It is worth arriving early for your meal so you can explore the lovely grounds of the house before you sit down to lunch or dinner. The food is classic and perfectly prepared and complements the surroundings perfectly. Most of the food is locally sourced and some even comes from the Ballymaloe estate. A meal here is not cheap but it is worth every cent if you are looking for a nice treat.

We recently treated ourselves to dinner at Ballymaloe House and it lived up to all our expectations. We arrived shortly before the dining room opened and after a short walk around the immediate gardens we went for a pre-dinner drink in the bar/drawing room. I was immediately impressed with the staff. All were friendly, polite and professional. We were given ample opportunity to peruse the menu and eventually gave our order from the comfort of the couch. After being escourted to our table the first course arrived swiftly. We had the consomme with julienne veg and the mint and lettuce soup. Both were spectacular. Clean and light soups with amazing fresh flavours. Second course were mussles and smoked bacon with grubeen salad. The best mussles I've had in a very long time. For mains we had the goose and the lamb. Both meats were perfectly cooked. Moist, flavourfull and in the case of the lamb perfectly pink for my liking. The seasonal veg, tasted of fresh summer veg, superb!! We took a well appreciated short break before the cheese trolley arrived and then completey overindulged in a number of the various smoked, goats and sheeps cheeses offered. Another short break was then required before the desert trolley arrived. On the recommendation of one of the staff I tried the carabeen (seaweed) pudding. A new and very enjoyable experience. We also tried the Meringue, the ice cream, mixed berry compote and the winner on the night the warm chocolate desert, think of the best hot chocolate fondant and multipy by 100%, devine!! Just when you think you can't fit in another bite along come the coffee and home made petit fours. The 5 course meal, it's actually 6 with tea/coffee, will set you back 70euro per head, but it's worth every single well earned penny!! Overall a thoroughly enjoyable visit, I couldn't praise it enough. A visit to Ballymaloe House should definately be on the "Must 100" list.

This was my first visit to Ballymaloe House and the setting really is lovely. However, I was really disappointed with the food and lack of choice. I always like the buffet idea but if you don't like carvery lunch, then there was very little to choose from. For salad selection, there was ONE bowl of mixed leaves, that was it! Fish goujons and fish pie were the only alternatives to the carvery meats. I suppose I was expecting so much from a place with such a reputation and it wasn't what I thought it would be. I will say the Fish Soup was beautiful.The desserts were gorgeous too. The other thing that bothered me was the cost. It was 40 per head for adults and 20 for kids. I really thought that was exorbitant for kids as for example, one of the children with us only ate 5 bread rolls and another ate two small pieces of pizza! They only grazed, I thought that 20 euro was a rip-off to be honest. All in all, the surroundings were lovely but I wasn't eating them! So the food was disappointing for the money and for this reason, I don't think I'd return.

Had lunch in the informal Ballymaloe cafe - located at the back of the gift shop at the weekend. As it was the May bank hol, the place was extremely busy and we had to wait for 30 min for a table. They don't take reservations in the shop cafe but the time allowed me to walk around the lovely grounds of the hotel. I had a moroccan lamb couscous, served with salad leaves and a mint yogurt. Initially, bread was served to the table, with real butter and was great. My lunch was very good - but lacked something.. perhaps a chutney. Service here can be pretty slow, and it really shouldn't be as there were 4 servers to about 10 tables. Desert was the best chocolate/orange cake I've had in a while. This little cafe is great if you know that you have time on your hands. ~€20 for all including elderflower cordial and tea.

I have been fortunate enough to be a regular visitor to Ballymaloe over many years. There is something very special about this place. There is a homeliness to the accommodations, the food is carefully sourced and prepared with immense respect. Those expecting typical anodyne "brand" hotel experiences should be warned that Ballymaloe is nothing like that. There are no TVs in rooms, arrival and departure experience can be a little haphazard and slow. That said, the food is uncomplicated but superb in terms of freshness, quality, flavour and preparation. Dinner is a 5 course affair served in the main Yeats Room or one of the other smaller dining rooms. Expect wonderful soups, pates and salads to start. I had a fabulous Potato and Wild Garlic Soup. Fish courses follow and then meat and game in season. I had wonderful roast lamb, sweet and delicious, A trolley offering several Irish cheeses is next and then the amazing dessert trolley - five or six delicious choices or a bit of everything is you wish! All in all a feast and a treat!!

This was hands-down my best dining experience in Ireland. The service was exceptional! The food was delightfully clean and flavoursome and all locally sourced. I enjoyed every minute of my visit and am looking forward to my next!

i ate here last week and had heard a lot about it,the setting is out of this world an old country estate home,high sealings big fire place,just beautiful,the service was good and although the food was simple enough it was perfectly cooked and the produce was so fresh,we highly enjoyed our experience and actually stay there next time

I have relations in Cork that we visit each year and with tradition enjoy a visit here. It hasn't changed much since i was a kid. I'll agree this isn't an every day kind of restaurant but is a fantastic treat. I've always found the food excellent and the service cannot be faulted.

Attended a late sitting here on a Saturday night. When we first arrived we were impressed by the service in the ante-room, very professional & exactly what you would expect from such a highly rated restaurant. From that point on the whole evening went to pot. The service was inconsistent and unprofessional (we finally managed to procure some bread a full course after the (cold) soup) - clearly abusing the free labour of the cookery school students. The food was just plain awful; stale, bland and very poorly presented. The vegetarian option was totally indedible. The desserts were OK but as we were eating late there was very little left from which to choose. At €75 a head this meal was a total rip-off. We would have had a better dinner down the local chipper.

We were on holidays in the Shanagarry area and decided to visit the famous Ballymaloe house one evening. It didn't disappoint. I have seen some of the complaints on this site and I think the people are missing the point. The concept at Ballymaole is locally produced, organic, seasonal Irish food. You're not going to get exotic Italian, Thai, Indian etc. What you get is a resturant which takes normally boring Irish food and presents it at it's best. I had the Scallops and Hake. They both came from boats in the nearby ballycotton. They were cooked to perfection. If you want to experience Irish food at its best then this is the place. It you are looking for Thai-Bangladesh fusion in Ireland in Winter then you are missing the point.

I dont know if I enjoyed it or not.That sounds odd but I was so excited to go..so maybe I was in for a dissapointment then again I don't think it lived up to it standard.Food was very bland and you would expect more of a zing.Wine is always more expensive in all resturants but this was in a class of its own.Paying over the top you woulld expect alot more for your money

Dont waste your time, This is probably the most over rated restaurant in the country. Went for dinner with family a while back and it was just about average, went more recently for their Sunday lunch it was just plain awful. There is nothing good I can say about it, the presentation of the buffet was like something you would see from a home movie in the sixties I'm sorry but it was a disgrace to expect people to pay for this. Because I was invited as a guest I did not voice any opinion to the staff but if I had of being paying I would have. This place is living on a reputation as a place that is leading the way regards food, dont make me laugh.

My wife and I ate here on the 5th Feb 2008. We were treated to dinner by our daughter. We had a wonderful evening with great good and lovely staff. The highlight of the evening was when Mrs Myrtle Allen came to our table to make crepe Suzette as this was Shrove Tuesday.We will definitely visit again.

I heard so much about this place and finally decided to go. What a mistake! Service was excellent but not much to choice from the menu, portions are very small. I did not enjoy the whole evening.

Ate here with a large group of friends and we had a great night out. The atmosphere is very good and the food is also very good. Over the years We have been there many times.We have also popped into their coffee shop on a weekend and had a browse around and a coffee with a delicious cake.

They serve small quantities because they don't believe in waste, more is always available. The service used to be better here. Used to be able to spend an entire evening here. It has gone downhill in recent years.

I've been here a number of times and always found it quite enjoyable and the food delicious. The houses and grounds itself are worth going for alone,they are stunning. Unlike the above reviews, I thought the food was delicious, especially the desserts and I think it was worth the price.

I went to Ballymaloe House as the guest of a client just before Christmas last year. I am a big fan of older restaurants and that "Pride and Predjudice" feel. The house itself is fantastic, lovely atmosphere, warm cosy rooms. I was however quite disappointed with the overrated food and the totally unrelaxed atmosphere. The portions are extremely small for the price of the menu. Why oh why do people still rave about restaurants just because they are expensive? The staff however were very friendly and helpful. Not too sure if I would return as I feel there was very little value for money.

Everyone I know who had been to Ballymaloe House raves about it. So I was excited to try it. In short it is a rip off. Plain traditional Irish food with a tiny bit of a twist. Definitely not worth the extortionate prices they charge. The desserts are bland and the menu is boring. The grounds and the house are lovely. Inside it is an awkward layout. I know it is an old house and that is the charm... but the whole thing is a bit higgledy piggledy for me. After eating there I began to thinking that the only reason people raved about it is because they couldnt bear to tell the truth about the place after being so obviously ripped off by something that could easily have been done at home. In short the food is not that special.

I had heard so much about this place and was dying to try. I had been warned that it was expensive so decided to wait for a special occasion. My husband booked it for my birthday last month. The place looks amazing very "old worldly"! We were set to the Drawing room for drinks while our table was being set up! All impressive. Then the food came!! What can I say, it was very ordinary/plain food cooked well. A bit disappointing that beef turned out to be "corned beef served with cabbage". Overall the whole experience was enjoyable, the food was average and the night out was over priced. Dinner for two with wine was over one hundred and seventy euro. Drinks in the "drawing room" were outragous and getting there is expensive by taxi (about 50Euro from the city). Would go back but wouldn't be rushing there either.

Bit of drive so have to organise a taxi but well worth it. Great food, and service however the design begining to show its age. It is someplace to take your time and really enjoy. Great for friends, business or just a couple. Sunday lunch is not as good as dinner as it is a buffet type thing but still compare to other places it is great