Visit Lahinch on a breezy, sunny day and you'll find dozens of young people surfing the waves - while dozens more of all ages walk the long well kept prom or, having happily queued for the pleasure, sit contentedly among the rocks with long cardboard boxes of Spooney’s fish and chips!
And the simple reason is that this vibrant fish and chip bar serves extra special food to go. The fish is landed locally, before being filleted and freshly battered in-house, and the chips are made from Irish potatoes, grown nearby in Killimer, and then peeled, cooked in beef dripping and served with homemade tartare sauce. And there's a secret to Spooney’s deliciously crisp batter, and (as customers at the long-established family business, Vaughan's Anchor in Liscannor, will already know) it lies in chef-proprietor Denis Vaughan’s treasured 19-year old starter.
But it's not all about fish & chips at Spooney's which, along with its neighbouring sister restaurant Vaughan's on the Prom, opened in spring 2021 and quickly earned a following for its 'cow to cone' ice-cream parlour as well as ultra-fresh fish. Every morning, Denis Vaughan collects the fresh milk for Spooney's ice cream from Lacey’s Farm in Liscannor, before pasteurising it in Vaughan’s Anchor Inn and then churning it in-house with premium flavours like Bronte pistachios from Sicily and Madagascan vanilla...
You can choose from cones or wafer baskets, and the ice cream menu also offers sorbets and milkshakes made with Liscannor milk and a Super Sundae, made with Spooney’s signature soft serve, and smothered in colourful toppings and sauces, like Oreo and Biscoff. Spooney’s also serves freshly made churros, doughnuts, brownies and cookies - and, true to their commitment to sustainability, the excellent coffee is from Sunday Collab, who donate 1% of all profits to protecting the oceans.
