Review
The Prince of Wales Hotel is in the centre of Athlone, on Church Street and their Prince Bar has become a very popular place with locals and visitors alike.
There is a very old world feeling, with natural timber floors, marble ornamental design, paneling on the walls and highly ornate ceilings. The room is full of character, and is divided into several spaces, with little alcoves. Three steps bring you from the main bar to a small dining space overlooking the street and a small brick fireplace in the corner gives a casual, relaxed feel.
The menu is extensive and you can choose from a selection of starters, big bites, from the char-grill, pizzas and main courses with a good selection of sides. Starters range in price from €4.95 for the soup of the day to €8.15 for a Caesar salad, they also have pork belly, crumbed brie, loaded nachos or creamy garlic mushrooms
When it came to the mains we were spoilt for choice; everything from a selection of steaks, burgers and chicken dishes were on offer, not to forget the recently added pizzas, and all around the €9.95 price point. All the pizzas are 10” so a large appetite or a friend to share is a must. Under main courses there were some tempting choices such as chicken fettuccine, Irish lamb stew or a chicken tikka curry
I started with the Prince fish cakes, 2 large cakes served with a side salad and a lemon & lime mayo while my husband decided to try the chicken tikka skewers; two skewers with large chicken chunks and an array of roasted vegetables with a mint yogurt dressing. To follow I had to try the blackened salmon on a bed of Asian noodle stir-fry while Fred on recommendation had one of their pizzas; he chose the Parma & Serrano ham with a side of sweet potato fries
In The Prince Bar and Kitchen the atmosphere is relaxed and the service and attention you receive is superb. The wine list is concise with a choice of three whites and the same of red, all available by the glass at €5.20 of by the bottle for €19.50. We decided to stay with drinks from the bar, Guinness for himself and vodka and slimline for me
Recently they started their own bakery serving a large selection of pastries with coffee during the day and homemade desserts for after dinner. We decided to share the cheesecake of the day, double baked berry, it was delicious and went down well with coffees to finish off the evening
The Prince is a large gastro bar which is now serving high quality bar food at exceptional value.
Under the very capable hands of their F&B Manager they are going from strength to strength and well worth a visit next time you are in Athlone
