My Favourite Restaurant : The Old Convent, Clogheen , Tipperary Ireland
Around 5 years ago a consultant friend of my wifes told her she was going down to our neck of the woods in Tipperary for a special cullinary treat. She said her husband had booked a restaurant called the old convent. It is a restaurant off the beaten track in a small village in rural Ireland called The Old Convent. It was considered one of the finest restaurants in Ireland by many and she could not wait to go. They could stay over at the convent also as there is some rooms for guests.
I live in a town close by but had never heard of this place but I was more intrigued by it the more I read reviews. Michelin Star judges admitted that the restaurant would have quite a few stars at this stage but the owners like to take on local waiters and waitresses to support the community which means the service of the Michelin standard is not 10/10. But the owners stick to their guns and keep their policy of employing local students. I really liked this little fact and it would make me want to go even more to a place like this.
The menu is a 7 course tasting menu. €65 euro excluding which seems alot but how many times have you paid €40 for a disappointing meal. The food is top class and everytime I go it is the best food I have ever tasted. Let us take a look at the menu.
So we start off with 3 light starters. The whipped ricotta was probably the nicest starter I have ever eaten. Here is a photo of it below
Then we had the peashoot & buttermilk veloute which was very tasty. My wife loved the cauliflower risotto but we did not get a photo unfortunately. We were enjoying it too much. But I managed to snap the peashoot veloute.
After the 3 starters we had the sorbet to cleanse our pallet for the main course. This was right up my street as it contained apple and ginger.
The main was the beef and again cooked to prefection. An eagle eye will point out that there was no meat served up until the main. And I did not even notice this until I was told. That to me is how high I rate their food as I am a big meat eater. Another point to note at this stage is there is normally a fish course before the sorbet but for whatever reason there was not one this time.
The photo I had taken of the beef was mid way through the meal so it does not do it justice so I will refrain from adding a photo but I will show you one they prepared earlier.
So we have had 3 starters , a sorbet and a main course. Every course was 100% perfection. The downside was to come. Some might call it a positive downside but at this stage I was full up. Yes ladies and gentleman take a look back at the menu. There were still 2 more courses and they were desserts. The first one was light and creamy jelly.
The second course was a chocolate pudding and I have to say it was very heavy especially after all the fine dining. It really finished me off. There was no way we were leaving hungry thats for sure.
I think this course was put on for any local farmers in with their wifes that would normally eat 12 potatos for their dinner and still be hungry. I could not move after it. This was the nicest meal I have ever eaten. I have scoured Dublin's finest restaurants such as L'Ecrivain, Unicorn, Chapter One and none of them came close to the old convent. If you are ever down the south of Ireland make sure you book in for one of the best cullinary experiences of your life. You will not be disappointed.
I would also point out that the service was top class and they fully deserve a Michelin star. Many restaurants have one in Ireland and their quality is nothing compared to here. Thank god I live close to it so I can have many more family occasions with some of the best food in the world.
Edit:
Here is some photos inside the restaurant . Thanks to @steemflow for asking me.
Thanks for reading
@blanchy
Title Image Source:
https://www.independent.ie/life/travel/ireland/weekend-away-the-old-convent-co-tipperary-26512542.html
Internal image photo Image source plus the steak and two deserts are :
https://myemeraldkitchen.ie/the-old-convent-clogheen/
All other photos are my own.
Restaurant Information
The Old Convent
Clogheen Market, Clogheen, Co. Tipperary, Ireland
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sir blanchy! totally amazing restaurant and a great review! Man, I want to go there, I assume you have to have reservations? And how far out are the waiting times?
Wow you have an entourage Mowbray @janton. Yeah you have to make a reservation around a couple of weeks in advance . It’s not too bad actually.
sir blanchy! what is Mowbray? No, a couple of weeks in advance isn't bad. Hey, they got criticisim for using local kids for servers, how was the service?
Looks like a very beautiful place to enjoy the food, which appears to be very delicious in your photos, @blanchy.
Thanks @zorank. Yeah it’s in a nice part of Ireland. I am looking forward to going back for a second round
Place look so classy and the food portion are nice. Glad you enjoyed it there.
Thanks @verasj. We are hoping to go back there again this month.
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This menu looks gorgeous and just the thing for me!
Everything looked so perfect, I especially liked the look of the sorbet.
I've just looked up Tipperary. It's a while since I was in Ireland, and the last time I went to Waterford (beautiful, I loved it there, I've family in Dungarven). I think it might be time for another little tour around - I haven't done the southwest yet - and now I know where to go for a fine dining experience.
Thank you for inspiring me!
Would you believe it the sorbet was my favourite course. I just loved it. Dungarven is just down the road . They have some great restaurants there too such as the Tannery which is famous down here for being top class. If you are interested in the south west look up a podcast called West Cork. It will really give you a feel for the south west plus a great true crime story. It has been downloaded by 20 million so far . I’ve have them on email so if you want I can send them to you. Just dm me on discord or steem if you want them.
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Aww...is it a restaurant. I thought it to be a big mansion....with so greenary all around. ...would love to own it one day...a beautiful place to stay forever....
Ah hello my friend. I must edit it and post a photo of the interior. You are welcome over whenever. I will bring you there.
It's been a couple years since going to a place like that. You've made me miss it. Looks lovely.
Yeah we try and go at least once a year. When you are over here away from the alligators you should go
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Haha, I would like to. My sister will be going somewhere in Ireland for her honeymoon in September. Maybe I'll get over there one of these days.
Let me know where she is going and I will send on a few great restaurants for the lucky couple😆
That looks very fancy, the food and the restaurant.
Beautiful presentations. I know that had to be very yummy !
Thank Janet. It tasted even better than it looked 😀😀
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Very beautiful place for dinner, and the food looks very classy and yummy 😋
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