Vegan & Vegetarian Guide to Ireland

Address: Shanahill East, Boolteens, Castlemaine

Location: Co. Kerry Find it on Google Maps

Telephone: +353 66 56315

E-mail: phoenixtyther@hotmail.com

Website: http://www.thephoenixorganic.com/

Status: Vegetarian

Type: Accommodation Accommodation

Description: A restaurant attached to a veg*n guesthouse. Lovely homemade food, on the road to Dingle. On a small piece of farmland - they grow their own vegetables for the table, when in season, and there's lots of nice countryside all around. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are available.

jb300 said on 2011/05/28: 

just stunning food. spinach in smoked brie sauce with roasted coconut and chillie. the cook book is out July 3rd, i have ordered 10 for friends and family. i eat here as much as possible the early bird is such good value.

pete and julie said on 2010/12/18: 

we visited Miltown market for all of Lorna s cookery demonstrations. all of them included recipe sheets and really clear instuctions. she managed to feed loads of people and answer all the questions well. the food was very simple and each week had a different cultural slant and had been adapted for gluten free and mainly dairy free. it was very profesional and amusing too. we both attend many veggie functions and hers was the best yet. her book will be out by easter so thats good news. we keep going back to the Phoenix because this is the best food.

arnie said on 2010/03/29: 

yummie food definitely reccomend for wholesome homely healthy food with a personal touch. colourful exotic atmosphere. great musicians too. have been back again and again

mo said on 2009/08/08: 

visited the phoenix after a wind swept day at the dingle races. on a arrival i received awarm welcome and aroasting dish of vegi bake and two smooth beers before retiring to my camper van which i was able to park in the garden caR PARK. this car park is not designed for campers but is full of folage and peaceful surroundings. the hot showers are in the house and are fairly luxurios, you are just asked not to use them during meal times as you have to walk through the dining area. it is good value at €12 and you can sit in the cafe and eat or drink lovely phoenix food at your leisure. by the way the Phoenix is open all year round and the surf is along the road at inch beach

phil said on 2009/07/28: 

really fresh and very well presented food, salads straight from the garden. imaginative cooking with different tasts every dish.rooms funky colourful clean and all ensuite, we arrived for a night and ended up staying a week, the place was the livelest too during our trip to Ireland with lots of like minded people in and out. we also saw the great gypsy band which was a roking night. phil davis

alistair sawday said on 2008/10/01: 

Bohemian meets gypsy, meets Arabian nights and they all decided to dance because why wouldn’t you? Somewhere in this exotic whirl is a two-foot high statue of the Virgin Mary: it’s a celebration of colour, wood, exposed stonework and rare plants. Lorna and Billy bought the house some 16 years ago and now run this relaxed place for open-minded devotes of organic vegetarian and whole food cooking: delicious, fresh breakfasts, tantalizing lunches and seriously good dinners are served in the restaurant with its colourful art on the walls. Lorna also sells whole food, gluten free house products and organic wine, and in the winter runs cookery classes, organizes salsa and Egyptian belly dancing classes encourages live music and other events such as the tasty film food club planned for the cool dark nights: there is also a relaxing wellbeing room for workshops and therapeutic groups. This place positively fizzes with colour, life and energy: bedrooms are large and comfortable, vibrant in their colour schemes, with spangled bedcovers and spotless bathrooms, - not for minimalists or dull folk. The garden is gorgeous, with wild areas for children to roam, tree houses, gypsy caravans (you can stay in them too)a friendly house pets and a very productive vegetable patch. You’re bang on the Inch beach road, so surfers will delight.

paul said on 2008/08/29: 

we stayed at the phoenix and having the best food since we have been in Ireland. very friendly people amazing rooms and it seems as though nothing is too much trouble for them. will come again when we are in the country

Ras said on 2008/08/14: 

my husband and i are regular patrons of The Phoenix Restaurant and quite frankly it is the best restaurant in Ireland. neither of us are strict vegetarians yet the food is a gastromic experience not to be missed - from their mouthwatering starters their generous wholesome maincourses to their tantalising desserts not to mention their selection of teas coffees and wines, this is certainly a treat for all the senses

desmond said on 2008/08/11: 

Food is the best part of The Phoenix, but it costs too much. Accomodation is very bad. We stood for three nights at the Chalet, and we made the error to pay in advance: total lack of customer care, sheets not cleaned, a lot of spider's web on the corners, dust everywere. Avoid it, in wonderful Ireland there are places better than this.

celine said on 2008/08/09: 

Adepte des bons plats acompagnee de viande, jetais un peu refractaire a l'idee de mareter pour aller dans un restaurant vegetarien car j'avais peur de ne pas etre rasasiee.Cependant j'ai ete vraiment tres surprise car les plat etaient vraiment tres bons et copieux.De plus avec la diversite des plats proposer on peut faire le tour du monde! Les deserts y sont a tomber.Ajouter a cela des proprietaires charmants, et une ambiance tres chaleureuse.Ne surtout pas rater les soirees salsa le lundi et le vendredi soir!Il y a meme un jardin tres mignon.Et pour finir Dingle et Inch beach sont tout pres.Adresse que je conseil

mr.b said on 2008/08/07: 

wow i ate at the phoenix again as i do every time we go to ireland and hey lorna has found a new gem a cook who is nearly as good as her which means he is very good. what a team and the place looks swell to. the usual great welcome plus a night of salsa and belly dance.we stayed in one of those cosy rooms looking out onto the lovely garden, great to find this opportunity to give praise for what is the best restaurant i have ever eaten in.

jan said on 2008/07/24: 

over the years i have watched The Phoenix go from strength to strength, i can remember Lorna s brilliant cooking when her children were babies and now they all seem to help out in the restaurant. the place has recently gone through a structural renovation it used to be tiny relying on fine weather in the beautiful gardens for additional seating, now they can take about 50 diners and they hold very high class music events. the food always seems to be ahead of its time wholesome, so many flavours and beautifully presented. the kindness of the people working there beats anything you ever get in Dingle or Killarney as does the food. we are not vegetarian but we go again and again not minding the drive. Lorna will be giving more cooking classes this year in the new kitchen and i know many local people who are clamouring to go. now there is great praise from rural Ireland, and by the way this lovely restaurant in the middle of nowhere is the talk of culinary Dingle

samuel gersbach said on 2008/07/16: 

this was the the place that made us most welcome, we stayed in The Sun Room with our kids,the decoration is stylish indian wall hangings and colours. lorna is the best cook i have ever me a million flavours, freshly picked herbs and vegthe grilled courgete bake with roastbeet and puy letil dalh was really excelent and in june they were already getting courgette from the garden. good for kids too lovely wild gardens full of herbs and floweres dogs and cats and a trampoline. she let our teenagers sleep in one of the gypsy wagons one night and we did one of the friday night salsa classes with natalie and lorna. there were quite afew local people there enjoying the music and the very tasty tapas provided for the late night hunger. the phoenix has a great wine list too about half is organic and very reasonable and to our delight even a Demetre biodynamic wine . if i had a local venu like this i would be there every week .we live in London and we reckoned it beats all the places we go to, well you just would nt find such an ecclectic artsy place that also cares about the food and pleasing the customer. i dont know if they ever read this but thanks for making our holiday worthwhile

charlotte Dalimpiras said on 2008/06/16: 

my husband and i have been coming to the Phoeniix for the last ten years on a regular basis. we both love Lornas food and her dedication to producing what we consider the best vegetarian dishes we have ever eaten. the Phoenix has made huge improvements lately to the building and they are now able to hold small events we were staying recently for one of the music nights, it was a story with songs and dance called The Last Concubine. extremely good singing and dancing and a brilliant tale, we all ended up dancing until the small hours. The following day there was sunday brunch with quality live music too. if Lorna gets the arts scene going as well as she does the food this place will really take off as The place to be. well done Phoenixers

Kenny said on 2008/05/26: 

Once again we have had the most delicious dinner at the Phoenix. We go there as often as we can to soak up the relaxed athmosphere and enjoy the fresh, organic food. The staff are so pleasant and helpful but its the creations that come from the kitchen are worth the 40 min drive! We rate it as 5 because of the superb choices on the menu and great wine! An experience not to be missed!

stini said on 2008/05/21: 

fabulous welcome very easy going and caring. the food made us want to stay forever, we had balanced and exciting vegie dishes and most of the food is actually dairy and wheat free altough you would realize that . my boyfriend a meat eater and he didnt want to leave. i did a cookery class on wednesday evening and a great bellydance fitness class on thursdday evening. they also have lots of funky music and dance nights going on. ive already booked again to include one of the winter workshops. Christina Hurlimann

Scooby said on 2008/04/15: 

I had been told by a friend that this was a funky place to stay and eat and the website certainly made it look good. So I emailed them to ask about accommodation but never received a reply. With time ticking on towards our holiday, I decided to telephone instead but was told the woman I needed to speak to wasn't around but would be later. I rang back to no avail but my number was taken and a promise of a call back. Two days later still no call so I rang again and again was promised. This repeated itself twice more before I got fed up and didn't call back and booked accommodation elsewhere. Then during our holiday we decided to give it a chance and at least go and eat there. We turned up just after midday for lunch but were given a strange look on entering by the person behind the counter and told she would go and ask! She came back and said that they hadn't decided yet what they were doing for lunch and that we could wait or come back in 20 minutes. Our patience was gone and we just left and never went back. I emailed them to give them constructive feedback about why they had lost our custom but obviously didn't receive a reply. I think we had given the place ample chance but am totally disappointed in their lack of organisation and customer care. The dogs outside were far more welcoming and the best part about the place!

Martin Rodriguez said on 2007/08/25: 

Cycling is my life and honest vegetarian food comes on the second place. I was cycling on the road to Dingle and saw this lovely purple house beside the road. This place attract me immediately, so I decided to sit down for a coffee. During that time there was a wedding going on but the servants also took the time for my order. The atmosphere in the phoenix is very nice, the garden and the surroundings are beautifull. They surve a veriety of food, Indian style, Mexican, vegatarian/vegan and the best of all home baked bread(every day). The Sleeve Mish mountains are wonderfull for walkings and in the evening I took my bicycle to Inch beach. Perfect swimming and wave surfin. Only one drawback: 'I wish one day its prohibited to drive/park your car on this little pearl'. Anyway, 'theres more in the picture than meets the eye', go find out yourself. And please don't forget to go up those mountains to discover a panorama you possibly never forget!

Murphy said on 2006/05/25: 

Hippy type of place, would not recomment

spiral said on 2005/06/13: 

We had two great days staying at the Phoenix in Summer 2004, as part of a cycling holiday. The plan had been to stay one night, but by the end of our meal we all decided to stay on! A warm welcome, a wonderful atmosphere, an enticing menu, and the freshest of food superbly prepared. Couldn't ask for more, and we all said we'd go back given the chance. It's also well placed for some of the finest parts of Kerry. I've rated it five out of five because it was exactly the kind of place I love - see it for yourself on their web site at thephoenixorganic.com