Lady Lucy’s Rooftop Restaurant, Millrace Race Bunclody

The Carlton Millrace Hotel is located in the picturesque Wexford town of Bunclody, on the edge of the beautiful Hall-Dare Estate, home to The Bunclody Golf & Fishing Club. On the top floor the Lady Lucy restaurant provides spectacular views of Mount Leinster and the surrounding countryside.

We came into Bunclody from the Wexford side, having made a brief stop in Gorey to drop something off. The town is well laid out and looks prosperous, with very nice homes on the way in. The Millrace Hotel is at one end on the main Street, a stone and glass structure rising five stories. The is built on the side of the River Slaney, and high trees mask it’s height, so it sits very well in the town.

The Lady Lucy restaurant is on the top floor, and on entering through the doors, the first thing you see is a this amazing view out through the windows, which take up one wall. Mount Leinster is on one side, while the other direction looks back on the town, with the C of I church taking centre stage.

The wall of windows sweeps around in a curve, and we were shown to a table in the centre of the sweep, allowing each of us a good view while we studied the menus. Chef Stephen Smith has been here over a year now, and the menus are well balanced and offer a good selection, while keeping an eye on value. The dinner menu offers 2 courses for €24.50 and 3 courses for €29.50. There are half a dozen starters including crisp house salad, Kilmore Quay smoked salmon, homemade chicken liver parfait and seared fishcakes. There are slightly more main courses on offer, and you can choose from Irish Angus New York strip steak, Slaney Valley rack of lamb, tenderised pork cutlets, while on the seafood side there is grilled salmon or pan fried sea bream, with vegetarian pasta bringing up the rear.

While we were choosing our drinks arrived, a large bottle of sparkling water for me, while Deirdre enjoyed a glass of Chablis. We were also given a basket of warm breads with dips and butter, so we were happy while we decided on our order. Deirdre chose the smoked salmon followed by the sea bream, while I opted for the fishcake to start and the rack of lamb.

The starters were very good – Deirdre’s smoked salmon topped with a tian of mussels, shrimps and celeriac remoulade, while my fishcake - huge, in case you’re wondering – sat atop marinated Asian vegetables with a sweet chilli and coriander dressing. The main courses continued the good meal, with I think my herb crusted rack of lamb with green beans and a little mound of gratin potato winning the evening. The sea bream was good, and while it is not Deirdre’s favourite fish, it was perfectly cooked and the red pepper risotto was nicely flavoured. We could only manage to share a dessert and had the twice baked chocolate fondant - crispy on the outside, gooey inside – and coffee.

The Lady Lucy restaurant offers honest food, well cooked and very good value. The setting is fairly unique and the views are spectacular on a Summers evening. They source all their meat locally, while the fish comes from nearby Kilmore Quay. The hotel itself is very stylish and they are currently offering excellent packages for overnight and weekend stays. The bill came to just under €75, which for this food in this setting, we thought was very good value.