The Step House Hotel, Borris, Co. Carlow.

The Step House Hotel is a family run business that has expanded to become a very stylish boutique hotel, situated in the very pretty heritage village of Borris, in Co. Carlow. The Step House has delightful views over the Blackstairs Mountains and in their Cellar Restaurant, a brilliant young chef called Alan Foley.

The Step House started out as a B&B, run by the present owner’s aunt. The name comes from the set of granite steps that lead up to the door of the original house. The business has expanded and now incorporates a very nice bar, the elegant hotel and the restaurant. Upon entering it is immediately apparent that a lot of time and effort has gone into this design, with very cool marble floors complimenting a contemporary colour scheme throughout. Rooms are large and very luxurious, with top quality bedding and linen and large, well designed bathrooms.

We were visitors over the St. Valentines weekend, and were lucky enough to be staying over, with a dinner reservation for two in the restaurant on the Saturday night. The dining room is appropriately enough situated in the cellar, and is a serious of interconnecting rooms, breaking up the whole and giving a very intimate feel. We had a table beside a window, with the open fire crackling in the background, all very romantic and we were looking forward to a good meal. Some good homemade breads and sparkling water got us settled as we turned our attention to the menu.

Chef Alan Foley has a bit of a pedigree, having spent some time in Chapter One and Sheen Falls, and we were anticipating something very good indeed. The menu is not very long, about six or seven choices per course with starters including Gravalax of salmon, pan seared scallops and roast quail. Prices are reasonable, with most priced from €8-€10 with the scallops coming in at €15.

The main courses give a choice of roast fish of the day, confit of duck leg, fillet of Hereford beef and Duncannon monkfish. After much c hopping and changing the choices broke down into seafood for Deirdre, while I went for the game dishes. The wine list is also short, but well chosen and we decided on 2007 Febvre Chablis priced at €37.

Deirdre’s Gravalax is an old favourite of hers, since the time she spend working in Sweden. This dish came with a fennel salad and orange vinaigrette and the salmon was juicy and marinated perfectly. My roast quail came served atop a parsley risotto with mushroom juices and was delicious. The main courses were terrific. Deirdre’s monkfish was simply cooked, and perched on top of a fine ratatouille of vegetables, with roast garlic scattered around. The rabbit came two ways, a roast saddle and a confit of shoulder, served with haricot beans and baby gem. Both of these dishes were really very good indeed, with well judged flavours and an expert hand.

What with it being Valentines we managed a dessert each after a decent interval, and while Deirdre ordered a Pain Perdue and pannacotta – that’s a sort of posh bread and butter pudding, I went with black forest gateaux that had much more in common with Heston Blumenthal than the Kylemore bakery. These were sinful concoctions and in more austere times would have required at least some penance.

The Cellar is a singularly good restaurant serving food that is way, way above the average. The food in the 1880 bar comes from the same kitchen, and you can catch lunch or dinner any day here. Chances are you will find dishes here which will appear on the restaurant menu soon, so couple that with the hotel and this is a destination, not a stop over.