Lynham’s Hotel

We stopped at Lynham’s pub/​restaurant during a Wicklow day tour for lunch. We had 45mins and were about 25 people. We took our seats and realized, there is no table service and we had to queue up for our food, like in a canteen. How they manage in the summer months, when the busses are packed with 60 people, I really don’t know.
The dishes were standard Irish pub fare: steak & guinness pie, turkey and mash etc. (all at 11Euro) and as vegetarian option: lasagne (11euro as well!). There was soup and salad also but they didn’t look great.
We shared a veggie lasagne and it was ok, the side salad was old. After spoiling my friend with great food in Dublin, this was a huge let-​down and too expensive for what it was. I wouldn’t recommend it and I certainly wouldn’t eat here again. There is an Avoca not too far away and they do nice fresh salads, sandwiches, cakes etc that you can bring along to your hike around the lakes. Cheaper too.

This review is for Jakes Bar within Lynham’s Hotel.
My friend and I went to Ireland for a hiking holiday along the Wicklow Way. We stayed in Laragh for two nights. We checked out Jacks Bar after our second day of hiking and was surprised to see the pub super lively around 5pm.
We sat ourselves by the bar and soaked in what is definitely a «traditional Irish pub» (unlike all those other pubs that advertise themselves as one in the touristy parts of Dublin). The atmosphere was loud and energetic.
We ordered a few drinks to start. The bartenders were nice and let us sample some of the Irish beers we weren’t familiar with. We also had a glass of a Glendalough 13 year whiskey. When we ordered that, we asked «if we could try it» and the bartender responded, «No you can’t just try it, you have to buy it!» Maybe it was cultural differences, or maybe he thought that since he let us try samples of beers, we expected to also get a sample of the whiskey. Whiskey still really isn’t our thing, but we had Bulmer’s cider and our food for chasing.
We ordered 2 appetizers and an entrée to share: seafood soup, breaded brie, and Guinness stew. There was a variety of seafood in the soup, like mussels, octopus, fish, and even imitation crab. It was a creamy chowder consistency. The breaded brie wasn’t as melted as the dish we ordered in another town so it couldn’t compare. The Guinness stew was glorious. Perfect chunks of beef, slow cooked to perfection. Great compliments from the root vegetables, and the consistency of the stew was not too thick but not too thin either. Dip some bread in to soak up the stew; I could not get enough!

Wonderful meal of cream of vegetable soup and beef Guinness stew. Nice pub ambiance and warm, friendly staff.

This review is for the pub belonging to the Hotel — I never stayed in the Hotel itself.
I haven’t been in the pub for some time, I used to come here after hiking for something to drink and possibly eat. It was ok but never outstanding good in my opinion.
After a walk in Glendalough on Sunday we wanted to have a small lunch. The café on the other side of the way to the car park didn’t look too tempting with what was left at around 2pm so we gave the hotel pub a go. There was a menu outside stating Chicken Cesar Salad as a starter and all three of us were happy to go with that.
Most people come here for cavery though so they are better prepared for that and the starters look slightly neglected. As I couldn’t see the correct salad ingredients I asked for it and the waitress in fairness said she can prepare it for us so we went with it. It took quite some time to get prepared. Several people could walk past me to get their main course. When she came back she asked if want anything else from the salad bar (talking about it still as a starter) so we asked for a bit of potato salad. We paid and started eating.
But the total seemed a bit high to me so I had a look as saw that instead of paying for three starter we got charged for two starter and a main. My friend went to the lady that seemed to be in charge and she agreed looking at our plates it were just three starter. So she went to the guy who charged us and came back with € 3 refund — not the whole difference. He had said that he charged more as there was more on the plates. Kind of fair enough but he should’ve mentioned that when he gave us the bill not just silently adding up.
So that now definitely left a bad impression and I’ve to say it was the last time I had something to eat there, especially as the salad in addition tasted rather bland.

We had dinner here recently. The food was an especially bad value and I’d not recommend it for anything but maybe a pint, though you have to watch Sky Sports on 2 TVs in the bar area; the stone walls and candles in the attached restaurant area made for a nicer atmosphere. The fish of the day dinner was especially BAD (especially priced at around € 14): it had been frozen, HEAVILY breaded and was RUBBERY, almost inedible, and looked as if it had been run over by a lorry before being served on top of chips. The other person ordered a chicken sandwich (around € 13 I think) which was nothing at all special, served with chips. The service was friendly but I had to ask twice for the waitress to bring water. Out of three places in Glendalough to eat dinner, this should not be one of your choices.

I will shout it from the top of the Spinc– this is an amazing hotel! A real ‘family’ feel. A couple of the details are a little hazy now as we stayed there last January.
We booked a hill walking special on their website. At the time it was something like € 99/​€ 109 for 2 nights B+B with breakfast, 2 course dinner each night and a picnic for the hiking! I was blown away by it!
Checked in, got to our room which was so cosy and had the most gorgeous view of the river. We opened the window whenever we wanted to hear the water pounding below– very therapeutic!
When we had settled we went down to the bar for dinner. The fire was blasting and there was a table right next to it. Our hearts sank as we saw the «reserved» sign on it. We were just at that moment approached by Frank, the barman (a true gentleman), who asked if we were the ladies who had just checked in that day? When we said yes he told us that they had reserved that table for us! Now that’s customer service!
The meal was delicious. Venison sausage, steak, fresh fish to name a few dishes that we had over our stay. One other highlight was the homemade desserts. Apple pie with fresh cream and ice cream!
We were so bowled over by the place, we extended our stay by a night! We will be returning the first chance we get!
A model of great service and a lovely personal family style run hotel.

Why would an American tourist end up here? It was with a bus tour for lunch, they had fairly typical spread for a carvery, actually the variety was not bad considering where this place was and I went on a Monday in the low-​season. There were a number locals eating here as well, plus they have beer on tap, and they don’t judge if you want one with lunch.
The restaurant is inside of a inn/​lodge/​hotel.

French people: un arrêt très sympa ou j’ai pris plaisir à déjeuner à midi. Nourriture délicieuse et abordable, desserts faits maison, mention spéciale à leur tarte aux pommes ! Un large choix de bières en pression, un service aimable et une ambiance typique et décontractée !! Je recommande vivement cet endroit pour manger !

We stopped in here for lunch the day we traveled through Wicklow County to Glendalough. «Pub grub», as they call it, was offered cafeteria style. You formed a line and told the oversized blonde woman what you wanted from the choices that they offered. She sliced and plopped food down on your plate.
«Do you want veg with your ham?», she demanded.
Uh-​ok. Then she plopped down a spoonful of crunchy peas and three scoops of mashed potatoes alongside my 2 slices of ham. She reminded me of that scene in the movie «An American Werewolf in London» when the two American tourists walked into a pub and everyone stopped talking and turned to look at them.
Loved it.
Had a pint and hit the road shortly after eating. The food was very good by the way!

We stopped here in the middle of a guided tour to grab a bite to eat. For being in a low-​traffic area, there were a lot of people dining.
We loaded up on fish and chips! Some of the best we have had while eating in Ireland. Crispy and flavorful.
As far as the ambience: It has a lodge-​type atmosphere, both the camaraderie amongst the patrons and staff and the actual décor. It was nice to get away from the tourists and talk/​eat with the locals.