Wow! Is he right? Probably. Critical sobriety means that we have to always keep a little distance, and be as even-handed as we can be. But everyone else in The Twelve isn't holding back, and the energy in this smart modern hotel is powerful: people love it to bits. What did our friend love? All of it: the bakery; the bar; their pizzeria, Pizza Dozzina; and Upstairs, their smart and serious restaurant. Manager Fergus O'Halloran marshals one of the best teams in the West, and evereything in The twelve chimes perfectly. Joyous is right.
Chef Martin O'Donnell and manager Fergus O'Halloran make it look easy to run a cutting-edge restaurant and a funky, boutique hotel. But both West Restaurant and The Twelve Hotel are powered by an inexorable need on the part of both men to keep improving, and every return visit shows that Mr O'Donnell's cooking just gets better and better. He's a good coastline forager, and knows how to put his seaweeds to work, in dishes such as halibut with crab agnolotti and seaweed broth, or scallop carpaccio with dilisk. His food is also memorably light – if you shy away from tasting menus because you can't get up from the table, you will have no problem here with the seven courses of the chef's table. Mr O'Halloran is a gifted sommelier, so the wine list is packed with beauts.
Connemara Smokehouse, Bunowen Pier, Ballyconneely, Clifden, County Galway.