Our initial inquiry about booking a table at The Tannery in Dungarvan was rejected but on a quick recollection they could actually fit us downstairs at 7:30. We showed up at the appointed time and were immediately seated in a room off the bar area.  The room was very pleasant, bright and airy.

Bread was delivered in the form of slices of light and airy Ciabatta accompanied by a sour cream and chive dip which had a hint of either vinegar or lemon. Lovely.

For starters I had the charcuterie plate which came as a mix of cured meats, toasted soda bread, pate and some lightly pickled cauliflower. All meticulously laid out and very tasty. Anne had the Prawn Broth with Brown Rice and Avocado Toast which, again, was beautiful to look at. The broth itself belied its light sounding name and tasted rich with a smokey hint.

Mains consisted of Lightly Smoked Salmon with a Beetroot Coleslaw, Roasted whole Monkfish with Serrano Ham and Baked Peach and our third diner, who had passed on the starters, chose the Herb Crusted Wicklow Lamb Ribs. The salmon was excellent, perfectly cooked but the beetroot accompaniment disappointed. What sounded like it should be full of flavour was a bit lacking on taste, luckily the salmon made up for it. The Monkfish was fantastic, the fish was cooked to perfection. When asked for some lemon the waitress disappeared into the kitchen and ignored us on return. Had we insulted the chef? When neither tantrum nor lemon appeared we asked a second time and received two wafer-thin rounds of lemon which looked like they came from the bar. Impossible to squeeze a thin round of lemon onto a fish so we moved on. The lamb arrived but disappointed, to be fair the menu said ribs and that’s what they were. Four ribs with a thin coating of meat containing a fair share of fat. Our diner picked the meat from half and gave up declaring it a futile exercise.

Only when the meal was finished did we first catch sight of the Maitre D’. As she visited the diners I overheard the table next to us complain about the lamb. We did the same. First to the waitress who, having ignored us since the lemon incident, came to clear the plates. She offered an incredulous “but it is cooked for two and half hours” response and wafted off. The Maitre D’ arrived and explained in a friendly manner that it was rib and not rack and without any more fuss said she would, of course, remove the charge from our bill.

Dessert was a Raspberry Gratin which disappointed via the gratin’s lack of flavour and Muscat Grape Jelly, Brown Sugar Ice Cream served with a Warm Doughnut which was very well received, the grape jelly in a tiny jam jar made it look all the better. Hmmm doughnuts….

To finish a couple of excellent Irish Coffees and, seeming as specialty cocktails were advertised via a flyer on our table, I chose a Mojito. Unfortunately the Mojito was a dour affair tasting like the ones I’ve tried to make at home: drinkable but lacking in fizz and zing. An appropriate summary for the entire night I thought as we headed into the night.

The bill came to €186 which included two starters, two mains (lamb excluded), two desserts, three cocktails and two bottles of Chablis at €35 each.

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Rating=3, Review, The Tannery Dungarven