Review
The Strand Inn is a family run, chic boutique hotel overlooking the beach at Waterford’s Dunmore East and its almost impossibly pretty location make this a fabulous place for a seaside lunch or dinner.
Opened in 1965 by Michael Foyle and his wife Isabella it has gone from strength to strength. Now run by daughter Edwina and her children Louise & Clifden, we have three generations in this business. The Inn has gained a great reputation for their first class food, great hospitality and easy going atmosphere.
My husband and I visited over the Easter bank holiday weekend and the Strand was buzzing. The newly refurbished restaurant is large and bright with a subtle nautical theme running through and the large windows take full advantages of the views.
The Strand inn specialises in seafood, which in fairness is what would bring you to eat in Dunmore East. The wine list offers a good choice of well selected wines ranging anywhere from €22 for a Chilean Sauvignon blanc to €43 for Chablis, with most available by the glass.
For that special celebration there is also a Laurent Perrier champagne priced at €85, but we resisted and chose the New Zealand One Tree Sauvignon blanc, a refreshing choice which works well with the fish dishes we had ordered and priced at €30.50 it was middle of the road price wise.
There was a choice of seven starters ranging from soup of the day for €5.50 or seafood chowder for €8.95 to Duncannon Mussels at €10.95. The specials were too good to miss so we stayed with them and so I ordered the marinated monkfish in a chilli & garlic olive oil, while Fred had the deep fried prawn scampi with a garlic & lime mayonnaise. Both dishes were generous and packed a flavour punch; the prawn scampi with the lime mayo was a great twist on an old school classic, while monkfish is one of my favourites, and it came here as two chunky pieces served on a bed of freshly prepared tomato and onion salsa drizzled with chilli & garlic oil, again a modern twist.
With seven main courses plus a choice of a further four specials it was so hard to make a choice as all my favourites made an appearance; I usually consider myself spoilt if two show up on the same menu. There’s a seafood Bouillabaise on the main menu, as well as a seafood pie, a devilled crab and for the meat lovers there’s an 8oz sirloin or 6oz fillet with all the trimmings, and a half roast Irish duck with a tangy orange sauce also makes an appearance.
The blackboard displaying the specials showed pan-fried hake in breadcrumbs, marinated monkfish, or pan fried John Dory with lime & pepper salsa. After much deliberating I asked for the pan-fried hake, 2 pieces of beautifully prepared fish fresh from local boats. Fred worked his way through a very well executed John Dory with a lime & pepper salsa. We did a side of seasonal vegetables and creamy mash and that was more than enough
Desserts are all priced at €6 and include lemon cheese cake, apple crumble or a home-made sticky toffee pudding or for €10 you could try the cheese board. We decided to share a lemon cheese cake while Keisha had the apple crumble and Hazel the selection of Italian Ice Cream, everybody was exceptionally happy with their choice
Finishing off with a walk around Dunmore from the strand to the harbour and down onto the beach to watch the sun set, all in all a beautiful summer evening and we will definitely look forward to returning
**Other dining options are the bar which also serves great food all day or next door in The Cliff gift shop and gallery there is a wonderful café upstairs where on a nice day you can sit on the balcony and watch the world go by, also run by the Foyle family.
