October 2024 by Roisin Tierney-Crowe
We were blown away by the food! Not sure why we didn?t anticipate it, but perhaps it made it even more enjoyable. What sounded like a happy back of house (we could hear laughter and everyone looked so happy). The restaurant space was so cosy. The small bites delicious - we ordered 3 out of the 4 & almost ordered the 4. Mains of chicken and beef also just delicious. The front of house team were fantastic. I can?t recall names but the gentlemen, from South Africa & France, were attentive, explained all the dish components. They were the perfect mix friendly, with prompt but caring service. Well done guys - would happily recommend & revisit in the future.
September 2024 by Katie B
Delicious restaurant on site at Finn Lough. The food is fantastic and the staff are so helpful with any questions you might have or to offer their recommendations. There?s also a full vegetarian/pescatarian menu to choose from.
There was no rush to free up tables after we ate either and the atmosphere was really relaxed, so it?s a perfect way to end your day.
Vegetarian options: Really good vegetarian & vegan menu which looks every bit as delicious as the main menu. You can tell they haven?t just given a few vegetarian options as an afterthought.
July 2024 by sandra douville
This was a very lovely experience. Service was high level and super nice at the same time. We shared several dishes with all sorts of taste. Everything was wonderful. That will remain a very good souvenir for a very long time. Congratulations to the chef and the whole team.
May 2024 by Ted. S R Johnston
The fact that a lot of food is either grown on the premises of bought local is brilliant. The food is fantastic and the cocktails in the barn are among the best We've ever had
February 2024 by Dean Fox
I can?t believe this place exists and I didn?t know until I checked into the resort. If this restaurant was based in a city you?d never get a table. Everything from the food to cocktails and service from the knowledgeable staff was flawless. I?ve been in hospitality for many years, eaten and worked at some great fine dining establishments in various parts of the world and these guys are doing everything right. We loved the sharing concept because we got to try some more plates but would suggest some kind of chefs choice menu option maybe? Might allow guests a set price menu that isn?t as costly but also works from the business end. I think that?s also because having tried some of the food, that everything on the menu is worthy of its place there and your team could have served us anything from the menu and I?m sure we would have loved it.Our favourite plate was the Chicken served with XO sauce, unbelievable. Great work Chef and the FoH team!
August 2023 by Noah Lane
Epic food, location and setting.
July 2023 by William Ryan
Vegetarian menu was amazing, wine also amazing recommended by waiterVegetarian options: Amazing
July 2023 by CF Calloway
We're vegetarian, we're from New York, we're used to spending money when we dine out and came to dinner ready to be impressed. It didn't seem like that would be a problem. The staff said the restaurant was fantastic and boasted a full vegetarian / pescatarian menu. We booked a reservation after our time in the spa, came very hungry and left very disappointed. The plates were ridiculously small for the price (think four coin-sized rounds of zucchini with some bits of pickle for £16) which would have been fine had they been spectacularly flavorful. But the elaborate plating felt like a sleight of hand as soon as you took a bite: bland sauces, limp, unseasoned vegetables, a pile of cold squash with tasteless feta. There were four slices of bread that came with the bread plate, each one half the size of a credit card and stale. The sprigs of broccoli were overwhelmed with sauce, the mushrooms had no flavor, the cronuts were cold and had clearly been sitting out for the majority of the day. We wanted very much to love this place, but even the cocktails lacked balance: some were high on sugar, low on acid, others had no flavor at all, and we noted that most are made by infusing low quality alcohol. The speech they give you when you sit down is almost comical in retrospect: "we have an ethos of sharing so our plates are very small". An ethos of sharing does not go with a plate that contains a total of three bites of food you have to force yourself to finish. Just say "Our ethos is to extract as much profit from the people who are incredibly hungry after the spa and stuck here with no other dining option by tricking them into thinking our food is exquisite because it's expensive and tiny. Our ethos is the jokes on you". The restaurant staff could tell we weren't enjoying our meal and the same server rarely returned to our table to check in. No one asked us how we liked the dishes, even when we sent plates back half-eaten. Perhaps it's a problem with the vegetarian menu - some chefs aren't well-versed at feeding vegetarians. We did notice that the table next to us - a French family - was ordering off the vegetarian / pescatarian menu as well, and were agitated enough to complain. That provided a bit of catharsis. We asked a few other couples we met how they enjoyed the food and they said it was fantastic - worth noting they were locals (UK food is notoriously bad) and they all ordered meat. We left the spa wanting to gift visits to friends and family, but we can't send anyone here to stay the night if this restaurant is the only option. I would advise Finn Lough to take a cue from Korean spas: When people have lost a lot of sweat in a sauna they need salt, starch and sweet and spicy flavors. Up the prices if you need to, but make it delicious and filling and you'll have a more consistently happy clientele. We may come back just to use the spa, but we'll bring our own food.
July 2023 by Google user
We're vegetarian, we're from New York, we're used to spending money when we dine out and came to dinner ready to be impressed. It didn't seem like that would be a problem. The staff said the restaurant was fantastic and boasted a full vegetarian / pescatarian menu. We booked a reservation after our time in the spa, came very hungry and left very disappointed. The plates were ridiculously small for the price (think four coin-sized rounds of zucchini with some bits of pickle for £16) which would have been fine had they been spectacularly flavorful. But the elaborate plating felt like a sleight of hand as soon as you took a bite: bland sauces, limp, unseasoned vegetables, a pile of cold squash with tasteless feta. There were four slices of bread that came with the bread plate, each one half the size of a credit card and stale. The sprigs of broccoli were overwhelmed with sauce, the mushrooms had no flavor, the cronuts were cold and had clearly been sitting out for the majority of the day. We wanted very much to love this place, but even the cocktails lacked balance: some were high on sugar, low on acid, others had no flavor at all, and we noted that most are made by infusing low quality alcohol. The speech they give you when you sit down is almost comical in retrospect: \\\"we have an ethos of sharing so our plates are very small\\\". An ethos of sharing does not go with a plate that contains a total of three bites of food you have to force yourself to finish. Just say \\\"Our ethos is to extract as much profit from the people who are incredibly hungry after the spa and stuck here with no other dining option by tricking them into thinking our food is exquisite because it's expensive and tiny. Our ethos is the jokes on you\\\". The restaurant staff could tell we weren't enjoying our meal and the same server rarely returned to our table to check in. No one asked us how we liked the dishes, even when we sent plates back half-eaten. Perhaps it's a problem with the vegetarian menu - some chefs aren't well-versed at feeding vegetarians. We did notice that the table next to us - a French family - was ordering off the vegetarian / pescatarian menu as well, and were agitated enough to complain. That provided a bit of catharsis. We asked a few other couples we met how they enjoyed the food and they said it was fantastic - worth noting they were locals (UK food is notoriously bad) and they all ordered meat. We left the spa wanting to gift visits to friends and family, but we can't send anyone here to stay the night if this restaurant is the only option. I would advise Finn Lough to take a cue from Korean spas: When people have lost a lot of sweat in a sauna they need salt, starch and sweet and spicy flavors. Up the prices if you need to, but make it delicious and filling and you'll have a more consistently happy clientele. We may come back just to use the spa, but we'll bring our own food.
June 2023 by Sarah Murphy
Amazing experience on our doorstep
June 2023 by Aaron Treacy
The whole experience was fab. The food was delicious and the service was exceptional. It?s was our second visit and we look forward to the third.
May 2023 by johY5628UA
Beautiful place so relaxing We stayed in a bubble pod which had the most amazing view of the stars. There was a game and some stargazing books and a radio in the room to connect to your Bluetooth so was lovely and relaxing. Food was excellent and the spa was lovely although freezing running between the pods so would love to come back in the summer. My only suggestion would be to offer the buggy drives back from the restraint to the pods at night as it is pitch black walking back
May 2023 by Sherpa66528453142
My sister and I treated ourselves to a spa trip for our birthdays. The service was brilliant from the moment we arrived, couldn't have been looked after better. Having the spa to yourself was great, and we loved being able to take a dip in the lake after some time in one of the saunas. We ate at The Barn restaurant, again the staff were excellent and the food was delicious! Would highly recommend!
March 2023 by LeonVQuinn
You should only visit this place if you have money to burn as its damn expensive! You would literally, as we have this year, get a week or a few days at least abroad for the same price as one night and one meal here but you pay for the luxury or the unique experience so it's not a complaint. It takes some getting used to living in a see through bubble and hoping no one is watching but once you get used to it it's a class experience. Possibly a little daft for Ireland as you rarely get to see the sky but we got some glimpses of stars. The highlight for me was dinner in the Barn restaurant. I've never seen a menu or had a dining experience like it. If you're hungry you have no choice but to order multiple dishes from their funky and expensive tasting plate menu. As I said to my girlfriend after ordering our 8 shared dishes at a cost of nearly ?200, if this food isn't some of the best we've ever had then we'll be robbed. But it was!
March 2023 by jenberry19
5 stars !!!. We were a group of ladies who stayed for 2 nights. From the moment we stepped foot into the place we were greeted with a warm welcome and staff who couldn?t do enough for you. We stayed in a lakeside house which had everything we needed, it was clean and comfortable. We went kayaking on the lake, ate dinner in the barn both nights. Did a cocktail masterclass and the Elements spa. All of which surpassed our expectations. Breakfast was still warm when delivered. We had everything we needed on site, simply a perfect retreat into the forest. Keep doing what your doing Finnlough your amazing - And into the forest I go to loose my mind and find my soul !!
