On the menu is a zingy Chorizo with Aran Islands Feta and rocket, local Andarl Farm free range pork and fresh and smoked Atlantic haddock. This is a perfect place to enjoy local food cooked to perfection by Dermott, with Janice overseeing the warm front of house service. THE PANTRY AND CORKSCREW ¬ is quirky little restaurant with walls packed with old pictures and artefacts is run by husband and wife team Dermott Flynn and Janice O’Rourke. Lovely atmosphere, great little nooks and crannies and warm and friendly service. Try the whole langoustines with garlic or pan roasted hake. With head chef Anthony Printer in the kitchen and the freshest of seafood on the plate, you can’t go wrong. This gorgeous old seafood restaurant and bar commands a wonderful view of the sea. Visit .ĬRONIN’S SHEEBEEN Lunch at Cronin’s Sheebeen is a must.
Even if Westport wasn’t as beautiful as it is, I would head there just to have a perfect evening at An Port Mór – yes, it is that good. We feasted on delicate black sole, turbot on the bone with lobster sauce and seasonal stuffed courgette flowers.Īnother classic staple are delicate scallops with beurre noisette with black pudding from Kelly’s butchers, Dublin bay prawns and fresh crab. Frankie keeps the menu interesting at his Michelin Plate restaurant but expect the freshest of seafood. It was our first stop and we were there to celebrate my mum, Mags Casey’s 91st birthday. Visit .ĪN PORT MÓR This is one of my favourite restaurants with the great talents of Frankie Mallon in the kitchen. The rooms are spacious, the food is great and the warmth of the service is exceptional. The Clew Bay is one of those family owned quintessentially Irish hotels where nothing is too much. And that is the real secret to a hotel’s success, and it is rarely to do with bricks and mortar regardless of how lovely the décor is. It’s a testament to these two great ambassadors for Westport and they have created a hotel that welcomes guests like long lost friends, while also minding their staff. That’s some achievement for a family run hotel in a town of just over 5,000 people. They had also refurbished the hotel and won a prestigious national award a few years ago from the Irish Hotels Federation, placing them alongside the likes of The Merrion and the Intercontinental as great employers. THE CLEW BAY HOTEL I was back for, by now, my annual return visit to The Clew Bay Hotel to catch up with owners Maria Ruddy and Darren Madden who were brave enough to stand aside for two weeks to let me takeover with the staff for that RTÉ show all those years ago. If a town had a heart it would be manifest in the passion and love so evident in the mouth-watering apple tarts atĬhristy’s Harvest where hours could slip by while chatting to complete strangers and listening to the good humoured banter from the man himself. Along with the beauty of the town there is a noticeable warmth about Westport people - always happy to chat in the lovely quaint Irish-owned shops. If you could capture that and mirror it in other small towns we might re-energise rural communities and give our young people a reason to stay. I filmed an episode of RTÉ’s The Takeover in Westport and fell into a deeper infatuation with the people, the history and the magic ingredients that makes it one of the most visited spots in Ireland. So many famous and infamous people have fallen for Westport’s charms but acclaimed 19th-century author William Thackeray’s love affair with Westport and Clew Bay is renowned “…the bay and the Reek, which sweeps down to the sea, and the hundred isles in it, were dressed up in gold and purple and crimson, with the whole cloudy west in a flame. If the pleasing prettiness of Westport isn’t enough to lure you, then the dramatic backdrop courtesy of mother nature makes this the best weekend retreat in Ireland (in my opinion!) The flowers by the way are specifically chosen to attract butterflies and bees.
The pristine streets (it has won the Tidy Towns competition oodles of times), beautiful flowers, lovely old Georgian buildings flanking the Carrowbeg river and picturesque stone bridges greet you on arrival.
It is unusual in that it is a planned town, and there aren’t many of them in Ireland, and it has heritage status. Well before I fell in love with far flung exotic destinations, I found myself heading to this picture perfect gem time and again.
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