In a good location in the centre of Tuam, husband and wife team Stevie Lane and Amanda Fahy's modern restaurant reflects their love of creative and high quality local food. They share a passion for hospitality and, having spent many years honing their skills in Dublin, they are now back in their hometown of Tuam to breathe new life into the former Brownes Pub.
Brownes, a well known landmark building in Tuam, had been closed for several years and fallen into a state of disrepair - and the couple's story began here years before, when they met working together in the very pub they have since lovingly restored and reopened.
Arriving diners are welcomed by the cheery fire and cosy bar in the small front room, known as The Grocery Bar. Here - In addition to Irish craft beers on tap (8 Degrees, Independent Connemara Pale Ale and MacIvors Cider number among them), they proudly offer draught Guinness as Brownes was always renowned for its pint of stout. There's also a rotation tap with visiting beers, allowing diners to sample new brews from Irish craft breweries, and a good wine list offers familiar styles mixed with hidden gems discovered on the couples travels. The Grocery Bar also offers a short snack menu, with treats such as black pudding cigars, Castlemine pork croquettes and house roast nuts to nibble on.
The dining room is not fancy, but tables along the plain walls are well sized for comfortably enjoying a meal and the service is warm and friendly. The menus offer contemporary Irish cuisine showcasing quality local, seasonal produce served tapas style in small tasting portions. Although there is no list crediiting producers, some suppliers - such as Castlemine, Collerans and Durrus (cheese) - are name checked on dishes.
Everything is made freshly in-house by Stevie, designed to showcase the quality of his ingredients; the cooking is good and there are some very tasty dishes, most with three word descriptions, Goats' Cheese, Onion, Walnut; Crab, Apple, Tarragon; Haddock, Cauliflower, Mussels. The choice of dessert is limited but delicious nontheless, maybe a panna cotta with honeycomb or a chocolate parfait, prettily presented or a selection of Irish cheeses.
The lunch offering is simple with a choice of three sandwiches, one soup and one salad. It's tasty, hearty fare, designed to be enjoyed in the limited amount of time available during a working lunch break and the menu varies from week to week.
Smoked chicken wrap with chorizo mayo and onion jam or goats' cheese foccacia with pear and walnut pesto are the sorts of sandwiches you can expect. Salads range between bean with squash, jamon & kale or quinoa, carrot and pomegranate. The possible addition of a bowl of hot soup with brown bread, beef dripping chips and a chocolate brownie for afters make this a very attractive lunch offering and at a very reasonable price.
Stevie Lane is committed to creating exceptional food with premium ingredients and passionate about serving the very best from the West in his home town of Tuam. All round, Brownes is a very pleasant neighbourhood restaurant and there's no longer any need to make the trip to Galway to experience top quality cooking.
