SEAfood
From Dublin Bay to the Flaggy Shore, the waters around the island of Ireland are blessed with some of the finest seafood in the world.
Man cannot live on steak alone, so we decided to apply everything we’ve learnt about beef (pretty much: buy the best meat possible and don’t mess it up) to the fruits of the sea.
Starting close to home, most of our monkfish are landed nearby by small dayboats seeking out highly-prized Dublin Bay prawns. Whilst these pint-sized-lobsters are now predominantly jetted abroad (we saw some recently in Miami for $100 each!), we are happy recipients of their monkfish by-catch, which is amongst the best we’ve ever tasted.
Following Seamus Heaney’s advice(*), we then head west to three small bays on the Flaggy Shore (named for the local limestone, which often became flagstone floors), for oysters that derive their unique crisp, fresh flavour from the fresh water that trickles through the karst landscape of The Burren.
Next, north, past the rich estuarine home of Kelly natives (an occasional special when we can get our hands on them), and you might spot some currachs looking much like they would have done thousands of years ago. These small wicker-framed boats, which were once covered with cattle skins (nowadays tarred canvas), are used to catch our scallops, which are hauled up by hand.
Further still and you’ll find the Old Farm oysters we roast with bone marrow in Sligo, which takes its name from Sligeach, ‘Shelly River’ … a reference to the abundance of shells in long estuary to Oyster Island where the Garavogue river meets the sea.
Back again across the country to Howth, and you might catch lobster pots being unloaded ready to be delivered to our kitchen. All of which feels like a journey that merits a trip back to Hawksmoor for a dozen oysters and a well-deserved pint…
What makes our food so good?
Our food’s good because the ingredients are good. Expect beef from small Irish community farmers, dry-aged for 35 days and simply grilled over charcoal, sustainable seafood from around the isle, seasonal fruits and vegetables or cheeses from some of our favourite cheesemakers in the nation.
