Early Bird at Cromleach Lodge

Cromleach Lodge  4* Country House Hotel & Ciúnas Spa, Sligo is situated in a scenic hillside, overlooking Lough Arrow. It is such a beautiful hotel and the location is second to none. We went along to check out the newly launched Early Bird Menu and we weren’t disappointed. A word of warning….you will be very hungry looking at the fabulous food.

We were greeted by friendly faces when we arrived and our table was in front of a floor to ceiling window with the most amazing view above. As we ate we could see the clouds moving and the light changing, it was just perfect. I could have stayed there all night, the only thing that would have made it better was a sunset but you can’t have everything…hopefully next time. Now onto the food.

We were given a selection of bread, all made at Cromleach, along with a black olive and a sundried tomato tapenade and of course Connacht Gold butter. You can find Moira’s brown bread recipe here. I’m certainly going to try to make it.

Moira’s Early Bird Menu is excellent value for money at €30 per person and has a choice of four starters, four main course and four desserts. I chose Mixed Mushroom, Baby Leek & Gruyere Cheese Tartlet with Madeira Cream, it was delicious, the tartlet just melted in my mouth.

Andy had “Caesar” Salad with Cashew Nuts & Parmesan Shavings for his starter. He had a choice of either smoked salmon or smoked chicken with his salad and he went for the salmon. He said it was very nice and thought the cashew nuts were a great idea to add to the salad.

For my main course I had Pancetta wrapped Breast of Corn Fed Chicken with spinach stuffing and a mushroom and herb gravy.

Andy had Grilled Hereford Sirloin Steak, Sautéed Onions & Mushrooms with a pepper sauce. Both main courses were served with potato gratin, sugar snap peas and red cabbage. We both really enjoyed our meals, they were cooked to perfection and it’s amazing to get steak as part of an early bird menu with no surcharge.

Dessert was a tough choice…I wanted them all 😉 but in the end I went for the Pear & Almond Tart on Baileys Créme Anglaise, it was just beautiful. Such a lovely mix of flavours that really compliment eachother. The tart pastry was just so light and again melted in the mouth. Andy tried it and it’s not something he would have picked reading about it on the menu but he thought it was fantastic and would choose it next time.

Andy’s choice of dessert was Banana Toffee Pudding, Caramel Sauce, Honey & Chantilly Cream. I just had to try this and it was lovely, pure comfort food… I’d love to have it again now.

It really was an amazing dinner and fantastic value for money at €30 per head. It seemed a shame to come home so we went off exploring the grounds and surroundings of Cromleach Lodge. The staff recommended the labby walk which is said to be a romantic walk…not so romantic with Andy complaining about wearing the wrong shoes (him not me!)

We loved walking in the woods, it was like being in Narnia. A real maze of trees, luckily the route is marked with yellow dots or arrows on the trees so we were able to find out way around – just as well because I have no sense of direction.

When we emerged from the forest we saw The Labby Rock  which is a unique Portal Dolmen, with a 70 tonne capstone, built during the Neolithic Period (about 4,000-2,500 BC). In Irish Mythology it is associated with the burial place of Nuada of the Silver Arm, a King of the Tuatha de Danann who was killed by Balor of the Evil Eye, leader of the Fomorians, during the battle of Moytura. There is a lovely seat up by the rock surrounded by foxgloves and other wild flowers.

We headed back down to Cromleach Lodge and took a moment to sit here and look at the stunning view. It was so nice to take the walk, it made the dinner a very special evening.

After our walk we went into the bar which again has the stunning view over Lough Arrow and enjoyed a relaxing drink watching the world go by. We’d highly recommend not only the food to people but also the hotel, you get so much more than a meal, you get an experience. I look forward to going back again soon and I’d love to try out the spa. You can check out Cromleach Lodge’s website here.