The brother and sister duo behind The Strand Inn in Dunmore East – Clifden and Louise Foyle – brought a contemporary new look to the building that used to house The Bowery pub when they opened here in late 2023. Wonderful high ceilings and a pared-back design show off the original brickwork which is now adorned with stunning art works.
The long interior is bright, spacious with a great ambience. Comfortable booths line one side of the room; while the opposite side has grey chairs with rounded backs that provide not only initial comfort but welcome back support as well, and a long covered bench with scatter cushions lines the wall.
Fish and seafood are, of course, the stars on both the lunch and dinner menus. The evening menu is likely to have no less than five fish offerings, ranging from seared tuna carpaccio to chargrilled octopus and Kilmore Quay mussels. The Dunmore Fish Pie takes pride of place among the mains and lunchtime menus also offers lighter dishes including squid à la plancha and crab and smoked salmon ravioli.
But carnivores are well looked after too, with a 12-oz dry-aged Delmonico steak, Pat McLoughlin’s dry-aged beef burger and rack of lamb giving excellent dinner choices, and the lunchtime menu offers Picanha steak or a tasty roast beef sandwich. And, while there may be no specific vegetarian options, a chermoula potato and spinach pie or Moroccan spiced tabbouleh should do the job.
Children are made very welcome and a two-course Kids’ Menu offers scaled down favourites such as fish & fries, grilled chicken breast with mash or fries, burger or penne, and a 5oz steak is available with a supplement (€5). Sunday lunch (which is à la carte) includes roasts such as dry-aged beef or free range chicken, served with duck fat roast potatoes, seasonal greens, confit garlic and gravy as well as items from the regular menus. Side dishes such as York cabbage with hazelnut & chilli butter are a treat and, although the dessert offering is quite limited are a cheesecake, a hot soufflé, a couple of chocolate classics and a cheeseboard (which may offer just one cheese, such as Cashel Blue), the quality is in the eating. To accompany, an almost exclusively European wine menu offers plenty to please every taste, with all wine producing countries well represented, including Austria and Switzerland - although tasting notes would be helpful.
The quality of the food and good cooking by chef Josef Cervenka (previously of Asador) speaks for itself and - under the direction of manager Neil Kenna - faultless service by friendly, well-informed staff also adds a lot to the enjoyment of a meal here. No wonder The Dunmore earned its place so quickly as a favourite on the Rathmines dining scene.
