William Barry tries a Holywood gastropub that knows how to get it all right, The Dirty Duck Ale House
I knew I was going to like Dirty Duck from the minute I walked in the door. Two features which I love to see in any pub are pictures of classic sailing boats and an open fire: the Dirty Duck has both.
The Dirty Duck is first and foremost a pub which offers craft beers and handpulled cask ales in addition to the usual mainstream brands – Mark McCrory has been importing real cask ales into Northern Ireland for fifteen years and his famous Dirty Duck real ale festival is now into its 17th year.
“A pub that does good food” is how McCrory describes his bar and restaurant in Holywood Co. Down. Those who frequent the Dirty Duck Ale House know that this description does not do justice to this cosy waterside hostelry which is among the busiest in Northern Ireland. This is a destination address and a model for how pubs should be run.
The downstairs bar has an extensive bar food menu with a more formal restaurant offering upstairs in a dining room which has wide- stretching panoramic views over Belfast Lough. Noteworthy dishes include the seafood sharing platter, Portavogie scampi, beer battered cod and chips and a barbeque braised pork belly with home fries and crackling which was as tasty as it sounds.
A successful career with some of the world’s most prestigious advertising agencies means that McCrory knows the importance of standing out from the crowd. His business is built on quality local food and drinks, fun events and festivals and clever engagement with customers. The licensed trade is undergoing a sweeping transformation and over the next few years many pubs will call time for good, but enterprises like the Dirty Duck will continue to draw the crowds.
2-4 Kinnegar Road
Holywood
Co. Down
BT18 9JN
Tel-02890596666
www.dirtyduckalehouse.co.uk
Note: The Ruddy Duck Fish and Chips and wet fish shop is a sister business located in nearby Holywood and maintains the same high standards as the Dirty Duck.
