Templar’s Inn

Hook Head is more or less the Cape Cod of Ireland. Nice big lighthouse, landscape sparsely covered in cottages behind hedgerows, and fishermen wandering in for a bite of dinner still in their waders. Every remote spot like this needs a mainstay for the vagabonds like us and a few hardy locals.
The view out the window is an old ruined church or monastery, the kind Ireland seems to have in abundance, which gives it a nice local feel. The décor is as spare as the landscape, thrown hastily up on the walls to add a human touch. It was almost empty when we arrived and yet the lone waitress couldn’t quite keep up with the few occupied tables. Nevertheless we got our steaks, which turned out to be delicious and cooked exactly as we asked for, medium rare, alongside the standard fat, starchy chips.
This place is very much off the beaten path, and not hearing an American voice was a relief for a couple of tourists trying to get away. If you’re in this part of the world and need to eat before you return to civilization, stop off here with no worries, you’ll get a better dinner than you might have expected from the look of the place.