2 Best Restaurants in The Southwest, Ireland

An open fire, stone walls, and a minstrel's gallery above the main room lend considerable character to this restaurant, while the chef--owner’s imaginative ways with local produce result in memorable fare. Built in 1823 as a schoolhouse, it is located in its own leafy gardens near the Park Hotel (where many of its staff trained). The food is elegantly plated and served on plain wooden tables set with white Irish-linen napkins. In the long summer evenings light streams in from tall windows. Try one of the creative vegetarian options, such as goat's cheese croquettes with beetroot chutney, or roast rack of Kerry lamb, with warm crepes with vanilla ice cream and butterscotch sauce to finish. 

Step behind the Victorian arched facade here and you'll discover a buzzing contemporary restaurant, masterminded by the two Treyvaud brothers (one a popular TV chef), that features classic Irish dishes (e.g., fish cakes, sausages, or bacon and cabbage) with a continental twist. The interior is simple—pine floorboards, wood-beam ceiling, lines of red-back chairs—so the food takes center stage. To start try the local smoked salmon, or deep-fried calamari. Follow with bacon and cabbage Treyvaud-style (smoked loin with buttered cabbage and whole-grain mustard sauce), or half a roast guinea fowl with wild forest mushrooms, or the renowned homemade fish cakes with whole-grain mustard, chives, and garlic aioli.