Farmgate restaurant delighted by 'great and unexpected' inclusion in Michelin Guide

The restaurant opened just 13 months ago after devastating floods in Midleton forced a relocation to Lismore and Sally O'Brien says the Michelin recognition has been a great boost for her team

Sally O'Brien at Farmgate Lismore, which has been included in the Michelin Guide. Picture Dan Linehan

The remarkable resurrection of Sally O’Brien’s Farmgate restaurant in Lismore, Co Waterford continues apace with news that the restaurant has just been selected for inclusion in the prestigious Michelin Guide.

The restaurant that ‘came back from the dead’ was forced to re-open last year in a new location.

“It’s such a great honour,” said O’Brien, “to be recognised by Michelin — and very unexpected, we only opened 13 months ago and it’s great for the team’s morale, in particular, for the kitchen team, a recognition of the beautiful food they are cooking each day.” 

Less than two years ago, O’Brien was being advised to seek an alternative career after the catastrophic flooding of Midleton, in East Cork, damaged the Farmgate Midleton restaurant established by her mother, Máróg O’Brien, so badly that the restaurant was forced to close permanently almost 40 years after it first opened in 1984.

“We thought it was all over after the flooding,” said Sally O’Brien, “and that’s the truth, the building was unusable. Everyone told me to go off and retrain for another career, something else for an easier life, especially because the restaurant industry is in such a state, so this is really encouraging.” 

Máróg O’Brien, who also co-founded the Farmgate Café, in the English Market, with her sister, Kay, had bought an old Victorian building in Lismore, in 2017, previously home to The Chop House restaurant, and before that, for many generations, a pub, but it was only during the pandemic that she and daughter Sally set about a serious renovation and refurbishment of a building that had been idle for several years.

Sally O'Brien cleaning up at the Farmgate restaurant in Midleton in October 2023. Picture: Dan Linehan

Sally O’Brien, who had managed the Midleton Farmgate for many years, opened Farmgate Lismore just 13 months ago and it wasn’t long before it began to attract attention and acclaim, with reviews in national newspapers, including a very positive one in the Irish Examiner by this writer, praising both the exceptional refurbishment of a very lovely building and garden and a high standard of delivery from the kitchen to match.

The Michelin Guide also singled out the refurbishment and noted the "sensibly priced menu" of "fuss-free cooking and prime, locally sourced produce" used to create "terrific dishes with a certain comfort-food quality", and also noted the "knowledgable service" carried out with "engaging charm".

“The Michelin Guide beautifully captures the experience we hope all diners will have here,” said Sally O’Brien, “It’s been very tough to try and get up and running from scratch all over again in Lismore, and it’s a very difficult time for the industry at large, so it is very encouraging to be included in the guide.”