Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [170]
Tannery Restaurant and Cookery School ( 058-45420; www.tannery.ie; 10 Quay St; mains €18-29; 12.30-2.30pm Tue-Fri & Sun, 6.30-9.30pm Tue-Sat, 6.30-9pm Sun Jul & Aug) An old leather tannery now houses this innovative restaurant, where Paul Flynn (opposite) creates seasonally changing dishes like quail and foie gras pie or pan-fried potato gnocchi with red wine butter, followed by roasted fruits with cinnamon custard or warm chocolate mousse with violets. Everything is served so beautifully that it’s almost – almost – a shame to eat it. Looking like a futuristic kitchen showroom, Flynn’s cookery school (demonstration/class including meal from €60/150) adjoins a fruit, vegetable and herb garden. Some courses include foraging for ingredients, while market-gardening classes (from €95) with fun-loving horticulturalist Tim Yorke cover soil preparation, seed germination, bed maintenance and more.
Mill Restaurant ( 058-45488; Davitt’s Quay; mains €19-30; from 5pm Wed-Sat, from 3pm Sun) From the moment you walk in the door, you feel at ease: staff are patient with kids, the place is smart but relaxed, and it’s clear everyone’s having a good time. Seafood, such as pistachio-encrusted cod, is the main speciality, but it also serves succulent steaks and crispy pizzas.
Breads, cheeses, chocolate and hot food to eat on the spot are available at Dungarvan’s weekly farmers market (www.dungarvanfarmersmarket.com; Grattan Sq; 9am-2pm Thu).
Entertainment
On the quayfront, live music and DJs perform regularly at the laidback Moorings ( 058-41461; Davitt’s Quay), which has beautiful original timber cabinetry and a snug, and – sticking with the nautical theme – the Anchor Bar ( 058-41249; Davitt’s Quay). The latter is also a good spot to catch sport on the big screen.
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FRESH FARE, FROM THE GROUND UP
For top Irish chef Paul Flynn of the Tannery Restaurant and Cookery School (opposite), his new market garden in his native Dungarvan has ‘turned food on its head. Rather than thinking up dishes in a kitchen then ordering the ingredients,’ he says, ‘I now see ingredients growing, like asparagus, and come up with ways to put them on the menu. It’s true seasonal food – you can pick a salad and 10 minutes later it’s on your plate.’
Well known for his cookbooks The Tannery Cookbook: An Irish Adventure with Food and Second Helpings: Further Irish Adventures with Food and his three-year stint as a food writer for the Irish Times, Flynn believes Dungarvan’s budding reputation as a foodie hub is due to ‘a discerning public with a down-to-earth attitude. It’s a “real town”, not just done up for tourism; it’s rooted in farming. The farmers market (opposite) is the pulse of the town and creates a real sense of community. And the Waterford Festival of Food Click here was a huge success the first year in 2008. Following up its success the second year was like trying to put out a difficult second album, but people flocked.’
When not cooking or teaching – ‘I really enjoy it’ – behind the stoves himself, Flynn says, ‘It’s a real treat to eat in a nice restaurant.’ His picks in the southeast include ‘Cliff House Click here in Ardmore – to eat a bowl of soup in the bar and look out at the sea, Nude Food (opposite) here in [Dungarvan] town – I really, really like their food. It’s proper food, full of flavour, and Campagne Click here in Kilkenny city – it’s my favourite restaurant in the country at the moment.’ Flynn’s hottest tip hadn’t even opened at the time of writing (but will have by the time you’re reading this): ‘Justin and Jenny Green, who own Ballyvolane House in Fermoy, County Cork, are opening O’Brien’s Chophouse Click here in Lismore. I can’t wait – they’re a really cool couple and really talented. I’ll be eating there a lot.’
That is, too, when Flynn isn’t in his pride and joy. ‘I’m privileged to have this garden. A big creamery [dairy] had closed down; it was an empty site in the middle of town. The creamery still has its offices in Dungarvan and agreed to lease me the plot and sponsor the garden. Having the garden attached