Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for November - Hanora's Cottage

The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for November is Hanora's Cottage, Ballymacarbry

High up in West Waterford’s wonderfully away-from-it-all Nire Valley, the Wall family’s gloriously rural country guesthouse has welcomed guests since 1986 - so they’ve had plenty of practice in getting things right for guests.

Mary Wall and her late husband, Seamus, first set up home here in 1967, in a little cottage beside the church that had been built for Seamus’s great-grandparents John and Norrie (Hanora) O’Gorman.

Today - many carefully-planned extensions later - it is an exceptionally comfortable ten bedroomed guesthouse and destination restaurant, run by Mary with her son Eoin and his wife Judith, who are both chefs.

Right from the start, good food was at the heart of this house. Pre-dating today’s keen focus on provenance by several decades, Mary and Seamus always took pride in the simple, wholesome produce of the area, firstly showcasing it in the superb breakfasts that soon became legendary and have become a benchmark experience. The range and quality offered is extraordinary for a small establishment and, even in today’s much more competitive market, is still hard to beat.

Local produce and exotics jostle for space on the beautifully arranged buffet: there are myriad fruits and freshly squeezed juices (also luscious Crinnaghtaun Apple Juice from Lismore), home-made muesli and porridge... freshly-baked breads, including organic and gluten free varieties... local farmhouse cheeses, smoked salmon, home-made jams - and all the cooked breakfast options you could wish for. And this feast is not restricted to overnight guests either, as Hanora’s is also open to non-residents for breakfast by reservation.

Seamus was a great baker and his legacy lives on in the superb range of home bakes that Mary, Eoin and Judith produce early every morning - and especially, of course, the wholesome loaf that bears his name.

Guests arriving in the afternoon are treated to gorgeous freshly baked scones and cakes with their welcoming cup of tea too, and delicious breads are also a highlight in the restaurant, when served with soups and starters at dinner time.

Now a destination in itself, the restaurant is very pleasantly situated, overlooking a secluded garden and riverside woodland - and people travel from far and wide to dine here, which adds to the atmosphere.

There’s a great sense of place about everything at Hanora’s. Taking pride in inviting diners to “savour the taste and flavours of the Nire Valley area and its environs”, chefs Eoin and Judith are enthusiastic supporters of small suppliers. 

They use local foods whenever possible and proudly credit them on the menu - fresh fish from Dunmore East and Kilmore Quay, supplied by Waterford fishmonger Billy Burke; local meats from Tom Power of Premier Meats in Clonmel, who also supplies Bertram and Celine Salter’s Carlow Free Range chicken. The local cheese, Knockanore, is made nearby by Eamonn Lonergan, and others regularly used include the Grubb family’s famous cheeses from the just across the border in Tipperary.

Lamb, which is so abundant locally, is always a favourite - house specialities include an unusual starter of sautéed lambs kidneys on a croustade with mushroom cream, and a summer main course of roast rack with a delicious mint hollandaise always tops the polls. A good vegetarian dinner menu is also available (see below) and special diets, including gluten-free and dairy-free options, are happily catered for on request.

Activities like golf, walking and pony trekking attract lovers of the great outdoors to this beautiful place all year and the Wall family are never short of a seasonal challenge. During the autumn months it's all hands on deck preparing goodies for Hanora's Hampers, which are much in demand for their lovely homemade chutneys, relishes, dressings, sauces and mincemeat - and Nanny Wall's old-style Christmas pudding, which contains no less than 21 ingredients...!

Welcome to Hanora's Cottage 4 Star Guesthouse and restaurant.

In our restaurant we make and use as much of our own produce as possible and our aim is to support and try to keep all our suppliers local.

All our fish comes for Billy Burke, Fish Monger in Waterford. He sources his fish from Dunmore East and Kilmore Quay.

Tom Power of Premier Meats, Clonmel, is our meat supplier. Most of his produce is reared around the Tipperary / Kilkenny area.

Our cheese is made in Knockanore by Eamonn Lonergan, we also use Cashel Blue from Grubbs, in Cashel.

We use Wall's free range eggs.

All our lettuce and herbs come from just over the road at Eleanora and Brian's Nire Valley Farm.

At Hanora's, between Eoin, Judith & Mary, we make all our own sauces, dressings, chutneys, jams 8c Ice-creams.

Breads are a speciality, especially Seamus Wall’s recipes. We make all breads, scones, muffins and with a little prior notice we will do gluten free, wheat free, dairy free etc. We gladly welcome any dietary requirements.

We hope that you will enjoy dining with us and that you will savour the taste and flavours of the Nire Valley area and its environs

SAMPLE MENU: HANORA'S COTTAGE DINNER MENU

Red onion and cherry tomato tartlet with Knockanore cheddar cheese crust

Tossed lettuce salad, garlic chicken, Cashel Blue cheese, honey and mustard dressing

Red pepper risotto with smoked haddock, our own hen's egg, fresh Parmesan and chives

Oven-baked fishcakes with pickled cucumber salad and lemon mayonnaise

Pan-fried lamb's kidneys with tarragon, wholegrain mustard and cream

Seared Dunmore East scallops, Tom Power's black pudding, rocket and apple salad

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Irish striploin steak, stuffed garlic mushrooms, celeriac puree, shallot in red wine

Pork fillet wrapped in streaky bacon, apple and sultana relish, vanilla and apple sauce

Breast of free range chicken, grape and sausagemeat stuffed leg, clove and honey sauce

Roast rack of Kilkenny lamb with ratatouille, red wine gravy

Oven-baked salmon fillet with buttered spinach, prawns, basil pesto and Parmesan

Grilled fillet of hake, minted pea puree, lemon hollandaise sauce

Roast courgettes with garlic, walnut and blue cheese crust

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Warm sticky toffee pudding, vanilla ice cream, butterscotch sauce

Hanora's lemon tart with crème anglaise, lemon curd

Selection of homemade ice creams (baileys, vanilla, chocolate)

Meringue roulade with fresh summer berries, red berry coulis

Irish farmhouse cheese, tomato and sultana chutney, homemade crackers

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Tea/Coffee
Gratuity at Customers Discretion
Menu 39 Euro
For more information about our menu or special dietary requirements please contact Hanora's Cottage Restaurant.

HANORA'S COTTAGE VEGETARIAN MENU

Selection of Nire Valley Farm lettuce with beetroot, celeriac and hazelnuts

Red onion and cherry tomato tartlet with Bay Lough cheddar cheese

Cream of Knockalisheen spinach soup with fresh nutmeg

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Roast courgettes with garlic, walnut and blue cheese crust

Vegetarian stir fry with boiled rice, coconut flavoured satay sauce

Oven-baked camembert in filo pastry with red onion marmalade

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Fresh prune and almond tart, crème anglaise and vanilla ice cream

Hanora's brown bread ice cream, caramel sauce

Chocolate brownies with crème de menthe ice cream, warm chocolate sauce

Meringue roulade with fudge and walnut sauce

Selection of Irish farmhouse cheese with homemade crackers and chutney

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Tea/Coffee

Gratuity at Customers Discretion

For more information about our menu or special dietary requirements please contact Hanora's Cottage Restaurant.