Meal Ticket: The Oarsman, Leitrim

I’d always heard that Carrick-on-Shannon can be overrun by hen and stag parties, but I had to see it to believe it. We’re in the town on a blisteringly sunny spring Saturday; it’s beautiful during the day but nighttime it gets a little intense.

We find refuge in The Oarsman pub by making a reservation over Twitter. “Any chance of a table? We hear you’re one of the best places to eat in Carrick-on-Shannon *knife and fork emoji*” I thumb frantically, as we wade through Learner signs and pink feather boas on the street. “Of course! We’ll look after you,” comes the swift response.

The Oarsman Bar and Café has been run by Conor and Ronan Maher since 2002. They are the seventh generation of their family in the hospitality business so they really know how to look after people. The pub is rammed to the rafters but we’re guided to a quiet spot in the corner. We’re happy to order from the bar menu as the upstairs Restaurant is completely fully booked. All our favourite craft beers are on the menu; we order bottles of Brown Paper Bag Project and 8 Degrees Brewing.

Our plate of Lissadel mussels arrive steaming in Galway Hooker ale (€8.50) and a smoked ham hock terrine with Jack McCarthy’s black pudding (€7.95) is just the type of comfort food we were searching for. We can taste the time in the 12-hour braised Castlemine shoulder of lamb (€15); it’s tender and flavourful, and we love the accompanying colcannon potato cake and minted greens. The panfried Goatsbridge seatrout with Gubbeen chorizo does great service to yet more great Irish produce (€15), which The Oarsman pair with a shellfish and white bean cassoulet. We don’t do dessert this time but it’s tempting; there’s a pear tart tatin with chocolate risotto and butterscotch sauce (€5.95) that catches our eye but we have to head off into the night, though we could have stayed in that little snug for hours longer.

The Oarsman are quietly serving great food and supporting great Irish suppliers (the Maher matriarch Rosaleen supplies their organic herbs and flowers) and you should support this family business the next time you’re in Carrick-on-Shannon.