Eat your way across Mayo: From garden to grill, the county is fast becoming a food destination

Irish Times

12 hours ago

Every morning, Alex Lavarde walks the garden of the
Ashford Castle
estate before the chefs have tied on their aprons. It's the first sign that something's changed, and it isn't just on the plate. It's in the soil. Lavarde, a French gardener, draws directly from Korean natural farming principles – a method that focuses on working with soil ecosystems rather than fighting against them. It's regenerative, not just organic, and it informs every inch of the garden.
He rubs the blackcurrant stems to check their fragrance, checks the early rhubarb, snips flowering currants and inspects the forced asparagus, pale under its plastic dome. When he started in 2022 it was just a field. Now it's squash seedlings, salad leaves, fruit and edible flowers. Several beehives support pollination across the garden's polyculture beds – part of a broader push for biodiversity and year-round self-sufficiency.
Squash are interplanted with berries. Garlic is fermented into black garlic. Blackcurrant buds are pickled. Microgreens are chosen dish by dish. By the time you sit down to eat, the garden's already done half the cooking. It's one of the reasons why
Mayo
– long known for its landscape – is fast becoming a destination for food.
It's the foundation of a kitchen under Liam Finnegan, whose culinary lineage runs from Bernard Loiseau to Michael Caines. Finnegan trained under Caines at two-
Michelin
-starred Gidleigh Park in Devon; Caines, in turn, had spent his formative years with Loiseau in his three-Michelin starred Côte-d'Or restaurant in Saulieu, France. From Loiseau came a philosophy of restraint, intensity and clarity – passed down, and still visible on the plate.
READ MORE
I find myself deep in this conversation with Finnegan after asking about his approach to sauces. His dishes seem full of flavour yet barely touched by butter or cream. He talks about Loiseau's obsession with flavour. 'It's about extraction, not construction. You don't build sauces – you coax them out.' The result is lighter, more aromatic sauces that 'don't coat your mouth like glue', he says. 'It's not fashionable. It's time-consuming. But it's the only way to get that depth.'
The veal-stuffed cabbage is a nod to Loiseau, he says. 'It's that idea of letting the ingredients speak. You reduce the cooking liquid into a natural jus. That's what Loiseau was doing at La Côte d'Or. I first saw it with Michael Caines, and it stuck.'
In the twice-baked cheese soufflé, which I have at dinner in the George V diningroom – white tablecloths, chandeliers, double-height windows facing the grounds – the veal glaze works with the richness of the Coolea, adding backbone. A carrot and blood orange dish uses an intensely reduced carrot juice glaze, balanced by citrus segments and garden herbs. It's this dish that strikes me in particular. It's a principle borrowed straight from Loiseau's cuisine naturelle. I had something similar when I visited La Cote d'Or back in its two-star days. It's rare to see a young chef working with these techniques.
A word on the wine: the cellar at Ashford Castle is a project in itself. Carved into the old coal vaults beneath the castle, it has been rebuilt and resealed to house allocation-only wines and private tastings – including one themed around the Wild Geese. 'The Lynches, the Kirwans, the Dillons – they all went over to Bordeaux,' says Paul Fogarty, the head sommelier. 'That's how you get Château Lynch-Bages, Château Kirwan, Château Dillon. They were merchants. They became the backbone of Bordeaux.' Burgundy is well represented too, not least by a flight from Róisín Curley – the Mayo-born Master of Wine whose Bouzeron Aligoté and white Bourgogne are poured by the glass upstairs.
Alex Lavarde, gardener at Ashford Castle
If you're splashing out – and Ashford Castle is very much in that territory – you could eat here for days and still have plenty to talk about. But if you do leave the grounds, drive. The food in Mayo makes more sense when you travel through it – from the formality of Ashford to the more casual rhythm of Westport.
On the way, drop by the award-winning Misunderstood Heron food truck. Once perched above Killary Fjord, it has relaunched at P Dan's near Louisburgh, with a new indoor kitchen and a pub menu that includes bavette steak with chimichurri and their signature smoky Killary Fjord mussels. Expect small and large plates, coffee from Cloud Picker and bold, unfussy cooking served five days a week in a bar overlooking Cross Beach.
The interior of Savoir Fare on Bridge Street in Westport. Photograph: Michael McLaughlin
For lunch, head to Savoir Fare in Westport, owned by Alain Morice and his Spanish wife Nuria Brisa. It's a lunch-only spot – more wine bar than deli – with no bookings. A counter of cheeses anchors the room; low-intervention bottles line the back wall, shelved in old crates; and tables are made from Burgundy oak barrels and wine boxes. The slicer and coffee machine perch on a counter salvaged from a Normandy bakery.
On the menu there's always a pâté en croûte, made weekly by Morice. One week it's pork forcemeat with fig and herbs, baked in golden pastry and finished with a boozy jelly poured in days before and left to settle. Galway snails come bubbling in garlic butter, and roast organic chicken comes with dauphinoise potatoes. A small but sharp cheese board sits beside a short, savvy wine list, with glasses from Róisín Curley's Burgundy range. On the wall, a large map of Ireland carved from lightly spalted Irish beech by Ed Forristal marks the provenance of producers featured on the menu, including Gubbeen, Glasraí Farm, Wild Irish Foragers, and Silke Cropp.
Wander around the town and you will find Sage, where a husband and wife team, chef Shteryo Yurukov and restaurant manager Eva Ivanova, have built a reputation for solid food using the best produce, including Friendly Farmer chicken and Andarl Farm pork. At An Port Mor, also a Westport stalwart, dishes include ham hock and foie gras terrine, Skeaghanore duck confit, and grilled halibut. For a more experimental take on things, there's Arno's Bistrot. Giovanni's is the place for pasta, and for a more casual bite, try This Must Be the Place on High Street – soup, croque monsieur, toasted sandwiches and shelves of local produce.
For a bit of evening libation, there's Matt Molloy's or, for a wine and cocktail experience, check out Infused, on Mill Street, run by sommelier Nick Faujours and mixologist David Hacobian.
Head up a gentle hill to Knockranny House Hotel, where the unspoilt view of Croagh Patrick is quite stunning. A large hotel, it draws a wide mix – from couples and families to midweek retirees. The menu, which had quite a fine dining bent in its days as La Fougère, has adapted to a more casual set-up called The Fern Grill. Tablecloths are gone, but the service and attention to detail remain at a top level.
Cellar at Ashford Castle, Cong, Co Mayo
You can drop in for mussels or chowder, or go for something more substantial: crab with pickled carrot and onion; scallops with deboned chicken wing and chorizo; asparagus with pea purée, hake with Irish brown shrimp and quail with foie gras and apple. The tomahawk steak is the showpiece: seared on the Josper grill, carved tableside and served with marrow, hasselback potatoes, Bordelaise and seasonal vegetables.
Next stop is Castlebar and Dining Room, where Shirley Stirzaker and her husband, Kevin, who runs the kitchen, have built a quietly confident restaurant. The brown soda bread hits the table warm, scallops come seared with Kelly's black pudding and fresh crab is served with a swirl of cumin-scented oil. Halibut with beurre blanc is a treat, and the Hereford sirloin has a dark crust, pink middle and a slow slide of garlic butter. Dessert might be sticky-toffee pudding or a lemon meringue in a glass. It's assured cooking that has broad appeal. For something more eclectic, there's House of Plates nearby.
From this point, it's west to Achill. After a steep climb, Keem Beach spills out below – white sand, turquoise sea, and black-faced lambs grazing the verges. On the way, stop at Ár Bia Mara in Keel, a seafood truck run by Colette and Paddy Mulvanny. They cook what they catch on their small trawler, The Krystal Patrick – grilled langoustines, prawn skewers, and a lobster roll with claw meat on toasted brioche all make regular appearances. It's weekends only, and worth getting there early.
Leave the coast behind and take the inland route north via Ballycroy National Park – a stretch of wild bogland and open sky with views of Nephin Beg – before turning east to Enniscoe House. Tarmac gives way to tree cover, and, by the time you pass the pink gate lodge and follow the long winding avenue, you're not just arriving – you've dropped off the map.
Enniscoe is not a hotel. It's a country house with no bar, no boutique pretensions and a dinner bell that rings once. Susan Kellett and her son DJ live here, and dinner is served at a single sitting – starting with perhaps a simple cheese soufflé or pâté with salad from the organic garden out the window.
Outside the estate stretches over woodlands and pasture, with walking trails down to Lough Conn and a Victorian walled garden being gradually brought back to life. You can visit the North Mayo Heritage Centre, which houses a small museum of local artefacts, and trace your family history using its genealogy service.
Enniscoe House
Enniscoe House
From Enniscoe, follow the lakeshore around Carrowmore, then climb toward Benwee Head – Mayo in widescreen, with blind bends and the Atlantic at your elbow. Pull in at Rinroe Point for a swim or the view. A short cliff walk at Benwee reveals sea-stacks, outcrops and the north coast in full force.
Drop inland to Portacloy, then loop southeast to Ballycastle. The Céide Fields – older than the pyramids – are just outside town. In Ballycastle, stop by the Ballinglen Arts Foundation, then grab lunch at Mary's Bakery (formerly Mary's Cottage Kitchen, now takeaway only) and eat at a picnic table out front.
Heading east to Ballina, you'll find the Ice House Hotel and Spa on the banks of the river Moy, and Poacher Restaurant, perched above Heffernan's Fine Foods in Market Square. Visit the Connacht Whiskey Company for tastings and tours. Its Spirit of the Atlantic is the first legal whiskey made in Mayo in 150 years. Nearby the Jackie Clarke Collection houses 100,000 artefacts of Irish history, including an original 1916 Proclamation kept in a former bank vault.
From here you're a short drive south to Foxford Woollen Mills – a working mill with a stylish retail space. You can grab a coffee or light lunch in the cafe, browse the shop's throws and blankets (all still woven on-site), then walk through the viewing windows to see the looms in action. Then it's an easy drive back to Castlebar.
And that's the rhythm of Mayo – coast, field, grill, table. Mussels in Louisburgh, pâté en croûte in Westport, steak in Castlebar and carrots pulled from the ground that morning at Enniscoe. Ashford Castle brings the garden straight to the plate, while Knockranny pulls out a tomahawk steak seared on a Josper grill. It's food grown, caught, cooked and served by people who don't overcomplicate it. And if you time the tides, catch the garden at its peak, and get to the seafood truck before it sells out, it all just works. It's a place that cooks like it lives: quietly, generously and without shortcuts.
Mayo notebook
P Dan's bar and BigStyle Lodge, Killadoon, near Louisburgh, Co Mayo
Ashford Castle, Ashford Castle Drive, Ashford, Cong, 094-9546003,
ashfordcastle.com
Misunderstood Heron P Dan's Bar, Louisburgh,
instagram.com/misunderstood_heron
Savoir Fare, Bridge Street, Westport, F28 X622, 098-60095
instagram.com/savoir_fare
Sage, 4 High Street, Westport, F28 T189, 098-56700,
instagram.com/sagewestport
An Port Mór, 1 Brewery Place, Bridge St, Cahernamart, Westport, F28 KX86, 098-26730,
anportmor.com
Arno's Bistrot, 3 Market Lane, Cahernamart, Westport, F28 P201, 098-24684,
arnosbistrot.com
Giovanni's, James Street, Cahernamart, Westport, 098-25949,
instagram.com/giovannaswestport
This Must Be The Place, High Street, Cahernamart, Westport, F28 Y440, 098-44871,
instagram.com/thismustbetheplace_westport
Matt Molloy's, Bridge Street, Westport,
mattmolloy.com
Infused, 4B Mill Street, Westport, F28 Y902,
infused.ie
The Fern Grill at Knockranny House Hotel, Knockranny, Westport, F28 X340, 098-28600,
knockrannyhousehotel.ie
Ár Bia Mara Keel, Achill Island,
instagram.com/ar_bia_mara
The Dining Room, Bridge Street, Gorteendrunagh, Castlebar, F23 HY05, 094-9021861,
diningroomcastlebar.com
House of Plates, Upper Chapel Street, Garryduff, Castlebar, 094-9250742
Enniscoe House, Enniscoe, Castlehill, Ballina, F26 Y5N6, 096-31809,
enniscoe.com
Mary's Bakery, Main Street, Ballycastle, 085-2514125,
instagram.com/marysbakeryballycastle
Ice House, The Quay Lane, Quignalecka, Ballina, F26 Y9E8, 096-23500,
icehousehotel.ie
Poacher Restaurant, First Floor, 4 Market Square, Ballina, F26 Y5D1, 096-77982,
instagram.com/the_poacher_restaurant
Foxford Woollen Mills, Providence Road, Foxford, F26 H9E4, 094-9256104,
foxford.com
Corinna Hardgrave was a guest of Ashford Castle and Knockranny House.