Motoring in the southeast?
Two excellent “pit-stops” for you:
Hungry Bear in Gorey and Eamo & Ró at Kilmacthomas.
On the road in the sunny southeast this summer? We’ve already been and here are two excellent cafés to note in the area.
The Hungry Bear is in the heart of Gorey in Wexford, a few minutes off the M11.
Eamo & Ró is more rural, in the Waterford village of Kilmacthomas and on the greenway, yet just a couple of minutes off the N25 between Waterford and Dungarvan.
The small Waterford café is named for its owners and operators, chefs Eamon Connors and Roisin O’Connor, and is still in its infancy. But already making quite an impression and was chosen as one of the meal providers for the recent Blackwater Valley Opera Festival.
If you’ve left Cork (for instance) without breakfast, then make that minute detour to Kilmacthomas and check out their Breakfast Menu. It can vary of course but the their Full Irish is a regular and includes tea and toast.
You may start with the porridge or Overnight Oats. Fancy the French Toast? I do. And, of course, they have a Breakfast Blaa (packed with sausage and pudding patty, bacon and egg). There’s a Breakfast Hash, a Vegetarian breakfast, a Bacon and Cheese Croissant and more.
If you arrive at lunchtime (from 12 noon), you’ll find plenty of variety. I can certainly recommend the Potato and Chorizo hash with honeyed goat's cheese, spinach and spring onion. But you’ll also find soup, curry, tagine, Kilmore Quay smoked salmon and other dishes.
And if you want just a cuppa (tea or coffee) and a pastry, then they have those also.
Neither the Kilmacthomas nor the Gorey café takes reservations, so you may have to wait. We did so on arrival on a wet day in the Wexford town but eventually got in to enjoy an excellent lunch. It is a bigger place than Eamon and Ró and they also have an outside facility (not in use because of the rain). It was very busy on the day as were other nearby restaurants - they like their food in Gorey.
Anyhow back to the Hungry Bear and the hungry pair. It is all about local here. It is an independent Café/Restaurant owned and run by Ken and Louise Reddin and they use local produce. And the menu is very extensive, full of choice and variety, and like Kilmacthomas, they also use Kilmore Quay Smoked Salmon.
We were there for lunch - they also do breakfast. Speaking of fish, CL spotted an unusual wrap: Fresh Fish Finger Wrap, Crispy Breaded Haddock, Lettuce, Aioli, Tomato, and Cucumber. And it turned out to be a great choice!
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| Hungry Bear |
I was very happy with mine as well, the Chicken Chorizo Pasta (pan-fried chicken, chorizo, baby spinach, garlic and fresh herbs and more). Very well cooked and very flavoursome, a generous plate indeed.
Soon, we were back on the road and heading up to Newtownmountkennedy to visit the fabulous Wicklow Wolf Brewery.
So there you. If you find yourself in the sunny south-east on the N25 or M11 this summer, these are two lunch and breakfast tips for you.
Also on this trip to Wicklow:
Avondale's Beyond the Trees. Wicklow's Amazing New Attraction.
Places to stay in Wicklow: Woodenbridge and Heatherhouse.
Visiting Wicklow Wolf Brewery.
Wicklow. Two days in the Garden of Ireland May 2023
