2 Best Restaurants in The Southeast, Ireland

Inside the Waterford Castle Hotel, the Munster Room's luxe decor—with oak paneling darkened with age and ancestral portraits in gilt frames—hints at one of the most sophisticated menus around. Options include a fixed-price, three-course menu featuring adventurous starters such as ballotine of quail with celeriac foam, winter slaw, and cinnamon and apple jelly. The dress code is smart (jackets for the men) and the surroundings suggest a big night out. Main-course winners include the best of Irish steaks or the roasted goose breast with potato-and-orange stuffing and burnt-orange sauce.

The compact, award-winning dining room of the Cliff House looks out over the crashing sea, and the dramatic location clearly inspires the menu. The food is locally sourced---including foraging raids on nearby woods and beaches---but prepared with dashes of modern and experimental cuisine. Dinner is a fixed-price, eight-course affair including such delights as the Bantry Bay salmon with cured cucumber, beetroot, and horseradish or Ardmore lobster with carrot and oyster sauce served with a milk bun. And you can't go wrong with the butter-poached turbot, Ardmore potatoes, and duck egg sauce. Go in summer, when you can dine on the expansive terrace, which winds its way down toward the sea. The staff will even match the perfect glass of wine to each delicious course.