On departing the Cliff House Hotel, we decided to visit another old favourite of ours, Ballymaloe House. If you fancy having lunch or dinner in the house it can be pre-booked and non-residents are also welcome. For us though we just wanted a slice of cake and a coffee in the Ballymaloe café which is at the back of the Ballymaloe shop next door to the house.
I had a very tasty Irish apple cake, however, C’s choice of carrot cake was delicious and they serve a really nice cup of coffee. Soon after, we hit the road for Waterford Castle.
The castle is less than a five minute drive from the centre of Waterford and it’s located on an island on the river Suir, called Little Island. A small car ferry is used to get to the island and there’s no chance of missing the ferry as it runs 24 hours a day, every 15 minutes during the day and as required later in the evening and into the early morning. There’s also a golf course and club located on the Island.
Once at the side of the dock, we had to wait no more than a few minutes to drive onto the ferry and take the two minute journey across to the island, easily the shortest ferry journey we’d ever been on.
Once parked up (there’s no valet service) we entered though the large door into a fine reception area. Check-in took no length and we were brought to our room. The castle is in surprising good condition, however, like a lot of grand old building, an investment would go a long way.
Our room was a tad cramped but was on a corner so had two windows looking out onto the front of the property. The bathroom was a decent size, however, despite the fancy old sink, there was no mirror in the bathroom – strange. There was also tea and coffee making facilities along with a television which had all of about five channels. Overall, though, the room was clean and tidy.
After dropping the bags, we headed towards the bar, we just wanted a nibble to hold us over until dinner. As the bar was full, we sat in a lobby area below the stairs. C had a scone and I had a broccoli soup, which was reasonably tasty.
We then went for a walk around the grounds which didn’t take too long as a lot of the property is used for the golf course. Still though we managed to knock about 45 minutes out of it.
On returning, we grabbed a drink in the bar before heading back to our room to get ready for dinner. To give credit to the restaurant, guests were only seated at every second table so there was adequate room between everyone in this new world of ‘social distancing’.
Looking over the menu, there was nothing that really stood out. To start we both tried a smoked potato ravioli, which was served with a mushroom puree. This dish was never going to work, potato wrapped in pasta?!? The mushroom puree was fine and the entire dish made no sense, but somehow, it read as one of the better starter selections.
For mains we both went for duck as we had steak the previous night, the duck was actually ok, despite been slightly overcooked, it came with a rhubarb chutney and a wine and balsamic sauce, along with pickled daikon, of all things. Some potatoes and mixed veg were served alongside, both lacked in seasoning so were quite bland.
For dessert I went with the “textures of chocolate”, which is fancy talk for chocolate served several different ways. While the presentation looked good, there was a lot going on and none of the chocolate textures tasted great. While my dessert was disappointing, C’s was a complete shambles. It’s not often you see a baked apple on the menu, which was served with a burnt butter ice cream. A baked apple can be very tasty, but it’s best if you actually “bake” the apple in the first place. Bar the very outside of the apple, the inside was completely uncooked, this made no sense whatsoever.
Needless to say we did not stay for coffee and instead grabbed a nightcap before heading to bed.
Breakfast the following morning was served in a very nice conservatory which is actually part of the dining room. There was a small buffet section with the usual suspects of cereal, pastries, scones, juices, some smoked salmon and some bread along with a few other bits and pieces. The rest is table service. I went with the eggs benny and a side of sausages, C kept it simple with porridge.
I have an ongoing gripe with the quality of sausages they serve for breakfast in hotels and B&B’s in Ireland. Here was no different. The sausages were off the mass-produced variety, deep-fried and taste of just salt, unfortunately they are pretty standard in Ireland which is such a pity. The eggs which were served on a Waterford blaa were nice although the hollandaise sauce could have been better.
C’s choice of porridge was, as far as porridge goes, ok, although the description in the menu was off the mark. Add to this the coffee was woeful. Once breakfast was over we wasted no time and checked out.
Waterford Castle could be an amazing place to stay. With only 19 rooms, it never seems crowded and has a really nice reception area with a fantastic open fireplace. The bar has a limited choice of drinks but it’s relaxing nonetheless. The staff were polite and friendly even though at the times the service lacked a little. The food for us was the biggest let down, it could be so much better but nothing on the menu sounded good and the choices were very poor.
To finish, if you like golf, are looking for somewhere slightly unique (you’ve got to get a ferry to get there) and if food is not something you hold in high regard, then indeed, go you’ll probably enjoy it more than we did, but for us, unless there’s a chance of management, we won’t be going back for a return visit.
Until next time,
C&J
cjfoodandtravel 