Lucinda O'Sullivan's Ireland

About The Restaurant

Dungarvan, in Co.Waterford has always been one of my favorite places to visit. It’s a beautiful, vibrant seaside community that has been home to some great restaurants over the years. On a recent excursion, I visited Interlude Restaurant, on Davitt’s Quay, which was a joy. Interlude opened its doors back in 1998 with a very simple ethos “to serve locally produced food, which is handled simply with a minimum of fuss”. Its proprietor, Susan Denn, is the powerhouse behind Interlude and not just as head chef. Susan was very keen for the décor in her restaurant to be special and in her quest to achieve this, she enlisted the services of local interior designers, sculptors and artists to create the unusual and very attractive space that exists there today. In 2012 the restaurant expanded, opening a contemporary café/deli, which has proved very popular with locals. It has affectionately been titled, ‘Interlude Too’.

They do a great lunch menu at Interlude, with soups, sandwiches, wraps as well as lots more substantial options from Thai style fishcakes to an 8oz home reared beef burger in a floury bap to a warm pesto chicken salad.  On my visit, in the evening, starters included Helvick smoked salmon drizzled with honey and black pepper dressing with pickled cucumbers as well as Helvick mussels, steamed open with local beer and finished with bacon and a mustard cream. Himself, in the mood for something a little unusual, went for the beef nachos which were layered with tortilla crisps and cheese and topped with sour cream and sweet chilli. I tried their Interlude platter, which arrived with a mouth-watering selection of local cured meats, artisan cheeses, house pickles and marmalades, alongside a basket of fresh warm bread.

For the mains, there were lots of different Surf and Turf items on the menu such as a salmon, cod and smoked haddock fish pie in a white wine cream sauce with potato topping, a side of garden greens and garlic; a crab, scallion and ewes cheese tart was with greens and a chunky potato salad and, for the carnivores, there was a whole host of choices including an 8oz sirloin steak served on a bed of mash with a pot of caramelized baby onions and a choice of blue cheese sauce, red wine sauce or garlic butter, not to mention their 6oz steak sandwich on ciabatta topped with cheddar cheese served with baby caramelized onions in port and chunky chips on the side. Brendan, in a rare move, steered away from the meat and headed instead for the fillet of white fish served with parsley, lemon butter and a crunchy fennel slaw, which he said, was simply delicious. I opted for their sizzling chicken in a garlic and chilli infused oil. It came, pan-fried with seasonal vegetables alongside a bowl of thick noodles with a finishing of homemade salsa verdi.
With just enough room left for something sweet, we scanned through the dessert menu, which was full of treats such as banoffee, drizzled with chocolate sauce, crème brulee and a tasty sounding apple crumble. I ,of course, went straight for their chocolate fudge cake which can be served hot or cold and I can assure you is decadently delicious. Himself went instead for the Irish coffee meringue and served with a side of vanilla ice cream, which he devoured in no time at all.

Since then, Interlude has become a regular stop off point for us as we drive to and from Cork where we know we are sure of great coffee, cakes and lunchtime specials and a really friendly welcome.
 

Map

Enquire

Send to a friend

Member Comments

Please log in to add a comment. Click here to log in or sign up