We were in the Heritage hotel on a two night deal. Our deal included food in their Italian Spago…read morerestaurant (see photos). A ciabatta with olive oil, cheese, tomato and tasty as well as a generous portion; a duck leg main and a sirloin steak main. I asked for the steak to be medium. It was. It was a good thick tasty steak. It had a good pepper sauce on the side. I asked for English mustard - best mustard in the world too - no problem. Mashed potatoes, chips and a mix veg of turnip, green beans & carrots. All perfectly tasty, all perfectly cooked. Desserts of profiteroles and a tiramisu - both liberally dosed with chocolate sauce and cream. Phew. The cocktail waiter cheerfully conjured up two cosmopolitans (€10 each). The staff were attentive and efficient.

Spago is one of the two restaurants owned by the Portlaoise Heritage Hotel. I'd visited previously…read moreon my hen weekend last year and enjoyed it so when we came back to Portlaoise (ironically enough on a voucher for a free night given to me due to a horrible experience in Kelly's Foundry, the other restaurant) we decided to go back, big mistake. Spago do, what appears to be, a good value dinner menu, 59 euro for a 3 course meal for two and a bottle of wine. When we arrived we were told the lamb shank was gone but we could have chicken instead, off to a bad start. I ordered the baked ricotta for my starter which came out cold, I'm not sure this chunk of ricotta had ever seen the inside of a microwave never mind a real oven. My main of chicken supreme was actually quite nice, the chicken was really tender and the chicken pasta himself got was apparently lovely. The white wine was fine at the start but it needed to remain ice cold to be drinkable, even the slightest hint of warmth turned it to vinegar. The service, as in all my 1 star reviews, was where our night really started to go downhill. Our table was tucked away in a corner so we were virtually ignored for most of the night, for periods of 10 to 15 minutes at a time. Our starter arrived quickly, then there was a long gap until the main arrived and then a huge wait to even get a dessert menu. After sitting with our menus in front of us for ages (well I did manically wave mine in the air a bit to try catch some attention) himself got up, walked over to the other side of the room where our server WALKED RIGHT PAST HIM and gave our order to one of the three waitresses standing around. The other staff seemed much more concerned with setting up for the next day than attending to the remaining patrons. After dessert came and went (my "variety of icecream" consisted of 3 scoops of vanilla and one chocolate, all of which tasted like they'd been melted and refrozen at some point) we got tired of waiting and got up to pay the bill at the register. This is where I got really annoyed. The supervisor (I think?) apologised a few times for the slow service across the night. If you knew the service was slow why didn't tell your staff to get their finger out? Apologising to us now is not really any use. Then she asked me several times was it ok, glancing at my darkening face with a pleading look as if asking me for forgiveness and to reassure her that everything was going to be ok. With every question I got more and more quiet and more and more angry until she eventually figured out it was time to shut up. This is the second time I've had a horrible experience in a restaurant owned by the Heritage Hotel, as the biggest hotel in the town you'd think they would realise that they play a key role in enticing tourists to visit and revisit the town? Clearly not. They asked me to give you another chance when they messed up the last time and I came back to experience the exact same thing again, nice job.

Tasty quick lunch, I didn't even check the menu, I went with my standard favorite for Italian. They…read morebrought spaghetti instead of penne, but were willing to replace immediately. Much appreciated. Sauce was delicious. Bolognese, al dente, spicy. Done.

What an incredible hidden Gem at the heart of Newbridge!…read more We've heard about this place from a few of our friends and decided today to check it out. What a check out it's been, my partner started with the Garlic flat bread, Delicious! I myself started with the Prawns in a spicy tomato sauce adorned with tomato & rocket with chilli, incredible. We're about to have our main, my partner has gone for the basic option of Pizza, I will try the Chorizo & chicken breast on a bed of Penne with a spicy sauce! We cannot wait to try more amazing dishes from this establishment in the near future. 100% recommend this restaurant.

Very good Italian food and the presentation is fabulous as well. The hostess is wonderful and…read morepleasant to talk to, the restaurant itself is relaxing but elegant. Call ahead to make a reservation but it's well worth it and not too costly.

From the owner: We are the perfect location for Weddings by the sea.read more

Great food! This is my first visit in Athlone and we were looking for a good, reasonably priced…read morerestaurant close to our B&B. The aroma of food smelled wonderful when we walked inside. I ordered the Penne Bianca and my fiancé ordered the Italian Meatballs which came with a small salad and bread. Both dishes were amazing! Our favorite dish was the penne. They only had two wine options but would allow you to bring in your bottle if you'd like. The environment was charming. I would definitely return here if I was in the area again (we're from the US).

This was baked sea bream on rice/spinach/mushroom pilaf with a creamy muscle sauce. The food was…read morecooked very well and was really more than I could eat. My only complaint was there were a few scales left that prevented me from enjoying the skin of the fish. I will go back again.

Italian Connection was a great place for us to go to while staying in Kilkenny. We walked about a…read moremile from our hotel, which was light and easy to navigate to. The restaurant itself has a fancy feel right what you walk in, but the menu doesn't feel too fancy in terms of options, and I don't mean that a bad way! Dim lighting, and an elegant feel to the place. They have a bar, but it's quite small. They did ask us if we had a reservation when we walked in, so maybe plan to make one if you intend on going! We got two salads and a pizza. The pizza reminded us of Punch Pizza, a restaurant back in the states. They were great, and honestly like a sense of comfort food. It all came out so fast, I want to say 10 minutes or less. After dinner, we got the Apple Tart and Tiramisu. I'd order the Tiramisu in a heartbeat! So summer and delicious - definitely get that if you have room! Service was great too. When you're done, you stand up and pay by the bar. That's something we've had to adjust to while over here - to not wait for the bill at the table. Overall, 4 out of 5 stars!

Ordered takeaway and it was ready pretty quickly! The restaurant itself did seem like a nice vibe…read more We got the garlic bread & cheese and penne arrabbiata - both were great!

Food was excellent, the crowd inside was good, the staff was good as well. All in all, excellent…read moreexperience!

Fantastic food! Everything at this restaurant was delicious! The mahgerita pizza was simple yet…read moredelicious (basic cheese pizza). The fish and chips had a wonderful batter and the fish tasted fresh. Also - the local burger is AMAZING! Let me tell you - the burger is made with beef from the local butcher. This burger is ON PAR with Gordon Ramsay's burger at his BuGR restaurant in Las Vegas!! One of the best burgers I've ever been tasted! They give Gordon Ramsay a run for their money!!!

A nice Italian restaurant in Castletroy! The inside is very small, so we had to eat outside. The…read moreservice was kind and quick! Their vodka sauce is amazing, and the gamberi was nice as well

Whenever I get to Castletroy I try and make time for a bit of lunch here, though that tends to be…read morethe worst time to go here as it is normally mobbed with people. The amount of people flocking to this small deli style restaurant is a testament to how good the food is. Whether you like pizzas, pastas, antipastos or just a nice deli style sandwich - all can be found here. They do takeaway too, so if you can't find a spot to sit you have an alternative. I reccomend the pizzas, nothing like the chains dotted around the country - their bases and are thin and crispy with so many different toppings