The Spaniard Bar and Restaurant, Kinsale

What's not to like? A gourmet restaurant and a great pub all rolled into one. You can enjoy fine dining in the restaurant with wonderful views of Kinsale, or you can go into the dark, woody pub and drink Guinness 'til closing. We chose the former.

Favorite Dish: I seem to remember I had some excellently prepared trout with crabmeat filling. I probably should've had the wine, but couldn't resist having a pint of Murphy's Stout with it.

The Spaniard, after much trial and error, is where I go for lunch with my students every Saturday now.
It's a five minute walk from the town centre but well worth the trip. The building is beautiful, entirely clad with grey slates and displaying a large portrait of Don Juan D'Aguila who it is named for. If fine you can eat outside but the decor inside is really cosy with loads of interesting pictures and antiques. The food is excellent and, more importantly , very reasonably priced by Kinsale standards. Main courses are priced around 11 to 13 euro with the Fish of the Day at 12.95. The fish, especially the grilled salmon is mouthwatering and portions are huge. Other main courses include chili, pasta, chicken, sirloin steak baguettes and many others. Soups start at 4 euro and there are all sorts of sandwich and panini options if you dont want a full meal. Staff are friendly, there's a great atmosphere and overall, dining here is a very pleasant experience.

Favorite Dish: Poached Salmon. Succulent, delicately flavoured with herbs and a portion so large I bring some home to my cat.