Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [188]
Edward Langton’s ( 056-776 5133; 67 John St; mains €15-28; noon-10pm) The restaurant within this enormous, snazzy pub seems able to seat much of the town (certainly most everybody’s here for Sunday lunch). The food is quality trad Irish: never-ending bowls of boiled potatoes and desserts like toffee and brown bread pudding with hot butterscotch sauce. Regular dinner-and-show specials for around €40 are popular with locals and tourists alike.
Lautrec’s Brasserie ( 056-776 2720; 9 St Kieran’s St; mains €16-26; dinner daily, lunch Sat & Sun) Romantics can hold hands at the tiny tables in the tiny dining room and partake of the disproportionate wine selections at this seductive, rose-coloured French bistro. It’s spawned a second restaurant in Carlow town Click here.
Campagne ( 056-777 2858; The Arches, 5 Gashouse Lane; lunch 2-/3-course set menu €24/28, dinner mains €24-29; lunch Fri & Sun, dinner Wed-Sun) Chef Garrett Byrne has returned home from the capital’s Michelin-starred Chapter One restaurant to open this bold, stylish new restaurant in his native Kilkenny. Dubliners now commute to feast on specialities like chestnut and pheasant soup, and goose terrine with apple marmalade.
SELF-CATERING
Over 20 stalls selling local produce set up at Kilkenny’s farmers market (Mayors Walk, The Parade; 9am-2pm Thu). Otherwise, picnickers can pick up groceries from Dunnes Store (St Keiran’s St; 24hr).
Drinking
Tynan’s Bridge House ( 056-772 1291; St John’s Bridge) Looking like it might fall down at any moment, this wonky Georgian pub is the best trad bar in town. To be sure, the 300-year-old building has settled a bit over the years, but then so have many of the customers.
John Cleere ( 056-776 2573; 22 Parliament St) One of Kilkenny’s finest venues for live music, this long bar has blues, jazz and rock, as well as trad music sessions.
Grapevine ( 056-772 956; 6 Rose Inn St) If yet another pint in an atmospheric pub is just one too many, take refuge at this smart new tapas and wine bar. There’s also a stellar range of craft beers and, joy of joys, Moretti coffee, air-freighted from Italy, and quite possibly the best coffee you’ll ever taste.
O’Riada (27 Parliament St) The lowest-key bar in Kilkenny gets pretty lively when there’s a hurling match screening. But most of the time you can ponder your pint and strike up a conversation with anyone – including yourself.
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LOCAL BREW?
For foreigners, Kilkenny is synonymous with its namesake ale. But locally, ‘Kilkenny’ is known as Smithwick’s.
John Smithwick opened the brewery in Kilkenny city in 1710 on the site of St Francis Abbey (the abbey’s ruins remain within the complex). But it wasn’t until the 1980s that it started selling overseas under the Kilkenny name. This was to avoid pronunciation pitfalls with the silent W in the word ‘Smithwick’s’, and to provide a stronger taste catering to its offshore market. Today ‘Kilkenny’ refers to a similar yet distinctly different beer – it is more bitter and has a creamy, Guinness-like head (Smithwick’s retains a thinner head and smoother taste).
Ireland’s oldest working brewery, Smithwick’s is now owned by drinks giant Diageo (Guinness, Harp et al), and primarily brews Budweiser under licence. It was slated to close when Diageo decided to relocate to newer, bigger premises. However, at the time of writing, Ireland’s economic downturn had placed this move under review. Stay tuned…
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Kyteler’s Inn ( 056-772 1064; 27 St Kieran’s St) Dame Alice Kyteler’s Click here old house was built back in 1224 and has seen its share of history: the Dame had four husbands, all of whom died in suspicious circumstances, and she was charged with witchcraft in 1323. Today, tourists of all ages whoop it up in the dungeon-like basement.
Also recommended:
Ana Conda ( 056-777 1657; Parliament St) Local favourite featuring