The Old Stone Bar and Grill, Restaurants Dingle

It seems that the whole economic disaster has been a boon to the dining classes, with more restaurants offering fabulous value for money on their menus, while any that opened during the recession have had this frugality built in. One such is The Old Stone Bar and Grill in Dingle, Co. Kerry.

The Old Stone Bar and Grill Restaurant is based in Dingle on John Street. The newest restaurant in Dingle, having opened in July 2009, is open all year round offering locals and tourists alike the opportunity to dine out in some style that won't cost the earth.

Chef/owner Garrett Bradshaw is all about the ingredients – good produce treated with respect delivers good food to the customers. All his dishes use as many locally sourced ingredients as possible. Whether its fish caught by the local trawlers in Dingle, lamb from the mountains of West Kerry or vegetables grown fresh in the Maharees you will find them all here.

The menu is very much a Mediterranean affair and lists starters, salads, gourmet sandwiches, pastas and risottos, main courses and desserts. Expect to see starter dishes such as Italian fish soup with langoustines, mussels and baby squid, or a Greek style lamb kebab with minted yoghurt. You could follow that with a main course of tempura battered monkfish, or for the meat lovers a choice of steaks or rump of lamb.

There is also the option of one of the gourmet sandwiches - which aren’t really sandwiches at all, more like one plate meals. For example the chicken option is rotisserie style chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, red onion and guacamole served on warm bread with a side salad and a choice of home made chips, French fries of potato skins. Other choices are steak, a burger and a veggie option. There are also specials on offer and the catch of the day is whatever come in on the boats that morning.

There is a bit of a Bradshaw take-over down Kerry way - brother Lee owns and runs the very fine Stationhouse Bar and Grill in Tralee, of which Paolo is a big fan. The Old Schoolhouse is a fine restaurant, serving interesting, honest food at very fair prices. Good value can be hard to find in tourist towns, so this is a welcome addition to Tralee. If you are planning a visit to Kerry, add this to your list, you won’t be disappointed.