Just Ask Resturant of the Month for July - Fallons of Kilcullen

The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for July is Fallons of Kilcullen, Co Kildare

When his much loved Newbridge hotel, The Red House, was destroyed by fire a few years ago Brian Fallon (of Fallon & Byrne in Dublin) brought the whole team to this well known premises in the attractive village of Kilcullen.

Following major renovations throughout, the building emerged with a beguiling interior - a stylish blend of old and new that will be familiar to anyone who remembers The Red House - and a very relaxing atmosphere.

Chef Rose Brannock is a longstanding member of the team, and key to their reputation for consistently excellent food – her style of really good, simple bistro cooking is well-established and her menus mainly offer a slightly modern taken on old favourites, which goes down well with a wide range of customers.

Menus read really temptingly, not only because the dishes themselves sound so delicious although they certainly do – who could resist starters of Dingle Bay crab claws with wild garlic and chive butter, or Ted Browne’s prawn cocktail with mixed leaves, for example; or mains like Sandra Higgins’ free-range chicken, with stuffing, carrot & parsnip, a vegetarian main dish of roast organic Grangebeg vegetables with Mossfield cheese fritters - or a simple 10oz fillet of beef with garlic potatoes and spinach...?

But the nicest thing is the way Rose gives her food a sense of place and personality, with a sprinkling of producer names throughout the menu, and a sense that there’s a real sense of commitment - and real people - behind each delicious dish. And Fallons have taken the idea of crediting their valued suppliers a stage further than a descriptive list (excellent though that can be), and brought them centre stage.

If you pop in for afternoon tea (or a glass of lovely cloudy Ballycross apple juice, from down the road at Bridgetown, Co Wexford), it’s Mrs G’s jam from Abbeyleix that you’ll get with the freshly baked scones and cream – and then, if you look at their ‘Supplier Family’ you’ll see her there smiling out at you.

Look again and you’ll see Sandra Higgins alongside, with a Hubbard chicken tucked under her arm and a gang of them pecking away in the grass behind her - and there’s Nolan’s pristine butchers shop (just across the road, and one of Ireland’s best), and the organic vegetables and free-range vegetables grown at the nearby Camphill and Grangebeg communities…and so on.

You can read about their fish suppliers, and how they’re working on sustainable stock management – and how shellfish suppliers Ted Browne of Dingle have come from working out of their garage in 1984 to employing 60 people today; find out about organic cheese production at the St Tola goat farm in Co Clare; hear how meat wholesalers M&K meats (‘very best meats in Ireland’) went from a single butchers shop to supplying 99% of Ireland’s top restaurants with a range of meats that includes O’Doherty’s famous organic pork and ‘black bacon’ from Fermanagh and seasonal Connemara Hill Lamb, the only Irish product to have EU PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) status – it must be born and reared in Connemara.

All fascinating stories, and a joy to read if, like most people, you like your food to tell you something about the area it comes from.

Not that even the very best ingredients would cut much ice if the obvious quality of the produce wasn’t matched by genuine commitment and talent in the kitchen, and by well-trained and informed service.

But it is: the cooking is great, portions are generous (as befits this sporting area), the staff are lovely and the value is good for the quality offered – no wonder their happy customers keep coming back for more.

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 Sample All Day Menu

Soups

Seafood chowder €6
Summer soup of the day with pesto €5 (v)©

Starters

Goats cheese pate with mango chutney, brown bread €8(v)
Spiced chicken wings, garlic dip €9©
Dingle bay crab claws with wild garlic & chive butter €14©
Ted Browne’s prawn cocktail with mixed leaves €12©

Summer Salads

Poached Camphill organic egg with asparagus, mixed leaves, truffle oil €8(v)©
Avocado and Pancetta with baby carrot, balsamic dressing €8/€12©
Poached salmon, green beans, little gem, Caesar cream dressing €8/€12©

Mains

Roast organic Grangebeg vegetables with Mossfield cheese fritters €16(v)
Sandra Higgins’s free-range chicken, stuffing, carrot & parsnip €24
Fried haddock in lemon butter with mange tout and baby roast €18
Catch of the day, daily price©
Habib’s chicken Korma €18©
Fillet of beef (10oz), garlic potatoes, spinach 28
Fallons’ burger €18

Desserts €5.5

Sticky toffee pudding
Crushed meringue with summer berries & vanilla ice cream
Chocolate and Grand Marnier mousse, shortbread biscuit
Manna rhubarb crumble
Selection of ice-cream©
Cheese board €9.50 ½ board 4.95
Minis desserts €1.95

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Afternoon tea with baked scones
Mrs G’s jam & fresh cream
€5

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Dish of the day €10

Monday
Fish Pie with gruyere mash

Tuesday
Pork and goat’s cheese sausage, onion gravy & mash

Wednesday
Pan fried liver with Nolan’s black pudding potato cake

Thursday
Cottage pie©

Friday
Stir fried chilli beef w/ cardamom buttered rice


Daily roast from the board €13

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Lunch favourite €14
Cod, chips, minted pea puree

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Open sandwiches

Baked ham, apple chutney 7.50

Chicken, stuffing 7.50

Fresh salmon, coriander, lemon 8.95

Cup of soup or frites with any open sandwich 9.95

Other sandwiches

Rare beef, rocket, horseradish cream 9

Warm marinated chicken wrap, frites 9.50


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Meet our Supplier Family

Atlantis Seafood & Narrow water

Atlantis seafood from Wexford are one of our three fish suppliers. Atlantis respect the sea and work to meet todays needs while protecting tomorrows. They deal directly with Irish boats and the sustainability of Irish stocks is vital to them and the coastal communities they work with. Their local fishermen use the latest EMS technology to limit their impact on the environment.

As part of their initiative to ensure sustainable stock management they are consistently promoting the use of a greater variety of under utilised species. They also promote other sustainable fisheries such line caught mackerel and organic farmed salmon.


Ted Browne Dingle Bay

Ted Browne and his wife Hannah Mae started this family business from a garage in the back garden of their home in 1984. the company employs 60 full-time and seasonal staff and is based at a state of the art factory in Baile na Buaile, An Daingean. De Brún Iasc Teoranta is a fish processing business that produces smoked salmon, crabmeat and prawn for the catering industry.

In addition to the core business of fish processing, the company has recently expanded in a new direction and is now producing high quality compost from fish waste. The company has carried out extensive research and development on the compost in recent years and believes that it will be a key element of the future success of the company. De Brún (Iasc) Teoranta is continuously seeking ways to improve production, develop new products and to source new markets.


M & K meats

We started out in business as a single unit butcher’s shop in Dublin; although the premises have changed quite a lot our focus on sourcing the very best meats, hanging, ageing and preparing them correctly and offering our customers every traditional butcher’s cut they could want, hasn’t changed at all.

We’re proud to offer the very best meats in Ireland and are used by 99% of the leading Irish restaurants, hotels and catering businesses. You’ll also find our products well distributed throughout the Taste of Dublin event as well as within the kitchens of celebrity chefs.


Sandra Higgins


Eddie McKeon and his daughter Sandra have recently established a free-range chicken farm on their land in Rathmore, Carbury, Co Kildare. The birds are a strain known as ‘Hubbard’ – well known for growing plump and tasty with the right methods of production. The birds are well looked after by Eddie and Sandra, and are already gaining high praise from local customers and top chefs.

The philosophy here is to do things as nature intended and keep the rearing methods as traditional as possible. It’s obviously paid off, and the birds are not just in demand from local customers, but have been taken onto the menu of other good food members including her husband and head chef of the KClub Finbar.


St. Tola Goat farm

St Tola has been made in the townland of Inagh just south of the Burren in County Clare since the early 1980’s. Originally made by Meg and Derrick Gordon, the business was taken over by their neighbour Siobhan Ni Ghairbhith in 1999. Since then, new premises have been built, the process has been brought up to HACCUP standards and in 2001, St. Tola became a registered organic producer with I.O.F.G.A, The Irish Organic Farmers and Growers Association. Both the farm and the cheesemaking operation are inspected individually, by I.O.F.G.A inspectors, twice a year.


Nolan’s Butchers

This butchers shop has become something of an institution for many people. There are many obvious reasons for this, such as quality,reliability and value for money; Nolan's however has a unique atmosphere. Dubbed aptly as the "social centre of Kilcullen". There is a vibe in the shop that typifies the nature of the people of the area.

People arrive not only for the meat but also for the " meet". It is this combination of guaranteed quality and the unique atmosphere that make Nolan's the butcher's with a difference.


Pat Clarke growing pleasure

Pat from Caragh,in Naas supplies us with the most beautiful range of hand cut salads. They are usually cut to order which guarantees us the freshest possible product with a broad variety of unusual tastes.


Ballycross apple juice

Taste a glass of Ballycross apple juice and you’ll realise immediately why the von Engelbrechten’s are so passionate about their products. They have realised the importance of the raw product – the apples.


Mrs G’s jams

The extraordinary thing about Helen Gee’s jams is the fact that they’re all made in the good old-fashioned way - an open pot, a big wooden spoon and plenty of elbow grease. Only the very best quality fruit and natural ingredients are used with no artificial colouring or preservatives. This, of course, is what gives the products their very distinctive taste – real homemade jam.


Camphill & Grangebeg farm

Camhill and Grangebeg are local Communities that are part of an international charitable trust working with people with intellectual disabilities and other kinds of special needs. They are currently providing us with freerange eggs, organic fruit and vegetables. They have an organic shop here in the town selling many of their lovely fresh products



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VIEW ALL JUST ASK RESTAURANT OF THE MONTH WINNERS

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“Just Ask!” is a public awareness campaign that aims to encourage consumers when eating out to look for information on where the food (particularly meat) on their plate comes from, and encourages chefs to provide this information on their menus. The programme supports both large and smaller artisan suppliers, encouraging both Irish diners and visitors from abroad to support restaurants that are in turn supporting their suppliers.

Here at Georgina Campbell Guides we have always been avid supporters of the ‘eat local’ concept, and we always enjoy reading menus that have a real sense of place. The dining experience is greatly enriched by knowing that the food on your plate is inspired by the produce and traditions of the area, and sourced nearby – and we would love to see more chefs sharing that precious information with their guests. 

If you are a visitor to the area, learning a little about local food and the people who produce it adds a special extra dimension to the visit – and, for residents, it reinforces a natural pride in the good things of their locality and makes a meal all the more enjoyable.

So, we are delighted by the high standard of menus that continue to be submitted for our ' “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month Competition', menus that really speak of the best of Irish foods – and the dedication of both the people who make them, and the chefs who select them to create wonderful dishes with real Irish flavour for our enjoyment.