Sally's blog

Aine Maguire makes a simple shellfish bowl from the clams that are distinct to Clew Bay, where she runs The Idle Wall restaurant.

Seafood delivery by Padraic Gannon, Croagh Patrick Seafoods (098) 41142; razor clams from Sean O'Grady, Silver Strand, Louisbourg.

http://theidlewall.ie

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Leslie Williams is bowled over by Peter Clifford's subtle cooking in Stanley's, on Dublin's St. Andrew's Street.

Pork; fennel; nettle; and strawberry – flavours few of us would put together but, roll them round in your head, and you realise someone should have thought of this before.

Next add in some caramel and moscatel scented Palo Cortado Sherry, and citrus and almond flavoured, salty dry Amontillado (plus a touch of that old furniture aroma) and the string quartet becomes a chamber orchestra.

Bogbean sounds just... right. What is it? It's a smart, suave café and a series of five B&B rooms upstairs in the centre of Roundstone, run by Orla Conneely and Shane McElligott. But Bogbean is also a plant, and a strangely appropriate one, at that. Why so? Well, because it's a plant that likes to have its feet wet, with its stems reaching well into the water in its habitat of bogs, canals, streams, fens and slow-moving water.

“Fresh Cleggan crab just off the boat.”
Who could resist that? Not us, and especially not if the crab has been prepared by Claire and Alan in Steam Café, in Clifden, Connemara, one of our favourite west coast destinations.

Siobhan O'Callaghan belongs to one of the most distinguished groups in culinary Ireland: the great female chefs of County Cork.

John McKenna heads back to his childhood in Aine Maguire's The Idle Wall, in Westport, County Mayo

Aine Maguire's menus are a palimpsest, both of her private life, and of her cooking life. Her food in her new restaurant, The Idle Wall, down on the waterfront in Westport, County Mayo, is unusually personal: there are dishes directly influenced by her family, dishes from the places of her youth, dishes that have been triggered by precise experiences at precise times.

Note: Locks, though still recommended by McKennas' Guides, is under new management.

Karl Breen is a young chef who has worked in Ireland's best kitchens. Right now he has his name on the menu and has put his own stamp on the food in Locks Brasserie, where he has recently been appointed Head Chef. Here, Karl explains the complexities behind his signature dish of 12-Hour Octopus, Black Garlic, Calamansi Mayo, Tamarind and Salted Celeriac. It's a precise and delicate dish that shows a cook who is definitely in control of his art.

The new, 2015 edition of our book, Where to Eat and Stay on the Wild Atlantic Way, is now for sale in good bookshops and available to order online here, as well as coming at you in a funky WAW app, available from the Apple and Google stores.

How best to describe Lisbon, the capital city of Portugal?
A trusted old cliché will do the job for us: Lisbon is a place with a becoming modesty.

“Because Mary doesn't do fish, I always have fish when I eat out”, said the crusty guy with the loud crusty accent to his crusty friend.
The crusty man was in luck. He was ordering fish in The Ballymore Inn, specifically the day's dish of hake with spinach and salsify. I was having the same, and I don't expect to have a better fish dish anytime in 2015.
The hake was translucently white, and it was as sweet as only the freshest fish can be. The spinach and salsify added notes of chlorophyll and starch, whilst a rich tomato sauce was underpinned with the sweetness of fennel.