A visit to Donegal at least once each summer has worked its way on to my must-do list over the past few years. It comes with no expectation of good weather, so sunny spells and rainbows are always a bonus. The weather is in its default position when I visit, but pockets of sunshine mean exploring the northwest further is pleasant.
Clearly, the tourist season is already upon us. All the savoury options have been hoovered up in Ursa Minor, a beautiful bakery in Ballycastle, Co Antrim, when I visit for lunch. The following day, when I head to Lir in Coleraine, Co Derry, for a 7.30pm dinner booking, there is a wait for our table. I soon discover that there has been a run on the crab, leaving the crab toast and crab linguine scratched from the menu. The room fills up again. This is on a Wednesday night.
There is a reason that Lir is so popular. Its owners, Rebekah and Stevie McCarry, take all their wild fish and seafood from local boats, clean and fillet the fish in-house, and use every bit of the fish in their cooking.
The catch dictates the menu, so it changes regularly. So regularly, in fact, that when I visited last year I was unable to run the review because the style of dining was changing from an a la carte to a tasting menu approach. I have to admit, this had me worried. I had enjoyed McCarry’s clever approach to cooking fish when he ran his casual restaurant, Native Seafood + Scran, which I reviewed in summer 2022.
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It appears that the locals felt the same way. It’s now an a la carte menu of small and large plates that you can approach as you like; there’s no minimum-order requirement. Fish is central to the menu, but there is always a meat and vegetarian option. The tasting menu now just features once a month.
Our table for two is by the window looking out on to the Bann Estuary, the same spot we sat in the last time we visited. It’s a smart room, with plenty of chatter, which would benefit from a bit of acoustic buffering.
The haddock fish cake (£10.85) arrives steaming hot, golden and crisp on the outside, dusted with salt flakes and sitting on a warm tartare sauce dotted with capers, dill and chives. It is light and fresh tasting; there’s a bit of potato mixed through, but it doesn’t overwhelm the fish. For our other starter, two monkfish cheeks (£11) have been panneed in breadcrumbs and served on potato bread – a nice Northern Ireland touch – surrounded by a pool of pea and mint puree.
We have ordered a white wine to go with our meal, a Vila Nova Alvarinho from Portugal (£32). The service, perhaps a throwback to when it was a bit more formal, means that our bottle is kept on a central counter and we need to wait to have our glasses filled, but a request to have the bottle kept on the table sorts our faraway-wine angst nicely.
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The main courses are very well priced, with pan-fried cod, at £26, being the most expensive. But I’m in a fish chowder (£16) sort of mood, and here it is creamy and exceptionally good, loaded with white fish, mussels, diced carrot, potato, dill and chives. Too often fish chowder is bulked out with cheap farmed salmon; that will never happen at Lir. A huge fillet of haddock in golden batter is served for the fish and chips option (£18.50), with a chunky tartare sauce that includes chopped egg, and a dollop of mushy peas. The fish is deliciously fresh, upstaging the slightly pedestrian chips.
There is quite a wait for our desserts – it has been a busy evening, and the staff are under pressure. Buttermilk pannacotta (£8.50) with passion-fruit gel is nicely creamy, but I would lose the chocolate-soil garnish. The crumble (£8.50) is enough for two, served in a rectangular enamel dish. It is an assembly job, with the crumble sprinkled over chunks of apple and stewed rhubarb and finished in the oven. The desserts are pleasing but not quite at the standard of the fish.
It is so wonderful to see that the McCarrys have continued to do what they do best. Fish is cooked precisely, there’s no messing around and fresh flavours are allowed to shine. The menu is well priced, portions are generous and the setting by the river is magical.
Dinner for two with a bottle of wine was £105.35, or about €128.
The Verdict: Beautiful fish by the water’s edge.
Food provenance: Fish from Greencastle and Portstewart, meat from Gillhall Estate and Crowe’s Farm, and vegetables from Rhee River Organics.
Vegetarian options: One starter and one main, eg braised fennel with potato rosti and pickled vegetables.
Wheelchair access: Fully accessible with an accessible toilet.
Music: Barely audible in a very lively room.
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