Review: Restaurant Chestnut, Ballydehob

Ideally, any newly-opened restaurant should hit its marks from day one; surely it shortchanges customers to do otherwise? That said, I have always thought it only fair to allow a grace period for ‘bedding in’ before reviewing any new arrival. So why, oh why, am I reviewing Restaurant Chestnut on its opening night? asks Joe McNamee.

Restaurant Chestnut occupies The Chestnut Tree, formerly an old-school country pub, currently seating a maximum of 18 diners. With scant budget, proprietors/partners Rob Krawczyk (chef) and Elaine Fleming (front-of-house) make a virtue of necessity, paring it back to raw elements, in the process, creating a zen-like tranquility. Low wood-panelled ceilings are off-white; bare walls, a deep, stilling green, somewhere between olive and moss, almost a living, breathing organism under soft lighting.