Serving up a treat

La Cucina, 5 University Court, Castletroy, Co Limerick; 061-333980; italianfoodies.ie

FOR a country that communicates so much down the pub, over the garden fence, or on street corners, Ireland is strangely bereft of neighbourhood eateries.

Beyond the bigger cities, and some notable seaside (and seasonal) exceptions, the kinds of bistros and trattorias we take for granted in Spain, France or Italy — with their punch-fresh, unpretentious fare — just aren’t a fixture of the average Irish streetscape.