Christine Power and Geraldine and Angela Flavin’s delightfully bright and breezy café-restaurant on the main street of this famous seaside village of Ardmore is one of those places that changes its character through the day but always has style.
They’re open for all the little lifts that visitors need through the day - morning coffee, afternoon tea - as well as imaginative lunches (plus their traditional Sunday lunch, which runs all afternoon) and a more ambitious à la carte evening menu, always showacasing the best of seasonal local food.
Vegetarian dishes feature on both menus - a pasta dish during the day perhaps, and spinach & mushroom crêpe with toasted brie in the evening - and there’s a good balance between traditional favourites like steaks and more adventurous fare: a daytime fish dish could be perfectly cooked deep-fried plaice with tartare sauce, for example, while its evening counterpart might be grilled darne of Helvick salmon on asparagus, with a wine & cream sauce.
Attractive and pleasant to be in, this is a friendly, well-run restaurant and equally good for a reviving cuppa and a gateau or pastry from the luscious home-made selection on display, or a full meal. Outdoor seating - a few pavement tables and some more with big parasols in an attractive courtyard garden at the back - is very appealing If you're lucky with the weather.
Consistent excellence is the name of the game here, every bite is delicious and, even at its busiest, service is invariably well-organised and efficient. A real gem.
