Review
The Ballymore Inn opened their doors 16 years ago under the watchful eyes of Barry & Georgina O Sullivan, and was one of the first gastro pubs at the time. It is located in the centre of Ballymore Eustace, 11 kilometres south of Naas and less than a forty minute drive from Dublin.
The food here is understated but Georgina's skill as a cook, together with carefully sourced ingredients, married with flair and consistency make Ballymore a destination for food lovers from all over the country.
It is tastefully decorated with an outdoor seating area to the front. Inside it’s chic and understated and they have balanced perfectly the old world feel of the original tiles and fireplace to the modern country kitchen look created with a mix of olive green and cream colour schemes. In the right hand corner of the restaurant is a dresser and display of shelves selling a wide array of homemade breads, relishes, dressings and some nice pieces of crockery and giftware. They have their own garden here which supplies both fruit and vegetables.
We visited recently for lunch and a catch up with friends and it was the perfect destination as we were coming from different parts of Kildare. There was a choice of a set menu offering 1 course for €16.25, 2 courses for €20.45 and 3 courses for €25.75 as well as a restaurant lunch menu. There was a choice of 4 starters priced between €6.85 for their freshly made soup of the day to €12.55 for a large serving of spicy chicken wings. Following on were 7 different pizzas, 6 main courses priced from €16.75 for the chargrilled chicken salad with cashew nuts to €28.85 for the dry aged west Cork 250g steak. All mains are served with a choice of champ, rice, noodles, fries, rosemary saute potatoes, side salad or stir fry vegetables.
When it came to drinks we had a choice of drinks from the bar, a very exciting choice of cocktails and a great selection of craft beers. As it was the middle of the day and we were all driving it was a glass of wine each and onto sparkling water, which was a pity really, as an afternoon for crafty beer and naughty cocktails seemed like such a good idea.
I decided to start with the salad leaves with avocado, orange & spiced pecans while other appetisers that made it to the table were a chicken liver pate with pistachio, tomato chutney & toasted brioche and a small portion of the spicy chicken wings. When it came to flavour mine won hands down, the mix of avocado, orange segments and pecan nuts with a traditional French dressing and basil oil worked so well, but its hard to passa spicy chicken wing and i had a sneaky one of them too.
To follow came saffron risotto with Wexford wild mushrooms & rocket for myself, chicken salad with cashew nuts, grapes and tarragon oil for Sonya and a pork stir fry with black bean sauce for Catherine. All dishes were delicious and well presented with head chef Adrian ensuring only the best of ingredients are used. With no room for dessert but still lots to chat about we ordered coffees which came with fabulous chocolate truffles.
Having got the ambience and the food just right it is no wonder people come from all over to visit The Ballymore Inn. As well as being able to eat in the restaurant you also have The Back Bar for a more casual setting which serves food daily from 3pm.
