The Seafood Interview supported by BIM - The Crazy Crab Café & Bistro

In the first of a new series, Marilyn Bright looks at the highs and lows of some of Ireland’s leading seafood restaurants - and finds out what makes them tick.

They keep things simple at The Crazy Crab Café & Bistro, Kilmore Quay, Co Wexford, proving that you don’t need fancy dishes to please the punters – just really fresh fish that tastes of itself.

With its sprinkling of thatched cottages and sparkling harbour bustling with a mixture of sleek leisure craft and hard-working fishing boats unloading thair catch, Kilmore Quay is a film-makers dream of a picturesque port. Crowds of visitors appear as summer approaches and at the Crazy Crab Café and Bistro, they’re gearing up for their third season serving up seafood so fresh it has literally travelled just the width of the quayside.

Chef-proprietor Mike Crowley says that no one was more surprised than himself when the Crazy Crab was named Newcomer of the Year in the BIM Seafood Circle Awards 2012. “We don't do anything fancy,” he says, “just put up the best fresh fish every day and do very little with it — no sauces, just garlic butter or tartare sauce.”

Fish is what Mike knows, with a lifetime spent crab and lobster potting and working the fish auctions in Union Hall, the move into catering seems to have been a bit unplanned. “I think I got a bit bored with the fishing,” Mike muses, “and then this place came up. My wife works in the fish company across the way and I just thought why not?"'

Although the premises had been vacant for a year, it had been a full working restaurant left in good nick needing only “a lick of paint” and some minor equipment. On the cooking front, Mike's sister is a chef and she came in to help at the beginning. Since then, Mike presides at the stove and directs the dozen or so staff needed during peak
summer season.

Fresh fish comes in daily and is filleted in-house. “The biggest difficulty with fish is trying to hold it and that used to be more of a problem when supplies were scarce, but now the big boats can stay out in bad weather and supplies are more constant. We buy direct from Flaherty's, who have 13 boats landing their catch in Kilmore. Freshness is key and that's what keeps the customers coming."

Although most of the fish landed at Kilmore is destined for the continental export market through the two local fish companies, Mike’s good relationships there ensure fresh stock every morning — with the odd dash across the quay mid-service if there's been a run on a particular item.

Popular langoustines, or Dublin Bay Prawns, actually come from all around the coast, from Galway and Union Hall to Clogherhead and Howth, and the Crazy Grab gets through crates of them. Prawns in garlic butter “fly out the door” all summer and also appear as golden battered scampi or with the classic Marie Rose sauce and salad.

Kilmore is a major lobster port, but Mike is puzzled by the fact that this top-end shellfish hasn't been much taken up in the cafe, even though lobster has been well priced over the past year “I just don't fathom it,” he admits, “but customers much prefer their prawns in garlic butter.”

Kilmore Quay scallops are partnered with Clonakilty black pudding or simply turned in garlic butter to be served with the Crazy Crab sides of chips and salad, Mike's fishcakes combine fresh cod and haddock and smoked cod seasoned with onion and parsley and set off with chilli salsa. Signature crab comes as crabmeat cocktail or garlic buttered claws or as part of the mountainous seafood platter that is the pièce de résistance for two hungry people.

The Crazy Crab seafood chowder is an all-weather crowd pleaser, a creamy version with chunky white and smoked fish, prawns, scallops, onions and potatoes enriched with white wine and stock. Haddock and plaice are menu mainstays, with breaded haddock goujons a particular favourite for young customers. Constantly changing catch of the day is chalked up on the blackboard - lemon sole, hake, monkfish or John Dory — whatever has just arrived.

Business starts to build gently in Kilmore in the spring and high season at the Crazy Crab kicks in with the June bank holiday. “Then it's really crazy for three months,” Mike says, “It's tough going, but I get a kick out of it when compliments come in. We only have a tiny kitchen, so everything we do is simple and fresh so that the fish speaks for itself. People are happy with it and it's their word of mouth that helps the business more than anything else."