We were staying in nearby Delvin, County Westmeath, on a recent stay in Ireland and weren't sure…read morewhere to eat until we were in-region. Luckily, The Cloughan Inn was only minutes away.
Located on the corner of the N52 and Killucan Road, Cloughan is quite a large building, with, *drumroll*...plenty of parking. (Have to admit, All Streets Gourmand was spoiled that night, because parking proved to be a problem almost anywhere else.)
Walking in from the wintry rain, Cloughan opens into its intimate bar, which has plenty of seating and a bar top. The staff was friendly and welcomed us right away. We were seated in the restaurant area, which was very cozy and telling of a recent refresh. The place was immaculate, well lit, with a fully featured pub menu - which suited us weary travelers just fine.
The bartender was our server (it was a Thursday night), but he was attentive and friendly and gave us all sorts of advice.
We started off with their Black Pudding Salad, this was a refreshing surprise - we didn't know what to expect, but the sweet Honey Mustard dressing countered the (rightfully) oily pieces of pudding. The vegetables were fresh and crunchy and it went down quickly.
For entrees - the table had a mixture of the menu - Classic Fish & Chips, Chicken and Mushroom Tagliatelle, Steak...all were as they should be for a pub. The Fish & Chips were a perfect blend of fresh fish and thick-cut pub fries - a great way to start the trip off. The pasta and steak were also well liked by the table.
Our server/bartender turned me on to another revelation (like the salad), and this was a "Tourist Guinness", he explained that, to cut the bitterness of a standard pint, they add black currant syrup. This smoothes out the Guinness, giving it a berry, hoppy blend of goodness (some describe it as chocolate cake with raspberry filling) - to say we ordered more through-out the rest of trip was an understatement. We had fun asking for it at different bars - where there were different names for it.
Some trip sites are a bit unkind on Cloughan, but we scratch our head at their angst - Cloughan is country-side pub with friendly and thorough pub experience. We'd look forward to come this way again!
For more, please check out allstreetsgourmand.com.