Bistros originated in Paris and are defined as ‘’small restaurants serving moderately priced simple meals in a modest setting’. Previously know as ‘Auntie May’s’, the bistro offers a range of foods including home made beef burgers, lamb shanks, prawns and fresh locally landed fish. Vegan dishes are a specialty, as are the breads, baked each morning in the bistro kitchen.
The walls display rarely seen early works by, among others, local artists Tim Goulding, Cormac Boydell, Maurice Henderson and John Kingerly of Allihies as well as the primitive painter the late Michael Sheehan of Eyeries, some of whose works are available in limited edition prints. Large scale photographs printed on canvas of local land and seascapes and of the area’s antiquities are also for sale at moderate prices, posted to a visitor’s home.
Our Ethos
We strive to source all our food from local and artisan sources, preferably using Fair Trade, organic or free range products.
Rhonwen’s motto?
‘Be welcome – eat well’. With traditional Irish cuisine , seafood and vegetarian/vegan options it offers a welcoming setting catering for all.
I ate twice at the Bistro during my visit in October. The food and service were fantastic. The second night I arrived at closing and the dining room was full. The staff was so accommodating. They simply sent me across to O’Shea’s and brought my meal over while I sat at the bar and had a pint. Perfect! The Bistro is a wonderful addition to Eyeries.
Excellent meal from festive menu, all four of us could not find fault, beautiful presentation, excellent service too
We visited your bistro in May of 2015 and absolutely LOVED IT!
everything was so fresh, so delicious, and so memorable! the staff was beyond fantastic and the food was some of the best we had on our trip!
i actually posted about it on my travel post:
http://www.takingstepshome.com/2015/07/travel-forests-eyeries.html
Recommended to me by a local, I had dinner in the bistro one evening just after New Years. It was busy and I hadn’t reserved, but the staff were very accommodating and managed to fit me in. I was pleasantly surprised to find such an atmospheric eatery in a little village in West Cork in the middle of winter, serving delicious, thoughtfully presented food from a well designed, seasonal menu. Nice to see craft beer included on the drinks menu as well as some interesting wines. There was a pleasant hum of conversation, nice background music, no noisy coffee machines, etc. The bistro also appeared to have a lovely outdoor area which wasn’t open given the time of year! Spotlessly clean ladies room. 🙂 The bistro walls are hung with the work of talented local artists, and overall it has a very cosy, relaxed ambience. I will certainly be returning on my next trip to the Beara Peninsula. Thank You! Evelyn
I had dinner one evening in the bistro just after New Years. I hadn’t reserved, but the staff were very accommodating and managed to squeeze me in. I was pleasantly surprised to find such an atmospheric little eatery in a small village in West Cork in the middle of winter, serving up delicious food, beautiful presented from a well designed seasonal menu. Nice to see craft beer on the drinks menu as well as an interesting selection of wines. The bistro reflects the personality of the area with beautiful local artwork hanging. It had a pleasant hum of conversation with nice background music playing, no noisy coffee machines, etc. There also seemed to be a lovely outdoor area, which wasn’t open because of the time of year! I will certainly be returning on my next trip to the Beara Peninsula. Thank You.
Pre Christmas lunch: Game items on the menu. Very good cooking Rhowen, thanks you very much for an enjoyable evening. Put up a link to your place on our holiday home website:
http://www.beara.org/house/page6/page6.html
Delighted to hear you’ll be open over the New Year. We have guests coming who want to eat out then. The Festive Menu look great! Torn between the venison, pheasant and nut roast. I think I’ll have to come in for an early birthday dinner or I’ll miss it…
We would recommend the Bistro to anyone visiting the area. Excellent food, meticulously prepared, from starter to desert, and the service was prompt and friendly. We’ll definitely be back!
Had a great meal in the Bistro last night with my family. The kids were kept happy with the supply of books and toys, the staff were so friendly and helpful. Overall it made for an easy relaxing evening of great tasty food and and surrounded by the art work and photography was an added bonus. The fact you provide gluten free alternatives was very welcomed by my mother who is a coeliac… Her fish was delicious.
I think 9 pm last orders is too early. Ask what your customers want! Not what you’d like…..
I hope you will be successful and stay a lot longer then your predecessors……
Thanks for the good wishes, Juke – we do try to make it 9 ‘ish’ – but even then the menu is limited because everything is fresh and we may by then be out of some key ingredients – like the fresh fish of the day. It’s a critical ballance between trying to ensure that you can give your customers the full menu – and ending up with food waste! What every small bed and breakfast and resteraunt out here on a remote peninsula will tell you is that you simple can’t tell how many visitors you will have the next day – or what they will want. We try and make an atmosphere where what matters is good food and good company in a space that could be anywhere. Just call us for late orders and we will do our best.