The Moorings — Restaurant in The Municipal District of Dungarvan — Lismore

Just to set the scene, was meeting a good friend for first time in 3 years. ||||The food was grand like, nothing to write home about. Usual fayre really. I will say their chips are very good! ||||The service is fairly poor, a lot of young people on serving staff, possibly their first jobs, and hey I get it. Right now we are seeing a lot of food service businesses trying to form teams again and I have been so understanding about it. We will all get there eventually! And we have to allow people be trained to be fair. ||||However, a really ignornant manager - that is another thing. ||||So we have finished our desserts, and the table has not been cleared or have we been asked do we need anything else in a while but again, I am happy to be catching up with friend. ||||Manager who really likes to drop his mask a lot is seating a group of 4 beside us. I ask him for the bill as I have not been able to grab anybody else's attention. ||I can't recall was it him or another member of staff who dropped it over, either way I immediately dropped my card on to the bill plate and move it to the side of the table ready to settle up. ||||Nobody comes near us. We chat on for about 20 mins. Possibly even longer. ||Now, to be clear, Had anybody come near us at any point in the meal and said we need this table at X time we would have had zero issue with it. ||||Next thing we hear, from the door in to the room we are in, in front of all the indoor dining guests, over the two girls sitting next to us, and with a group of 4/5 he is trying to sit right beside him:||"Girls! We need that table for a reservation!" - really bloody gruffly. ||||Immediately my friend and I begin to make a move before realising, hold up here, why are we the guilty party? I lift up the bill plate to show him and say I am waiting to pay. He must surely remember I had asked him for the bill in first place. ||||The manager loses it and goes over to the bar where, after dropping his mask again, pleads with the young staff to "hustle". A young man comes over to us and asks is it the bill we want, I say no, just to pay. He brings over the machine and I pay. ||||In the interim the manager seats the new group at a table near us and instructs the server to get them drinks on the house....||||I could not let this go and I usually would! Especially in light of us all getting back on feet after Covid...||||I approached the manager on the way out and made it clear again that I was waiting to pay, nobody made us aware of any reservation due in, and that he had just shouted over the restaurant at us, which I found embarrassing and also a bit cringey for him - when the delay was proved to be his team and not two people trying to milk a sitting! ||||He gave me a half hearted "oh I apologise" - only because I went right up to him and said it to him as publically as possible. He turned on his heel and just left. ||||My friend who lives in Dungarven said that is the second time in as many visits she has witnessed him be unprofessional, and the first time was he was chawing with a young server who obviously had done something wrong. ||||So when in Dungarven have great fun picking out your places to eat, but please, do not line this guy's pocket. Volatile, uncomfortable environment...

A visit here is a must. Set on the quay overlooking the harbour, it's a beautiful place to wine and dine.

Nothing is too much trouble here. I rang ahead advising of my intolerances Mary whom I spoke with on the phone, went above and beyond to make sure I could have a fabulous meal. Mary purchased oat milk so I could have a latté and gluten free ice cream so I could have the meringue without the whipped cream.

Our server was Sórcha and she was very friendly, polite and so helpful.

Sórcha was aware of my intolerances when she came to serve my table. Mary had already advised her.

She wrote down all the requests ,she made sure I got the gluten free dinner option. I had the steak, chips and salad. The steak was beautifully cooked and delicious. I was also given a gluten free gravy for my steak as I couldn't have the peppercorn sauce.

Sórcha was on hand to make sure my desert was gluten free and the kitchen had dairy free ice cream for me also. I had the meringue with berries.

The efficiency, organization and customer focus is next level here.

The place is beautifully laid out , so spacious and adhering to COVID-19 guidelines and social distancing.

The pricing is very reasonable and there are great menu choices for all people dining.

A brilliant venue for a quick cuppa, a lovely couple's meal, a family meal, an occasion; Communion, Confirmation or a Boutique Wedding

Thank you for making me feel like I was not an inconvenience and I was a normal diner who was most welcomed.

Mary, Sórcha and all the staff made my visit so memorable and being able to eat out in my hometown , to me, is priceless

All in all, ten out of ten. I'm definitely coming back here.

Update Monday 06/09/2021 Went back to The Moorings today, steak was to die for, melt in your mouth. Delicious. Excellent service and friendly professional staff. A...

On our drive from Cork to Waterford we happened upon the lovely town of Dungarvan. During our walk through the lovely town we decided to have lunch at The Moorings which overlooks the Dungarvan Harbor and what a great choice it was. We were lucky to be able to be seated outside so we could enjoy the beauty of the Harbor. The gentleman who greeted us was not the friendliest but not so rude as to drop the 5 Star rating and the wait staff made up for his gruffness. The food was a very happy surprise! Our starter, Crab Claws & Prawns, was a garlic buttery heaven...absolutely delicious, perfectly cooked fresh seafood! Had we know how delicious this tasty treat was we would have ordered it as a main entree! The Southern Fried Chicken Goujons was a very well prepared dish for our one non-seafood lover... tender chicken that was breaded and seasoned to perfection. The accompanying Chips were salted well and very tasty. The Fish and Chips was the best we had in Ireland, the fish was fresh, flaky and perfectly breaded... a HOMERUN! The Crab Cakes were light, fresh and delicious. The Crab Sandwich was excellent. All the portion sizes were very large. The prices very reasonable for the fresh, high quality food that was prepared...