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Home > Buy & Eat & Stay > Marlfield House and The Duck Cafe-Restaurant

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Marlfield House and The Duck Cafe-Restaurant

For Cooking & Service Well Above Average Deluxe Accommodation Has Good Hotel Guide Url Denotes genuine Irish food culture, ie special Irish food products/companies/producers, and highlights the best places to shop for regional and artisan foods; the selection excludes obvious 'non-Irish' elements regardless of quality, eg ethnic restaurants and specialists in coffee, wine and other drinks, unless relevant to local production or history. Eat & Stay establishments are chosen for their commitment to showcasing local produce and Irish hospitality. Previous Georgina Campbell Guides Award Winner The "Best of the Best" - Only the very best establishments across various categories have been chosen for this accolade

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Marlfield House and The Duck Cafe-Restaurant
Courtown Road, Gorey Co Wexford
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Directions About Gorey Trip Planning Tools
2km outside Gorey - exit 23 N11, left at Courtown roundabout and follow signs
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  • Conservatory Menu
  • Breakfast menu
  • Sunday Lunch in The Conservatory
  • The Duck Restaurant Menu
  • Conservatory Wine List

Marlfield House and The Duck Cafe-Restaurant

Marlfield House sets the bar when it comes unashamed luxury and superb food and now it has some gorgeous additions - not only The Duck, a stylishly informal restaurant and café-bar set in lovely restored outbuildings with a terrace right beside the immaculately maintained kitchen garden, but also luxurious Pond Suites...
Conference/banqueting (140/145); broadband wi/fi; secretarial services. Rooms 20 (6 state rooms, 14 superior, 8 ground floor, all no smoking). B&B from about €250-€700 per room. Room service (limited hours). Children welcome by prior arrangement (under 2s free in parents’ room, cots available without charge, babysitting arranged). Duck Lodge 2-bed sc, and Pond Suites also available. Conservatory Restaurant seats 90 (private room, 20; outdoor, 20). D 6pm-9pm. Set D €72. Set Sun L €50. D Feb-Easter & Sep- Dec Fri & Sat, L Sun only, D Easter-July Thu-Sun & L Sun only, July & Aug D Wed-Sun, L Sun only. D Easter-May Thu-Sat, June Thu-Sun, July & Aug Wed-Sun, Sep & Oct Thu-Sat, Dec Thu-Sat. Check website for off-season hours. Reservations essential. Seasonal 5 course Set D 6pm-9pm, €45. Wine from €38. Light à la carte lunches in Library Fri–Sun 12.30-5.30. Afternoon Tea (Drawing Room, conservatory or terrace) 12.30pm–3.30pm, Fri–Sun; €27 per person (€35 with glass of prosecco), reservations necessary. Not suitable for children under 8 at D; air conditioning; toilets wheelchair accessible. The Duck Terrace Restaurant & Café, open daily from 11am (Oct-mid-April Wed-Sun only). Daily a la carte 12pm-9pm. L from about €32, D from €50. Tennis, cycling, walking, croquet, garden. Dogs may be permitted by arrangement in certain areas. Golf nearby. Helipad. House closed Mon & Tue Oct-mid-April. Amex, Diners, MasterCard, Visa abbreviations
Georgina Campbell

Often quoted as ‘the luxury country house hotel par excellence’, this impressive house outside Gorey was once the residence of the Earls of Courtown, and is now an elegant oasis of unashamed luxury offering outstanding hospitality and service, where guests are cosseted and pampered in sumptuous surroundings.


It was first opened as an hotel in 1978 by Mary and Ray Bowe who have lavished care and attention on this fine property ever since - imposing gates, a wooded drive, antiques and glittering chandeliers all promise guests a very special experience - and their daughters Margaret and Laura Bowe now continue the family tradition of hospitality.


The interior is luxurious in the extreme, with accommodation including six very grand state rooms, but the gardens are also a special point of interest: there is a lake and wildfowl reserve, a formal garden, kitchen garden, and beautiful woodland with extensive woodland walks - and a number of gardens open to the public are within easy access, including Ram House, Mount Usher, Powerscourt, Altamont and Kilmokea.


Under the management of Margaret and Laura Bowe (two chips off the old block, both born with the hospitality gene in fine fettle and very high quality thresholds) there have been some interesting developments of late. While they treasure the traditional qualities of Marlfield House, they have broadened its appeal locally and to wedding parties by introducing a younger, more informal dining option in their stylish café-restaurant, The Duck (see  below). This development added an extra dimension to the whole property and makes the garden setting even more attractive - now joined by Duck Lodge, a contemporary 2-bedroom self-catering cottage, and, more recently, the luxurious Pond Suites, all of which has enhanced the appeal of Marlfield House.                                                                                                                                     


The Conservatory Restaurant:


Dining is always an exceptional experience in Marlfield’s fine restaurant, where the graceful dining room and Turner-style conservatory merge into one, allowing views out across the gardens, including a fine kitchen garden that is a delight to the eye and provides a wide range of fresh produce for the restaurant.


The conservatory, with its hanging baskets, plants and fresh flowers (not to mention the occasional statue), is one of the most romantic spots in the whole of Ireland, further enhanced at night by candlelight - a wonderful setting in which to enjoy chef Ruadhan Furlong’s accomplished cooking.


His strongly seasonal menus are changed daily and outline the produce available in the kitchen garden (which remains Ray Bowe’s particular point of pride, even though he has officially retired), and the origin of other ingredients used. Although contemporary in style and presentation, there is a strong classical background to the cooking, and it is all the better for that.


Specialities that indicate the style include a delicious starter of truffled Irish asparagus with panko-crumbed poached egg and tomato and black olive salsa, or Marlfield’s classic chicken liver parfait with pear and apple chutney apple and toasted brioche.


The seared Wexford fillet of beef is served with a fine béarnaise sauce, burnt shallot puree, baby carrot and confit leek and red wine jus.


Fish lovers should be delighted with dishes like a perfectly cooked and crisp roast Kilmore Quay monkfish served with prawns, julienne of summer vegetables, butter beans and spiced lemongrass cream


The ready supply of fresh garden produce inspires imaginative vegetarian choices too, and lovely puds tend to reflect the best fruit in season at the time; alternatively, a cheese selection from Sheridans cheesemongers includes Cashel Blue, Gubbeen, Tipperary Blue and Clonattin cheddar


Then it’s off to the drawing room for coffee and petits fours to round off the feast. Very professional service is a match for this fine food and an informative wine list, long on burgundies and clarets, offers a wine of the month, a page of special recommendations and a very good selection of half bottles.


Although not inexpensive, a meal here is always a treat and good value for the quality of food and service; the early dinner menu and Sunday lunch offer outstanding value. 


*The abundance of kitchen garden produce at Marlfield has inspired the Bowe family to make their own delicious 'pantry staples' products, including jams, chutneys and dressings, which are available to purchase.


The Duck


Some really lovely restored buildings in a courtyard beside the main house took on a new lease of life 2015. Here, a series of disused areas including a coach house, potting shed and gardener’s tool shed have been very attractively developed to create The Duck.


This stylishly informal restaurant and café-bar has a large terrace and overlooks the fine kitchen gardens that have for many years inspired proudly seasonal menus and given pleasure to diners in the graceful restaurant in the main house (as they still do). Now diners at The Duck can also enjoy them, but in a much more up close and personal way, as the terrace is right alongside the kitchen garden - which, in summer, is a wonderfully lush mixture of herbs, vegetables, fruit and rose blooms. It's a magic spot and, on a fine day, people love to wander around there before or after meals.


The kitchen's modern, broadly Italian, cooking style reflects the mood, with an emphasis on fresh seasonal produce from the garden and the local area, and light dishes and pastries for in between times as well as stylish lunch and dinner menus.


And, although a more obvious choice in summer, this atmospheric restaurant is an appealing all-year option: while the sunny terrace just the place to enjoy a coffee, a drink or a meal in warm weather, there's also a cheering open fire to make it cosy in the colder months.


The Duck was an instant success from day one, and it's not hard to see why.

 


 

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  • Activities
  • Facilities/Features
  • Restaurant/Dining/Pub
Activities
  • Cookery Classes
  • Croquet
  • Cycling
  • Equestrian (nearby)
  • Fishing (Fly Fishing nearby)
  • Forest / Woodland with trails nearby
  • Garden Visits (nearby)
  • Gardens (Outstanding)
  • Golf nearby
  • Horse Racing nearby
  • Hunting/Shooting (nearby)
  • Tennis
  • Walking (established walks)
  • Walking - Hillwalking (recommended routes or guides available)
Facilities/Features
  • Banqueting
  • Beauty - Massage
  • Beauty - Treatments
  • Breaks - Off Season
  • Breaks - Short
  • Breaks - Special Interest
  • Broadband WI/FI
  • Children's Baby Sitting Arranged
  • Conference Venue
  • Dogs permitted - charge
  • Dogs permitted - staying in bedroom
  • Family Friendly
  • Ground Floor Bedrooms (accessible for less able)
  • Heli-Pad
  • Location - Beach <5km
  • Location - By a lake
  • Location - Peaceful
  • Location - Scenic
  • Meeting Rooms
  • No Smoking Establishment
  • Open Christmas
  • Open New Year
  • Outdoor Dining Avail. (summer)
  • Pet Friendly
  • Romantic Venue
  • Shop - Gift
  • Wedding Venue
Restaurant/Dining/Pub
  • European Classic
  • Attractive Views
  • Breakfast Venue
  • Coeliac Friendly
  • Daytime/Coffee
  • Early Bird / Value Menu Available
  • Extensive Wine List
  • Formal
  • MSG Free
  • No Music Restaurant
  • Old World / Traditional
  • Organic Produce used (mainly)
  • Romantic
  • Sunday Dining
  • Vegetarian Friendly (always at least 1 starter & 1 main course)
2003 Award Winners International Hospitality Award
2011 Award Winners COUNTRY HOUSE OF THE YEAR 2011
2017 Award Winners Atmospheric Restaurant Of The Year 2017
2020 Award Winners HOTEL OF THE YEAR 2020
2021 Award Winners BEST GARDENS & GARDEN STAYS 2021
2024 Award Winners HOSTS OF THE YEAR 2024
Last Updated: 19-09-2024
Author: Georgina Campbell
Click here if you are the owner or marketing manager
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