This atmospheric 200-year old traditional cottage between Doolin and the Cliffs of Moher was formerly home to Karen Courtney and Myles Duffy's delightful Stone Cutter's Kitchen Family Restaurant. In May 2023 chef Robbie McCauley and his French wife, Sophie, re-opened it as Homestead Cottage - and, while the rustic surroundings retain their traditional charm, its aims ("The perfect stop for a gourmet lunch or immersive dining experience") couldn't be more different.
Former head chef at the highly-regarded Gregans Castle Hotel at Ballyvaughan (and, briefly, Lisdoonvarna's Wild Honey Inn), Robbie is well known in the area, and beyond, for his love - and skilful cooking, which can be memorable at its best - of fresh, local and seasonal ingredients. And, having worked in Co Clare for some years, he has an established network of suppliers to call on, including the county's greats such as St Tola Goat Cheese, Haugh family butchers of Market House in Ennistymon and Cathal Sexton's CS Fish near Doonbeg, which are detailed with pride along with others on the website.
The Homestead Cottage experience is evolving and menus change daily, but the main constant is seasonality, with produce from their own garden included when available, along with the best the area has to offer, foraged foods included, as the season progresses. When the days are long, a beautiful aromatic bowl of home grown tomatoes may fill one of the pretty cottage windowsills with colour and the scent of summer - and perhaps appear in a simple lunch dish such as Sophie's Granny's Tomato & Onion Salad. Then the warmth of an open fire and a dinner menu showcasing wild game will take over in autumn - the range of handsome dishes for game lovers on the 7-course dinner menu has included a Galantine of Irish game & Waldorf salad, a Partridge, bacon & foie gras pithivier, and East Clare fallow deer cooked over birch with hay-baked garden celeriac, kale & elderberry... But it's not all about game, of course, and other typical treats might include Flaggy Shore Oysters from north Clare, locally landed fish and other meats, including Burren lamb. Even a sophisticated chocolate dessert will have some special ingredient, such as local milk, giving a sense of place - and the house coffee is Anam, the famed organic and ethically sourced coffee handroasted at Kilfenora on the Burren.
Organic, biodynamic and vegan choices are highlighted on the wine list, which has a natural leaning towards Sophie's native Burgundy and includes half a dozen special occasion Library Wines (rising to about €500 for a special occasion treat such as the Château Lynch-Bages 2014, Grand Cru Classé, Pauillac) but a fair number of bottles in the €35-50 range too, and a good few by the glass. Also a nice choice of sparkling wines and sherries, and a short but unusual list of beers and ciders.
With its little rooms, uneven old Luogh flagstone floor and mis-matched country furniture, Homestead Cottage offers something different from most fine dining experiences and that is certainly part of its charm - along with the pricing, which is reasonable for the ambitious offering.
