Travel Tuesday: Eala Bhan Restaurant Sligo

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a great holiday season and a fun New Year’s Eve and are ready for a fun-filled 2015. In case you missed my Best of 2014 posts, you can find the travel post here and the Best of Boston post here.

Two trips to Ireland were definitely 2014 highlights. On our most recent trip we spent some time in Sligo, where we discovered lots of natural beauty in Ben Bulben in Rosses Point and some culinary beauty in the Sligo town restaurant Eala Bhan.

Eala Bhan means white swan in Irish, and since Sligo is Yeats Country, the restaurant name fits right in.

Decor is whimsical and elegant, and Yeats’ influence is apparent in bits of poetry around the restaurant. Twinkly fairy lights add a magical feel to the space, and overall it’s airy yet cozy, with dim lighting and windows out onto the River Garavogue.

Like many restaurants in Ireland, Eala Bhan utilizes the amazing Irish ingredients available to them, including local seafood and meat.

As we often do, we decided to share a bunch of small plates rather than go with entrees. We started with bowls of piping hot vegetable soup; I pretty much always get soup when we go out in Ireland.

{Creamy Vegetable Soup}

From there, we feasted on a couple of seafood appetizers which were creative and beautifully displayed. I loved the perfect scallop with the sweet courgette puree.

 {Taste of the Sea:  Pan seared diver scallop, kattaifi prawns and house cured salmon with fresh spinach and courgette purée}

This cake made of smoked salmon and prawns encased in creme fraiche was like nothing we had seen before. It was so decadent! It’s something I would love to recreate at home.

{ Smoked Salmon and Prawn Timbale Cake: Light layered pancakes of smoked salmon and prawn encased in créme fraiche and beetroot cream}

Heading back to land, we had the outstanding warm chicken salad which, with punchy blue cheese and sweet almonds, was way better than your average chicken dish!

{Crispy Herb Basket of Warm Chicken Salad: Edible herb basket of warm chicken salad tossed with cashel blue cheese, candied almonds in a crispy herb basket, topped with garlic croutons, balsamic reduction}

The wine list at Eala Bhan isn’t extensive, but I found a lovely Barton &Guestier Chardonnay that was a nice pairing with all of my food.

Eala Bhan is known as one of Sligo’s best restaurants for a reason. Everything was so fresh and tasty, and the service was paced perfectly, allowing us to enjoy leisurely conversation and our various courses, If you are in Sligo and looking for a special meal, Eala Bhan is definitely one great option.

How do you choose restaurants when you travel?