The Tannery Restaurant, Townhouse and Cookery School — Restaurant in The Municipal District of Dungarvan — Lismore

I had high hopes for The Tannery, given its reputation and price point, but unfortunately, our experience was disappointing from start to finish. We specifically booked an early bird table for 6:45pm on a Thursday, as the early bird menu was advertised until 7pm. However, when we arrived, we were handed the regular menu. I queried this with our waitress, who told us the early bird had finished. When she returned with bread and water, I showed her the Tannery’s own website, which clearly stated the early bird was available until 7pm. She glanced at it and simply said the website was wrong and the early bird was over—no offer to check with a manager, just a flat refusal.|This was frustrating, as the early bird menu was the only reason we booked at that time. Otherwise, we would have preferred to eat later. Our only options were to leave or order from the regular menu. Since we were on holiday and didn’t want to search for another restaurant, we reluctantly stayed.|Service throughout the evening was underwhelming. The staff were all very young and clearly lacked training. For example, expensive screw-top bottles of wine were brought to the table and opened with a perfunctory “do you want to try?”—not the level of service you’d expect at these prices. The wine list itself was pricey, especially considering the quality and presentation.|The food was generally of a good standard, but not without issues. I had to ask what the “chicken butter” was, and when it arrived, it was so sour it was unpleasant to eat (and I’m not a fussy eater). The rest of the meal was fine, but nothing stood out as exceptional or memorable.|When it came time to pay, I spoke to the manager about the early bird menu confusion. Despite having raised the issue three times, there was no apology or attempt to make things right—just a casual “human error” explanation. No discount or goodwill gesture was offered, which left a bad taste after an already disappointing evening.|Overall, I left with the impression that The Tannery relies on its reputation and steady stream of customers, rather than actually delivering good service or value. It felt like they knew they could fill the place regardless of whether guests left happy. Sadly, a good name only lasts so long, and based on this experience, I won’t be returning or recommending...

Our first visit to the Tannery was very disappointing. The restaurant venue is wonderful and is nicely decorated. This was distracted by the cobwebs hanging over the heads of fellow diners. As these were at eye level it makes you question how clean the dining room or kitchen really is. The service was friendly and very professional. Any issues we had were dealt with very well and I appreciate their excellent customer service. This was a highlight to the visit but was also marred by the long wait between courses. The main issue was the food. It's just really poor quality cooking that spoilt our visit. Chicken Skin Butter and White Bread - Not pleasant and poor bread choice. Mussels - Excessive amounts of beard still on the mussels and small meat. Flavour was good. Crab Brulé - Shocking. Runny, very cold cream with a hint of crab.Not enjoyable whatsoever. Pickle was great. Roast Pork Loin - Dry pork. Overly salted dish. Most carverys would be better than this. Seafood Grill - First time in a long time I couldn't eat a dish. It was destroyed with too much Pernod, which was all you could taste. What I did try was over cooked and poorly prepared, chewy prawns and boney fish. Sides - Mash was very nice. I was enjoying the carrots until I found a long thread of orange plastic in them. You can forgive the odd mistake but this was just the icing on the cake. Chocolate Tart - This was ok but again ruined by pouring a load of honey over an already sweet cake. The honeycomb would have been enough. Honeycomb was chewy not crunchy. Cheese Plate - Hard to mess this up in Ireland but two cheeses on a cheese plate is a bit tight. Our issues were addressed immediately and the table staff and managers were great. They did not charge for one of our set meals which was very fair. The price point of €45 for the 3 course Sunday lunch menu is very reasonable for a restaurant of this standard. However I don't feel they reach this standard as the food was so poor. Bad dishes, plastic in food, cobwebs and mussels not bearded shows this is not a once off, it's just another bad restaurant with a...

Excellent food ,really enjoyed our meal every dish was just fabulous and all of our party thoroughly enjoyed their meal. The service on the other hand was very poor, if the Michelin man had visited the night we were there the star may have been at risk! Yes it was that badl. We were warmly greeted by Daniel the maitre d and shown to our table by a friendly female host., our order for food and wine was promptly taken, following this we decided to have a cocktail before dinner , our wine and starter delivery delivery was delayed to allow us time to enjoy our cocktail….all good so far however service rapidly deteriorated after that . Our starters were served however the wine sat on the table, as we had not quite finished our cocktail we didn’t say anything and assumed it would be poured when they took the starter plate away or when the main was served, not so, and we had to ask for a wine pour, this in my opinion is very poor in a fine dining establishment. I felt sorry for the very young waitress who came across as very nervous when pouring it was clear that she had not been trained. I would add there was no tasting as the bottle was screw top which is perfectly fine , they got that piece right. We were asked during our starter and main if everything was to our satisfaction. I witnessed the hostess leaning against the service station having a “chat” with one of the waiting staff….not a good look in a five star restaurant, particularly when four attempts were needed to secure the bill. Staff have been well trained in how to avoid eye contact. I do not wish to come across as overly critical however with a little training and more awareness around standards our visit would have been perfect. That said I would return as the food was truly superb and the portions were generous for a fine...