I don’t think there is anyone out there that hasn’t heard of Ballymaloe, it is most famously know for it’s cookery school and it’s two leading ladies Darina and Rachel. I have to say I’m not a huge fan of Rachel but do admire Darina for all the work she had done for Slow Food in Ireland and for her focus on locally produced food. We originally planned to stay the weekend there but quickly changed our minds on seeing the prices, I was a bit suprised to be honest as it is not a 5 star hotel but a country house so we decided to stay at the neighbouring 5 star Castlemartyr Hotel instead for nearly half the price. We decided to visit Ballymaloe for lunch instead as dinner is €70 p.p and we had the princess with us so lunch at €40 p.p seemed like a better idea.
We were booked for 1pm and were late of course, mainly due to a lack of signage. I know they are well known and everything but I don’t think they need to keep their location a secret. We arrived at the Cookery School first which is actually in a separate location, it seems to have a really nice buzz there with very enthusiastic and energetic staff, ironically it was pizza day and I think you can eat there for lunch too but I just got directions for the main house.
At this stage it was about 1.20pm and last orders were at 1.30. Lunch only runs from 1 – 1.30pm, I want their job! We were met by a pleasant lady at the desk and shown to our table. The room itself is traditional with blue and white check tablecloths with very pretty flowers from the garden I presume. I wasn’t too fond of the dark blue walls and would think that on a wet winter day it would be a bit dark and gloomy but luckily the sun was streaming in our window seat. The menu was short containing 4 starters and 4 main courses, nothing fancy, just simple home-cooked food. They also have a menu with light bites but to my surprise they had no children’s menu. I had told the princess who has a chip addiction on the way that “there would be no chips at Ballymaloe”presuming for once she might eat something decent at a restaurant instead of the usual sausages or chicken nuggets with chips! On asking the waitress about a children’s menu and being told there was none but they could do sausages and chips(the dreaded words) the princess turned to me and politely informed me “see mammy, I told you they had chips in Ballymaloe”, she’s 3 in November…..
to start:
mussels in their shells with a breadcrumb topping. I really like this dish anyway and is quite common in Italian cooking, the mussels were good quality and the breadcrumbs were nicely flavoured so we were off to a good start.
haddock goujons served with tarter sauce. Bru had this and enjoyed it, the breadcrumbs were really light and had a good flavour. The accompanying home-made tarter sauce was really good and probably the best I’ve tasted.
for mains:
The choice for mains was limited to chicken, cod, bacon and a vegetarian dish. Bru went for the free-range chicken which I presume comes from the chicken coup out the back. The chicken itself was lovely, moist and really tasty but the cream sauce was bland and tasteless. With such high quality chicken a simple sauce that didn’t compete or overpower the chicken would have been better.
I chose the cod with lovage pesto. I was a bit put off by the pesto when reading the menu as I personally only like pesto with pasta and I’ve never had lovage but I didn’t want bacon so I went with this. This dish just didn’t work for me, it was very bland with very little flavour, I actually left the majority of it. The simple side order of veg was really good, the baby carrots were bursting with flavour and were so sweet.
The funny thing about the main courses was that the princess’s sausages were the nicest dish on the table. They were probably the nicest sausages I’ve ever tasted and they were served with freshly cut chips so I had a little nibble.
We were beginning to lose faith at this stage until we saw the arrival of the dessert trolley, so 80′s but such a wonderful concept. There is just something about a trolley full of desserts being placed in front of you, it’s rather exciting and the best part being you can have a little bit of everything so we did. This was their saving grace, we oooed and ahhhhed the whole way through. The warm lemon pudding was to die for, the meringues with strawberries were delicious, the strawberries were so sweet, the little gooseberry tart was Divine , bitter and sweet at the same time and the chocolate ice-cream was one of the nicest home-made ice-creams we’ve had in Ireland, we haven’t tried Murhpy’s yet.
We finished off with a couple of good coffees.
So what did I think of the overall experience? I think the main problem with a place like Ballymaloe is the expectation, which will always be difficult to live up to. I think the price plays a major part too, at €40 per person you are expecting something very special and exciting and although it was good home cooked food using local good quality ingredients it just didn’t blow me away but maybe they are not trying to! My main gripe throughout the meal was the service, the staff were pleasant but far from friendly. There was absolutely no personality in the room, nobody asked us did we enjoy our meal, my unfinished cod wasn’t even questioned, there seemed an attitude of not really caring as most people were probably just like us visiting on a one off and probably won’t return. It was basically hi, here’s your table, here’s your bill, thanks and goodbye! I think most people go for the “Ballymaloe experience” but to me there was very little atmosphere in the restaurant or personal interaction which is a shame as it’s such a lovely place.
I’m glad I visited Ballymaloe and to be honest there should be country house restaurants like these with it’s own chicken coup, vegetables etc all over the country but like everything else in Ireland this is impossible with all the red tape and expense we have. My main problem is the fact that as a country we have become so far removed from natural eating and at the end of the day Ballymaloe is providing simple home-cooked food using good ingredients which is the way it should be. In Italy there is a concept called ” Agriturismo” where a family can open a restaurant adjacent to their house where they produce everything themselves on their land including the meat and wine. They are provided with government grants to help with the establishment and running of the business, they are very cheap, about €20 p.p including wine and you eat what you are given but it is the most fantastic eating experience. In Ireland it seems the only food business that can survive and thrive is the franchise model as there is absolutely no support whatsoever for food businesses and I’m hoping if one thing comes out of this recession is the return to simple food using produce from our local environment and we might see a few more Ballymaloe type places that we can afford to eat at on a regular basis. I can dream I suppose……
garyvoe beach!
ciaoxx
p.s. I’ve abandoned the blog a bit for facebook recently but the novelty will wear off I’m sure but if you’re not a friend just click here and add us http://www.facebook.com/lacucina
Now that was worth waiting for!
Absolutely fantastic post Lorraine. I love the photos, I think I need to get meself one of those cameras.
Did you complain about the blandness of the dish? As a food provider yourself, would you like customers to complain directly?
For a lot of people, €20 is not cheap. For me eating in Lacucina is a luxury, unless I get a slice of pizza which is great value for money.
Unfortunately, I do have to give out to you? I can’t believe you were so snobbish about the pesto? Where does it say that pesto is only for pasta? I thought you’d were a bit more adventurous in your outlook.
Thanks Conor, ask santa for 1:)
amadan – no I didn’t because she never asked. The thing about doing a review is that this is only my opinion and my taste, we’ve had people tell us they don’t like things in LC rarely mind you:) but then other people love them so personal taste accounts for everything! Everyone else in the room might have loved the cod?
re the €20 that’s for everything including wine, coffee and food which is a very good deal but no restaurant could afford to do that in Ireland because of the costs.
Me snobbish??? I’m probably a lot of things;) but def not snobbish when it comes to food. The simpler the better as long as it has taste and flavour, in Italy pesto is only served with pasta so I’ve adopted that frame of mind, I know a lot of people eat it with fish and chicken here which I have no problem with at all, but it doesn’t work for me so that’s why I was undecided about choosing the dish! We put it on our sandwiches etc in LC and Italians are always shocked when they see it just like pineapple on pizza!
the majority I’ve spoken to who have been to Ballymaloe have loved it except for a couple of people so like everything it could have been the chef that was on that day or maybe I’m just a fussy so and so:)
Interesting. Here’s my tuppence on “amateur” restaurant critics. I recently had occasion to write a less than complimentary review on a certain restaurant I’d visited. To be honest, I struggled with it. I felt guilty thinking about the hard work that these people are doing, but I also could not forget the sum of money I had shelled out for a distinctly lacklustre dining experience. I didn’t write the review to be nasty. Restaurants cannot expect to be immune from criticism. Restaurant owners need to face up to the fact that word spreads a lot quicker these days, thanks to “‘tinternet”.
I didn’t read this post as being uncomplimentary about Ballymaloe. Lorraine has simply raised some issues about the value for money she received. Some very fair points there I thought.
Conor – to be honest I don’t actually do many reviews here as I’m in the food business and I know naturally it will be referred back to my business and we’re far from perfect and somebody could come on an off day and have a terrible experience but that’s the food game.
I decided to do this one as Ballymaloe is so high profile and I think they’re food philosophy etc is what we need in Ireland and to be honest I was hoping it was going to be everything I wanted it to be so I would have somewhere to return to every year.
To be honest we stuggle in Ireland to find food places that we really love with simple honest food with TASTE and FLAVOUR, we’re not looking for anything fancy. I think Augustines is by far the best place we’ve eaten in Ireland http://www.augustines.ie as you know:). The service was excellent, the chef came out to chat to us, he seemed very involved and enthusiastic and that showed in his food.
I can see your point of view, Lorraine. I’ve considered only doing write-ups where I’ve had a good meal. But I’m still torn, why should the bad ones get away with it?? I’m also wary of the fact that I come across as an arrogant little shit doing reviews, like I know it all. Same as yourself, I do like to state that the review is only my opinion. To be honest, I think I might give up the reviewing lark. I’ve eaten in a LOT of Dublin restaurants over the years, most of which I wouldn’t be bothered going back to. I’m sure as hell not revisiting them just so I can write a bitchy blog post afterwards.
Anyway…
Augustines, what a place. The staff probably still remember me in there. I was the guy grinning like a lunatic, near comatose from the vast quantity of beef wellington I’d consumed. Great, great value.
Read your review with interest. Feel it is fair, you covered ‘the good, the bad with no ugly’.
I can see what you are getting at.
Have never been to Augustines
Conor – it’s hard to get the right balance but I think people want to hear the good and the bad as Lily says, it makes things more interesting:)
Lily – thanks:) You know I’m a fusspot anyway!
Very well written review Lorraine! I’m glad that you were so upfront and fair in your appraisal, and not just dazzled by the Ballymaloe reputation. You’ve raised a number of very good points, and you’re totally justified in doing so.
Thanks siobhan:)
I agree with Siobhan Lorraine, I thought it was a great post. You complimented the good, got excited about the great and simply mentioned the bad. I think Amadan may have been a bit unfair by assuming that because one has preferences or dislikes of food that it makes them non “adventurous”! Surely the point of reviewing food is to give your own upfront and honest opinion of your experience, bad or good! And bad/unfriendly service is one of my pet hates. I actually agree with you Lorraine about pesto on pasta so I would have been put off by the dish too. Frankly, none of the main course options would have appealed to me much, especially at €40pp. I know it’s in sterling but a 6 course meal at Gordan Ramsay at Claridges in London is only £70pp – and that has both service AND food second to none!
I am turning green with envy! The photography is stunning Lors.
Really well written review too.