We got a voucher from my mother-in-law for The Old Post over a year ago and finally made use of it last weekend. It consisted of one night’s stay plus dinner. I’ve previously given it top marks in a review last year and had eaten there several times before, all good.
We arrived up about 4pm and they weren’t fully open yet but some hand waving got us in and up to the room. They had told us on the phone that the rooms are being renovated in the spring and it really can’t happen soon enough. Our room really worn out and the bathroom in particular needs to be gutted. One thing that annoyed me intensely was the broken toilet seat. Not only is it unhygienic, it’d probably only take €30 and 20 minutes to fix. But that seat is my abiding memory of the place which is unfortunate as most other aspects are fine.
We headed down for dinner later and found the place hopping. The building is really cosy and I love the genuine friendly local staff. We had a drink whilst reading the menus and waiting for the table. A good selection of my kind of food with a list of each individual supplier impressed me.
The meal overall was good but I felt it could been brilliant with some more attention to detail. Having said that, they were under pressure in the kitchen with a very full dining room and apologised for a delay at one point with a mini-dessert. To be honest we hadn’t even noticed.
For starters I had carpaccio of beef with a rocket salad. The beef was gorgeous and delicate but overwhelmed by the over-dressed rocket. You should definitely try it but ask for the salad on the side so the meat can sing. D’wife had prawns with a nice onion marmalade.
[
](http://www.flickr.com/photos/bandon1/2252144265/ “The Old Post Inn, Cloverhill, Cavan by bandon1, on Flickr”)
[
](http://www.flickr.com/photos/bandon1/2252142095/ “The Old Post Inn, Cloverhill, Cavan by bandon1, on Flickr”)
The champagne sorbet was very boozy but beautifully flavoured.
My main was Peking duck on celeriac which, whilst very tasty, had flabby soft skin instead of the expected crispness. Catherine had a duo of fish on risotto. The fish was lovely but the risotto looked more like long grain rice and had non-diced stringy rocket it in.
[
](http://www.flickr.com/photos/bandon1/2252944804/ “The Old Post Inn, Cloverhill, Cavan by bandon1, on Flickr”)
[
](http://www.flickr.com/photos/bandon1/2252946190/ “The Old Post Inn, Cloverhill, Cavan by bandon1, on Flickr”)
Her dessert was three mini creme brulees which weren’t very distinctly different in taste and I had a gorgeous tarte tatin.
[
](http://www.flickr.com/photos/bandon1/2252152567/ “The Old Post Inn, Cloverhill, Cavan by bandon1, on Flickr”)
[
](http://www.flickr.com/photos/bandon1/2252150897/ “The Old Post Inn, Cloverhill, Cavan by bandon1, on Flickr”)
Through the meal we had a bottle of Sancerre Dominique et Janine Crochet 2006 which was fantastic and I’d try again.
Being a popular local venue, the portions are seriously big (the side veg was a meal in itself). I always leave there bursting and I need to show some restraint in future!Our room suffered a bit from dining room noise and the place didn’t really quieten down until after 1am. But that’s to be expected. Breakfast the following morning had both fresh fruit and a really tasty full Irish. Service again was top class and friendly.
Once the rooms are revamped, I’d recommend The Old Post. It’s a lovely part of the country and you’ll come away refreshed. Oh and to echo a topic I wrote about on my business blog yesterday, they really need to get themselves a web-site!
comments powered by Disqus