Mulcahy’s Kenmare. Superb Food On Main Street

Mulcahy’s Kenmare

Superb Food In New Main Street Venue

Halibut

Sit yourself down on one of those high-backed leather chairs and study the menu. You could be in a capital city but just outside is Main Street, Kenmare, Co. Kerry and you are in the new ultra comfortable Mulcahy’s Restaurant.

You've admired the new curved bar on the way on, maybe you’ve stopped for an aperitif. But now it is time to make your choices. And don't forget the specials. As you choose, some gorgeous breads are delivered to the table, along with a Green Olive Tapenade, good butter too of course.

Sausage of lobster and prawn

And before you get to the starters, there is an amuse bouche. This evening, we get a goats cheese and beetroot creation, a few little spoonfuls of deliciousness. I put that little spoon to more good use too, finishing off the tapenade that wouldn't fit on the bread!

For a starter this evening, from the specials board,  I could have picked the Braised Beef, white onion, puréed mushrooms, and bone marrow. I know one customer who did and his tweet was ecstatic! I picked a good one too: a Boudin of Lobster and Prawn. Quite a “sausage”, with a delicious sauce! Our other starter, also from the specials, was Scampi with Marie Rose sauce.

Pork Belly

The main courses were something else. Halibut is a gorgeous fish but here it is quite a treat, served with mussels, bacon and clam cream. My choice here was Pork Belly served with Salt Baked Celeriac, Chorizo and puffed crackling, another gem. The mains are accompanied by perfectly cooked vegetables: crunchy sugar snap peas, a smooth mashed carrot with cumin, and croquette potatoes.

Fairly full after that lot, even though the pace had been relaxed all through. Service was excellent as well, friendly, informative. They couldn't persuade us to take dessert though but I did enjoy a sweet finalé thanks to a wee glass of their Crasto LBV Port, elegant, sweet and spicy, a more than able substitute for the listed but unavailable Warres. So it was with a nice warm feeling that we left the new house of Mulcahy. Very Highly Recommended.

Mulcahy’s Bar & Restaurant,

Main Street, Kenmare,

County Kerry

064 6642383 or 087 2364449

Warm Welcome in Mulcahy’s

Warm Welcome in Mulcahy’s

Walked in off the cold of Henry Street to the warmth of Mulcahy’s Restaurant one evening last week. For a second or two, thought there was no one home but that was just the dim lighting in the Kenmare restaurant.

The cold outside was soon forgotten and, after a warm welcome, we were shown to our comfortable seats and, now accustomed to the lighting (it wasn't that dim!), began to study the menu, with the helpful staff reminding us of the specials board and also advising us of one or two minor changes.

Sampled a couple of tasty breads as we began to make our minds up and indeed there was also a lovely Amuse Bouche, goats cheese and beetroot, delivered to the table.

There were seven or eight starters to choose from, including the soup at €5.50. I picked the Hen Egg, twice cooked, Asparagus, Iberico Ham and Garlic Hollandaise (€7.50). Quite a combination of tastes and textures but really well balanced. The other starter also went down very well indeed. It was that bit different: Cannelloni, Prawn, Salmon and Lobster, Bisque, and Parmesan (11.00). 

They use a great deal of local produce here and fish is obviously going to feature strongly. Again there were seven of eight choices for mains and three were fish: Halibut, Scallop and Lemon Sole. We weren’t complaining. On the contrary!

Halibut doesn’t feature that much on local menus so this was my pick: Roast Halibut, Mussel, Bacon and Clam Cream (26.00). Excellent, as was the side dish of vegetables and potato, included in the price.

The same veg was included in CL’s choice: Lemon Sole with Tomato Brown Butter (22.00).  This is cooked on the bone and served whole. Takes a bit more “work” with the knife and fork but well worth it!

Each of the desserts on the short list costs seven euro, though you’ll pay two more for the cheese plate. Some interesting choices here and I gave it a bit of thought before picking the Rhubarb Mille Feuille. The photo will give you an idea with the rhubarb, in a form of ice cream, between the pastry layers. Very enjoyable, a kind of low key sweet and sharp! CL went for the equally delicious Passion fruit Soufflé with Honeycomb ice cream.

Finished off with a cup of tea. They were out of my favourite Rooibos so I switched to Earl Grey and that was no hardship! There is a big enough wine list here, with some expensive ones, but I settled for a glass of a crisp De Martino Sauvignon Blanc (Chile) that went well with the fish.

Head Chef Bruce Mulcahy is back and Mulcahy’s are once again known as Mulcahy’s with the short-lived Wild Garlic title now redundant. So there you have it. To find them, go to Henry Street, Kenmare, though you may have to park some distance away as the town is short on parking spaces.


36 Henry Street, Kenmare
Hours Thu - Sun: 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Phone (064) 664 2383