O’Donnabhain’s

I arrived at o’donnabhain’s simply because I was staying there. After a long drive from Kinsale to Mizen Head and arriving in Kenmare I just wanted a meal and a pint and I can honestly say the seafood chowder was incredible! Everything looked amazing that came out of the kitchen and I can’t recommend the place enough. I didn’t have room for dessert however if you have a sweet tooth I would certainly give them a try as all of them sounded amazing!

I was torn with this place. Very much so geared towards the Yanks. Understandable considering how many American’s visit Kenmare. As an Irish person though this type of place is a little irritating for that reason.
Loud live music — not really something I want to hear at such a level when I am having dinner and chatting to my friend over a couple of drinks. We actually went out to the smoking area a few times so we could chat better. You don’t need a microphone in a room this size. It was unnecessary.
Inconsistent waiting staff — the girl who served us was very friendly at first. Making a few jokes etc. But as the evening went on and the place got busier and busier the waiting staff were under a lot of pressure and it showed. When we finished our meal and our drink we were asked if we wanted anything else. We said we were fine for the moment. So the girl said OK so I will bring you the bill then. Ehhhh. OK. We didn’t want the bill. We wanted to stay, have another couple of drinks and enjoy the evening. Not be shipped out to make room for more American’s.
Food — this was pretty good in fairness. Like I mean it wasn’t the best meal in the world but we go the lamb dinner and it was tasty. But for € 15 I would expect something a little better than fine and OK.
When we went for a cigarette after our dinner we told the girl what we were doing and when we came back our table was given to other customers. I thought this was pretty bad. Even though we were told our bill was coming, this had not happened. So we were in limbo.
I asked the girl again at the bar for our bill. She said no problem and then went off with drinks for one table and then continued to serve another table. I asked the barman for the bill then. He did this very quickly. Maybe it was my scowl. I was just irritated at this stage.
The credit card machine wasn’t working properly so I had to come behind the bar to use it. Judging by all the tourists here I would say they had to constantly have people behind the bar doing this.
I usually leave some sort of tip especially when getting food but I felt like I was on a tourist conveyor belt and once our food was done no one really cared about us. So I didn’t leave a tip.
This place is very so so. I think they need to rethink a few things. Especially if they want non American customers to come back.

It’s one of those places that I look forward to coming back as soon as I leave. We came into town late at around 9 and walked into a cozy atmosphere of Irish music playing and a lively audience. The food was amazing. I had the freshest and largest pot of mussels anywhere. The fish was also fresh and delicious.
Check in at the bar was a breeze. The room upstairs was surprising spacious, clean and comfortable. Music stopped at 11 pm so noise was not a problem. I highly recommend this as a place to eat, to sleep and to have fun.

Fresh and tasty seafood. Service was quick. For starters we had the tossed salad and seafood chowder. For a tossed salad I was pleased as it had a nice mix of spring lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, olives, croutons and two slices of bread. The seafood chowder was thick and filling with a couple pieces of salmon and a few muscles. The supreme salmon special was great with a nice size piece of salmon on top of spinach and mashed potatoes with a side of carrots, peas and squash. The seafood casserole was a delicious mix of muscles, squid, salmon, baby prawns, and some other fish and I think was more of a stew than a casserole since the broth was thin and there was no cheese. Prices were reasonable and it was open on a Monday between Christmas and New Years when half the other restaurants were closed.

Stopped in town, and found this place. Walked in, and got a price € 12 cheaper than through a booking website. Great room– big, clean, and very nice. Great restaurant, awesome pub, and great breakfast!

I didn’t stay here in their rooms, but came here for some food. The inside of their pub is nice and cosy, and everyone was very friendly. The food was good and well-​priced. I had the soup of the day (which was vegetable) and their ploughman’s panini. Both were FANTASTIC! And, the soup and sandwhich combined was about 10 euros in total, which worked perfect because I was wanting to stop in for a bit to eat that wasn’t going to be to expensive before going on to explore the rest of the ring of kerry.
All in all, highly recommend and would go back again in a heart beat.

This is a really nice family owned hotel, where they treat you like family. The lady who runs the place with her husband was very kind to us and our children, even lending her personal DVD player, so we could use it in the car. If you plan to arrive late, like after 8 PM, be sure to make all detail arrangements in advance. The fellow who will check you in is doing double duty as the bartender at the pub on the first floor. He’s happy to give you your key but doesn’t have much time for anything else. The place is extremely well located, and parking was no problem behind the building. We would definitely stay here again.

What a fantastic place! Incredibly friendly staff, and the very affordable room was the best we stayed in during our week in Ireland. The pub downstairs is also great, and the meals we had were incredible. We had both of their stews– the traditional Irish lamb stew and the Guinness beef stew.- both were fantastic. We had to check in late and leave early in the morning, but it was no issue at all– they made sure we were taken care of. The lovely woman who works there (it may have been Vanessa) even came in early that morning to get some breakfast ready earlier than usual since they knew we were leaving early. She was so friendly and made us feel welcome.
There was a lot to like about our one night in Kenmare, but staying at O’Donnabhain’s was the best decision we made!
Rishi and Haley Barran

Great place! The rooms are large with large I suite bathrooms. It is located right on the Main Street in Kenmare just steps away from shopping restaurants and pubs! The owner, Vanesa, was fantastic! She was welcoming and an excellent chef! She does all the cooking for the B&B, both breakfast and the Pub downstairs! We had only booked one night but made a point to come back for a se cond night! This is the best B&B we’ve stayed in in Ireland!

We stayed in Kenmare for one night and decided to stay at O’Donnabhain’s. The room was nice and breakfast staff was very friendly. I was taken aback by a room with no climate controls, however, the weather was quite pleasant and propping the windows open cooled the room quite a bit. This is located very centrally in Kenmare and was close to several nice stores.
Food in the pub was good. The beef stew with Guinness was one of the best meals I had on my two week European vacation. It was very hearty. I enjoyed a pint of Guinness with my meal and they had a musician singing Irish pub songs. It was truly a lovely experience.