Saint Francis Provisions

Barbara Nealon pushes the culinary envelope in the exciting St Francis Provisions. The room has the west coast cool of something imported straight from Stateside – St Francis is San Francisco – but Barbara and John’s classy destination is a sprezzatura wunderkind: you simply don’t see the hard graft that animates this cooking  Their toastie, for example, will build a complex structure involving pumpkin butter, honey, candied nuts, apple and taleggio on a base of excellent sourdough, and it makes for a sandwich that is simply mouth music all the way to the last bite. Ms Nealon has learnt well from her time in San Francisco, so St Francis may be a petite room, but there is lavish complexity, and a big heart in everything they do. A real star in the making, and another sign that Kinsale is finally getting the punky, funky destinations the town needs.