Sage

We had great food there. Service was a little slow (the only thing that kept it from being five stars). The menu was creative and the food was fresh with nice flavors. I had the steak and my wife the roasted chicken.
I wish we had left room for dessert because the dessert menu looked wonderful.

LOVE!
We went to this restaurant based on another Unilocal review and were not disappointed! The food was delicious! Amazing italian. Portions were generous, but not overly so. I had the gnocchi and it absolutely melted in my mouth. We’ll be back!

Sage was recommended by a friend of a friend and it was one of the best recommendations that I have ever followed. We were first to arrive in this. perhaps 30 seat modern designed restaurant. I had been given the impression that the restaurant would not be child friendly — in fact, it really could not have been more child friendly. My daughter received a kids menu as soon as we sat down, followed by coloured pencils and a colouring book. Oddly, the kids menu did not come with kids size portions, but did have kids prices — nice. We started with fried calamari with a spiced aoli — perfectly fried and tasty. I moved on to a parpadelle special with scallops. The pasta was cooked to perfection and outstanding. My daughter had a basic though excellent spaghetti with tomato sauce and my wife had an outstanding fish stew. We moved on to desert — chocolate fondue with fruit, marshmallows and it biscotti — our two other dinner partners helped us devour everything edible on the plate — my daughter traded her ice cream sundae for an extra fondue fork. I can’t wait to go back to Westport eat here again.

We visited Sage for dinner last summer while on holiday travelling around the West of Ireland. Sage is situated on the upper part of Westport town, a couple of minutes walk from the clock tower at the top of the main street.
We passed the restaurant when exploring the town in the day and were looking for a cosy place to celebrate my birthday that evening! Sage looked so inviting and appealed straightaway to our taste to eat in an independent Italian restaurant, so we decided to give it a try!
The exterior of the restaurant was painted sage green and once through the small entrance, you’re welcomed into a small, informal setting where the cream and light green décor, with modern finishings makes it feel more homely Irish, than traditional Italian! Forget your red checked tablecloths and mama’s ornaments gracing shelves and tables here!
The interior is complimented by contrasting darkwood tables which have modern settings and salt and pepper pots which Sarah (the owner and co-​founder) has collected on her travels around the world! We found this out because Sarah approached us as soon as we arrived. We struck up conversation and she asked us where we were from and carried on to be really friendly and chatty for the rest of the evening (although the attention wasn’t too full on). Sarah took the time to talk us through the various choices on the menu and answered many of our somewhat probing questions about some of the more interesting main courses!
From memory there’s a a small wine bar and hatch to the kitchen where you can watch Sarah’s partner (Chef Davide Donnalia, the Italian inspiration to the restaurant!) and team construct your dishes!
It’s a little while ago since we visited, but from memory my partner and I ordered the Clew Bay mussels in white wine and garlic and the mushroom risotti with truffle oil. I remember the risotti being a little oily and it did detract a little from my overall enjoyment of the meal (and hence why I’ve given this review 4 instead of the full 5 stars), however the service and character of the place certainly made-​up for any slight criticism of the meal.
Sage has a well priced wine list offering a good selection and range of wines and served great coffee (which you would expect from a good «Italian» restaurant. Even if it is on the West coast of Ireland!
Definitely worth visiting if you’re exploring the west side of Ireland. We left with a positive impression and am sure Sage will go from strength-​to-​strength (apparently it only recently opened in 2009).