Conor’s Bandon Blog

I’ve just had an absolutely perfect seafood lunch in Fishy Fishy with my parents. Incredible fresh seafood at reasonable prices with attentive staff. The only downside was an excess of ladies-who-lunch trying-too-hard.

I have never ever heard a bad word about the original Fishy Fishy. Everything about it sounded great except the small number of tables which resulted in long waits. As we are usually with-childer, that’s not an option. My parents popped down for a visit and brought me out for lunch today to their new location looking out on the harbour. It’s a lovely spot and the interior is just gorgeous. A pity they spent 20 minutes waiting for me at the original location which is back to being a shop again!

We arrived just before 12.30 expecting to queue but got seated right away. We took a relaxed pace and were there for well over an hour. It was absolutely jammed from 1pm onwards and the crowds never eased off. We probably brought the tone down a little since we were dressed normally unlike many who clearly thought they were guests of the Ambassador, given the high fashion on display.

The staff were brilliant throughout being attentive without being overbearing. They got my mum’s main order wrong and could not have been more apologetic. A replacement arrived within five minutes (the advantage of serving ultra-fresh fish dishes which need little cooking).

Then the food, oh god the food. I decided to try things that were completely new to me. So it was clams to start and ray wings for main. I cannot praise them highly enough. I’m now a convert to both and will be looking to cook them myself. The clams were the non-razor sort and just sweet little nuggets of flesh in a lip-smacking asian-style broth. The ray wings simply pan-fried on a lovely scallion mash with a perfect sauce.

Mum skipped starters and went for a chilli seafood plate which she devoured. Dad started with avocado and prawns I think and had monkfish for main. All brilliant.

This is the sort of place every town in West Cork should have. The very best very freshest seafood cooked simply and cooked with skill. The massive crowds eating there shows that great businesses will be immune to the credit crunch. Speaking of which, the only real flaw in the place is that they don’t accept credit cards. In 2008, that’s just a bit mental. Giving us a customer feedback card at the end of the meal tells you what pros they are. Perhaps they might consider asking their customers to send reviews by SMS

If you haven’t been. Go.

We’ve had a couple of very good reviews of Mio on LouderVoice and finally got a chance to try it out last Sunday. A brilliant meal in a beautiful but shockingly empty restaurant. We’ll be back soon.

Granny Mary shooed us out the door at 5pm on Sunday and we tootled down to Clon to Mio’s. Owned by the same people as the brilliant Gleenson’s, it is two doors up and upstairs.

The room is beautifully done with a nice Italian feel to the whole place. It was empty on arrival so we got the full attention of the very friendly waiter. A couple of Italian Moretti beers saw us through the meal and we had a hard time deciding what to pick. Both the main menu and specials looked good but with quite run-of-the-mill descriptions, which as as discovered when the food arrived, didn’t do it justice at all.

Catherine had a fantastic pate to start and I had pasta-wrapped prawns with a saffron aioli. Both with very good salad with a tasty dressing.

For main I had the Capricciosa pizza which had anchovies, capers, olives and an egg. One of the best pizzas I’ve eaten in the past ten years. Catherine had a classic Caesar sald with chicken. She couldn’t finish it, it was so big. Lovely leaves and dressing, beautifully moist chicken. She didn’t go for the whole anchovies in it tho. Might be best to mention as an option to people.

Two excellent double espressos finished the evening and we were out off home, fully sated.

Unfortunately not one other person came in whilst we were there. I so hope this was a timing thing and not a regular occurrence since Clon needs a place like this that serves great food in a relaxed setting. I am concerned that the menu outside gives no hint of the high quality of the food and could be mistaken for an Eddie Rockets style place. The prices are a little high but then I say that about everywhere.

If you like great pizza and great food in general but want it in a lovely relaxed welcoming setup then Mio is worth a detour. Next time I’m trying the burger.