Connie McKenna enjoys dinner at Sheedy's, Lisdoonvarna.
On a rainy Saturday night in the Burren, in damp Lisdoonvarna, on a solo eating spin, the one thing I was looking for was delicate comfort food. And there, bright yellow and inviting, was Sheedy's Hotel.
Martina, who has the karma of hospitality that animates Sheedy's Hotel running through her veins, made me feel totally at ease. I was offered both the bar and restaurant menu. Whilst sitting by the warm, crackling fire I chose from the restaurant menu – asparagus soup for a starter. Soups have unique personalities, and this was pure and silky. It was not too thick nor creamy but had an exceptional clarity, with that clean metal tang that makes asparagus invigorating.
As for main course, it had to be scallops with lentils, based in a chilli and ginger sauce. This time, my experience with scallops in Sheedys was utterly different. Instead of the scallops being quite hardy to bite, these scallops were melting. The character of this particular dish was all about harmony, a clean, linear harmony that offered kudos to John, the chef.
This is what the Burren, really, is all about – a civilised welcome, consoling food, comfort for body and soul. It is a fact that, as an Irish society, we have to realise that underneath the doom of the recession, we have an exceptionally pure and dynamic food culture. Sheedys' would blow any individual away with their creative, classy, down to earth cooking.
