The Smugglers Inn,
Cliff Road,
Waterville, Co Kerry
Tel +353 66 947 4330
WE WENT to Ballinskeligs, in Kerry, for our holiday – my wife, daughter, and I. It’s a long drive from Derry but it was the only available holiday cottage in Ireland for the dates we needed. The next place on the list was a tent in the Atlantic.
Given the distance involved, we decided to stop for a night along the way. It gave us a break from driving, and also allowed us the bonus of seeing places we hadn’t expected to.
We happened across Shannonbridge Fort in Roscommon, for example, and learned a little about the defences built by the British during the Napoleonic era. And in Co Offaly we lingered in the serenity of Clonmacnoise Monastery, too. There is so much to see and enjoy in Ireland.
One thing we saw but didn’t enjoy, however, was the DPF warning light on the dashboard of the car. It came on, most conveniently, about four hours from out point of departure and three hours from our destination, and stayed with us for our week away. My knowledge of cars extends to buying them and then sobbing when they go wrong, so I had no idea what DPF stood for. I wasn’t much the wiser once I consulted the handbook, and still think my initial guess more appropriate: D’oh! Pants! Flip! Other responses are available.
We solved the problem by sticking an Elastoplast over the screen, and continued on to Ballinskelligs. It’s a beautiful place, and our cottage was close to the beach, so we spent our days by and in the sea, only leaving the cloud-kissed sands to find somewhere to eat. Invariably, given our daughter is six, eating involved either sausages or pizza, but on one evening, we were a bit more adventurous, and headed into Waterville in the hope of finding something a bit different. Which we did, in the form of the Smugglers Inn.
Different and special. Close by Waterville Golf Club, this old inn overlooks a long, broad stretch of beach fringing the expanse of the Atlantic. And it serves wonderful food.
I looked no further than the kataifi prawns. Now, maybe there was a bit too much pastry, and the pastry was crisp enough to send a few splinters flying when I cut into it, but the prawns were big, juicy, and sweet, and the chilli jam gave gentle heat, while the lemon mayonnaise added sharpness. And the chips were out of the world – cut roughly, dark, crunchy, and gorgeous.
The monkfish was a sophisticated affair. The fish was soft, meaty, and perfectly cooked, and sat alongside a smooth, creamy, deeply flavoured bisque jus. The cauliflower provided an earthy sweetness and a lovely contrasting texture, as did the quinoa. I was very impressed with the thought that went into my daughter’s pasta. It was well-cooked, for one thing – nothing slapdash here, just because it was on the children’s menu – and the sauce and parmesan cheese were presented separately, letting the child be in control.
My daughter’s ice cream was a generous portion – three scoops of wonderfully creamy, deep vanilla, enriched by a lovely chocolate sauce. My wife had the petits fours, all beautifully presented and delicious. I thought my dessert was an absolute knockout. The panna cotta was smooth and delicate, with just the right wobble. The biscuit was a bit on the soft side, but everything else about the dish was great: the bitter orange, the floral, citrussy, peppery cardamom, the cool, refreshing chill and crunch of the mint granola – all the flavours and textures balanced beautifully. Oh, and the sweetness of the honey, of course. Each spoonful was a delight to linger over.
The Smugglers Inn is a place of high-quality cooking with the best ingredients, and the packed restaurant was testament to that. It might be pushing it to drive another eight hours to go there again, but it’s well worth going out of your way for. Something else DPF could stand for: Dinner Pretty Fabulous.
THE BILL
- Kataifi prawns, chilli jam, lemon mayo €18.60
- Seared monkfish, bisque jus, quinoa sand, cauliflower €29.80
- Child’s pasta Neapolitan €7.20
- Sides of potatoes and carrot mash (with main) and triple cooked chips €4.50
- Child’s ice cream and chocolate sauce €4.60
- Honey and cardamom panna cotta, spiced orange, mint granola, sablé biscuit €9.95
- Selection of petits fours €4.95
- Coke x 2 €7
- Glass of Sauvignon Blanc €9.50
- Americano €3.40
