, and other good things at very fair prices. a different roast every day, lots of mention of suppliers (e.g. McGeoghs black pudding)

Sounds amazing, and pretty traditional!! Dragging up food not many people eat any more, locally sourced and good for you! You might want to get permission before sticking the menu up!

On a side note, sorry Mods, nothing to do with Westmeath, but have you tried the Pigs Ear in Dublin, very similar food, really good. I think there is a Wineport connection there too!

ljr

yes. liked the pigs ear. I had tongue as a starter and very good ribeye. was a little disappointed there were no pigs ears on the menu! i had them in fergus henderson's place in london - deep fried in thin strips. I think we will see more cheap cuts cropping up as the recession continues. I had excellent skirt steak in the cuban place in ballsbridge recently also. its a shame that shebeen chic didn't stick with the old menu which had interesting off cuts. now they have very ordinary burgers and have become more of a bar.

athlonelad

must try out the wineport havent been in ages. il give a fair account of the place.

athlonelad

very nice... no complaints. not as expensive as i would of thought at all

John_Rambo

Ah, nice one! A man that stays true to his word!

Funny "straight to the point" review! What did you have? Service good, quality ect...? You are obviously a local, are you going to try Farrells soon?

athlonelad

Service was brill. Linda. I had soup starter and steak for the main. I know its not hard to get those right but still the overall atmosphere and setting of the place its worth the extra little bit of money to go out there now and again. next time I will be a bit more adventurous with my menu choices. A bottle of house red shared and it was around the €100 mark. Not too bad at all. As Arnie said "Il be back"

athlonelad

Farrells I must try. Grogans isnt too bad either but is pub grub. Glasson is blessed with places to eat for a small village

John_Rambo

Finally got to Farrell's.

Great food, monstrous steaks, good portions (maybe a bit much) my steak could have been slightly rarer, but that's all I can moan about when it came to the food. There was no need for the extra portions that are on offer (roast spuds, red cabbage etc...) I feel the decor was a bit rough and "pubish". I know it is a pub, but the food prices were not pub prices. It's a lovely little building, full of character, so it could be amazing. Hopefully, in the future they will do it up. But deffo more positives than negatives, another feather in the culinary cap of Athlone.

Overall I would give it a 7.5 out of 10!

scrgirl

Resurrecting this thread to ask does any one know where the fatted calf team are moving to? I heard they left Glasson and are starting up somewhere else? Any ideas where?

John_Rambo

Gertie Brown's is what I heard. Unofficial, unfounded, can't name my sources...

Steven81

John_Rambo wrote: »

Gertie Brown's is what I heard. Unofficial, unfounded, can't name my sources...

Hatters?

Sunny Dayz

John_Rambo wrote: »

Gertie Brown's is what I heard. Unofficial, unfounded, can't name my sources...

Do you mean the restaurant behind gerties? That's even smaller than where they were in Glasson and the impression I got when they announced the closure on Facebook was that they were looking for a bigger place.

Keithmc40

Yes I also heard a whisper about hatters

John_Rambo

Yeah hatters. I could be way off, only heresay.

scrgirl

I heard they were heading Mullingar direction,

LostInLM

The Ritz. Former olive Grove premises.

Sunny Dayz

scrgirl wrote: »

I heard they were heading Mullingar direction,

Other half said he heard that too

Saint_Mel

Heard Hatters mentioned over the weekend too!

John_Rambo

Saint_Mel wrote: »

Heard Hatters mentioned over the weekend too!

Do you think it's a good move Saint_Mel?

I'm not local, but I think they'll do well there. Hatter's had the quirky decor (looks like an old train interior!), but that's about it, the food was fairly average.

I reckon Feargal's fare in the heart of the town will be the bomb, he's fairly creative, his wine is always good, he seems to know his clientele but pushes them. It will be nice to see a bit of foodie Glasson creep in to Athlone center. I've been to a few specialised nights in the Fatted Calf and they were clever, reasonable and very enjoyable.

Rasmus

Is Hatter's currently open? Or will there actually be a new Fatted Calf?