Lucinda O'Sullivan's Ireland

About The Restaurant

Kelly’s Hotel & Resort has made their name, over the years, with food, hospitality and top notch service. Indeed, Bill Kelly visits every table at dinner each evening chatting to his guests. The food, now under the baton of Executive Chef Eugene Callaghan, is always fabulous and the service second to none.  Likewise at the new Kelly’s Café their thinking is bang up to date in both design and culinary ethos. The emphasis is on fresh local food, served in a relaxed casual contemporary atmosphere, which is perfect for all day dining. The breakfast menu here has a contemporary twist ranging from field mushrooms on sourdough toast with ricotta cheese, or spelt pancake with winterberries or maple syrup, to the traditional Kelly’s breakfast of O’Neill’s bacon, sausage, egg and roast tomato. 

From noon to four p.m. you can chow down on fabulous fresh posh sandwiches as well as hot dishes such as Kelly’s Café beef pie or baked chicken and broccoli crumble with salads. Quiches have proved very popular, as have their delicious Duncannon fish pies. A smoked chicken and red onion quiche was going down a storm at neighbouring tables on our visit as was sweet chilli baked salmon and a chicken curry mayonnaise and Romaine salad baguette. They have also incorporated a super cool pizza bar with an Italian Morello flat bread pizza oven and what was coming out of it was only divine.

Nothing was left to chance in setting this up and so, to train their chefs in the art of the great pizza, they brought over chef Bruno Trehu who runs a pizzeria in the French ski resort of Megeve. The secret to the ultimate great base apparently is a blend of four types of flour, using just a gram and a half of yeast per kilo, and a three-day prove. Pastries and cakes too are totally seductive and produced by the hotel’s pastry chef Stephane Rochard. 

The last time I was in, I went for their chicken liver pate, relish and crostini which were absolutely delicious whilst my dining companion opted for a pesto chicken, pinenuts, red onion and parmesan cheese pizza which did a very quick disappearing act!

They have a highly tempting dessert and pastry menu also, featuring treats like chocolate brownies, sweet pastry tartlets, carrot cake, chocolate torte and even an apricot and poppy seed bake. I went for the baked pear and almond slice which was absolutely beautiful. My companion however went for their vanilla and chocolate slice which I’m told is pure heaven.

You just can’t beat Kelly’s.
 

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