Sometimes you just want to sit back and relax, enjoy good food and feel totally comfortable. Perhaps while sitting back beside a fire, or on a comfy couch as you watch the world go by.
Sometimes you want to hide away in the corner and have a good gossip and catch-up with friends over a cup of tea and some pretty impressive cake!
Sometimes you want great food, with a little less fuss - you’ll only end up spilling sauce on the lovely white tablecloths after all.
Sometimes you just want some really good bar food, fresh and tasty with friendly service to make your dining experience all the better.
The Athlone Springs has just launched their new dining menus. After having the pleasure of sampling the Cedar restaurant menu earlier in the summer we were delighted to be asked back to see what their bar food had to offer.
The new bar food menu includes light bites, salads, main courses, and desserts. Whether you’re craving steak, in the mood for some pasta, or looking for a light Greek salad you’ll definitely find something.
The bar area is cosy and clean, with comfy chairs and couches to unwind on - perfect for a bite to eat and a catch-up with friends on a Thursday night.
I was delighted to see a nice variety of mains on offer; there are plenty of vegetarian options, firm favourites, and on-trend dishes.
For starters we decide on the tomato and basil sourdough bruschetta with a leaf salad and balsamic reduction; BBQ chicken wings with celery sticks, and blue cheese dip; and the crispy duck spring rolls with hoi sin dipping sauce. The sourdough was fresh and as good as the last time I tried it, the hoi sin sauce was good enough to eat on its own, and the chicken wings, well they were fall-off-the-bone tender. I think it’s fair to say it’s the first time I’ve had chicken wings that were so tender and juicy they melted off the bone - we’ll be back for more!
For mains we decided on the Oriental chicken stir fry, chicken and sweet potato madras curry, and the pulled pork bap. Beautifully presented and full of flavour all three mains were excellent.
The pulled pork was succulent and smokey, and perfectly matched with the soft bap - a real mid-week treat I’ll be back to have again.
I’ve always been a fan of vegetarian curries, and the chickpea and sweet potato madras curry was a real hit. It was sweet and spicy and packed a punch, so even meat-lovers will appreciate this.
And the Oriental chicken was light, fresh, and with a subtle kick from the ginger. The rice was scented with lemongrass and ginger which was a clever addition. Both chicken dishes were served with a poppadom - a nice touch.
Seeing as the menu was new and our very helpful waiting staff insisted it was pretty good, we decided to try the warm chocolate tart with chocolate ice cream and crushed praline, and to balance the richness we also tried the white chocolate and raspberry cheesecake with raspberry coulis. The tart was heavy and warm and would hit the spot for any chocolate addict out there, while the cheesecake was light and smooth with a lovely zingy kick from the raspberries.
All in all a lovely meal in lovely surroundings. And with plenty of cosy nooks and crannies, friendly staff, great food - plus free parking - the Springs is an ideal location for some mid-week catch-ups, lazy weekend dining, or meeting with friends over lunch.
