Homestead Cottage, a deceptively simple but stunning 200-year-old former stonemason’s cottage in Doolin, Co. Clare, is not your average Irish cottage. While it shares the road (R478) with neat farms, seaside B&Bs, thatch-roofed cottages in various states of disrepair, the Cliffs of Moher, and the Clare Jam Shop (more on that later), Homestead Cottage just happens to hold a Michelin Star, probably the most rural of all the prestigious properties on the list.
Chef-proprietor Robbie McCauley and his wife, Sophie, who handles front of house duties, launched the restaurant in 2023; seven months later the star arrived! Within a day of the announcement, they reported more than 400 online bookings and another 120 the following morning.
After training at the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts in London and cooking in top restaurants in Edinburgh, London, and Kilkenny, he relocated to Gregan’s Castle Hotel in Ballyvaughan, where he eventually became head chef and met Sophie, a native of Burgundy. They married in 2021, and together they decided to strike out on their own culinary adventure. A local businessman offered the couple the lease on the 200-year-old cottage just outside the village of Doolin. They decided to “give it a try,” focusing the menu on their own home-grown vegetables and herbs and as much local produce from sea and land as possible. McCauley prides himself on boosting the local economy in this way and seeks out growers and producers who practice regenerative farming and sustainable approaches. Familiar names like Flaggy Shore (oysters), St. Tola (goat cheese), Sean Haugh (beef and lamb), Hugos (bread), and Glenilen (butter) are noted on the menu.
Fast-forward to an early weekend in June when I secured a booking for a Sunday lunch with a friend from nearby Lahinch. Call me “overly anxious” for the visit, but I drove there a day ahead to grab some photos free of cars in the parking lot or patrons in the 35-seat restaurant. Great idea (if I do say so myself), because I caught chefs selecting herbs and edible flowers in the garden, waitstaff setting up the charming tables (some made with the floorboards of an old mill) with rustic cutlery, and the sommelier perched on a drop-down attic staircase selecting wines for Saturday’s lunch service.
Chef-proprietor Robbie McCauley and his wife, Sophie.
I also had the chance to appreciate the stunning simplicity of the interior, including a gorgeous stone fireplace dressed for the season, mismatched chairs with wooly throws offered in case of a chilly day, and its two deep windowsills holding jars of preserved fruits, pickles, and herbed vinegars — an Irish still life indeed. I was able to have a sneak peek at the menu, too, which immediately confirms McCauley’s culinary ethos for Homestead Cottage: “local, seasonal, and the best quality we can find.” Now all I had to do was return on Sunday to enjoy it — and enjoy it I did.
Orchestrated with charm and efficiency, our 5-course set rather than à la carte lunch menu allows McCauley to cook with the seasons and enjoy the “freedom to be able to adapt rather than be stuck to a menu that’s written.” For the spring, that means choosing Moher crab (paired with Kohlrabi, seaweed, cucumber, apple, and buttermilk), wild Atlantic cod (paired with garden peas, broad beans, celeriac, and champagne), Burren lamb (with spring vegetables and wild garlic), Irish strawberries (with garden-grown elderflower and mint, white chocolate and shortbread). In winter, expect game; turbot comes to the table in February; lobster, tomatoes, and berries appear in summer. And whenever possible, freshly picked herbs and edible flowers are used not only for garnish but as an integral ingredient in the dish.
The message on the menu comes through as genuinely as the food itself: “our passion and drive to seek out and find the very best ingredients is unwavering. . .we truly believe that what is in season tastes best, and what tastes best should shape our menu. Thank you for joining us in our little cottage in Clare.” Robbie, Sophie, family & team
homesteadcottage.com. Dinner Thursday & Friday 6pm to 8:30pm, Saturday & Sunday 6:30pm to 8:30 pm (€125); lunch Saturday & Sunday 12:30 pm to 3pm (€90)
Chilled Soup of Peas, St. Tola Goat Cheese & Wild Garlic
Serves 4 to 6
Three types of bread, a Moyasta oyster with Thai spices, and Goatsbridge trout with trout roe in a Nori seaweed cup were first to arrive. This lovely, chilled pea soup followed, a no-spoon-required small bowl of spring flavors!
2 ounces butter
3 shallots, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Salt
6 cups vegetable or chicken stock
18 ounces petite peas
2 tablespoons wild garlic or chives, chopped
4 ounces crème fraiche
2 ounces St. Tola goat cheese
2 ounces black olive tapenade, for garnish
Wild garlic or other edible flowers, for garnish
1. In a wide bottomed saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Stir in the shallots and garlic. Sauté for about 3 minutes, or until soft but not browned.
2. Add the stock. Bring to a boil. Add the peas and wild garlic. Return to boil. Cook for 5 to 8 minutes, or until the peas and wild garlic are tender.
3. Transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth, adding the crème fraiche gradually. Strain through a fine sieve. Let cool completely.
4. Serve the soup in chilled bowls. Garnish with St. Tola goat cheese, a dollop a tapenade, and wild garlic flowers.
Margaret Johnson’s “Recipes” page alternates with “Ireland Hopping: Adventures in Food, Drink, and Travel.” For further details on her work, or to order a signed cookbook, visit irishcook.com
