House of Plates among top three restaurants in Mayo

By Tom Gillespie

THE House of Plates restaurant in Castlebar has been named as one of the top three in Co. Mayo in the Sunday Times Ireland’s 100 best restaurants 2022 and one of eight nationwide as great foraging restaurants.

For the past 30 years, food critics John and Sally McKenna have compiled the annual foodie list on the best places to eat.

House of Plates is a contemporary restaurant in the county town with a focus on good quality Irish food.

The restaurant is family owned and operated by Barry and Helen Ralph. Barry is an award-winning chef with over 18 years’ experience running restaurants and six years at the House of Plates.

Describing the restaurant, Barry said: "We are a casual and contemporary restaurant. We are passionate about using locally produced, seasonal and artisan foods. We have a team of food partners from the surrounding locality and region.

"Our restaurant is decorated in a rustic industrial style using as much recycled material as possible. For example, our wine rack and benches are made from pallets, our tables are made from reclaimed wood and piping, and our chairs were bought second hand from the Basilica in Knock Shrine.

"Our aim is to be as sustainable as possible. We do this by always following our mission statement above and our guiding principles."

The McKennas said of the House of Plates: "Barry Ralph’s cooking in Castlebar’s House of Plates offers a cuisine of total sincerity.

"Here is a crew that sweats the small stuff: they mind the bees and the beehives, they forage for wild mushrooms and woodland leaves, they grow the salads and vegetables in polytunnels and beds in their urban farm, and they source with the utmost care so that the team has nothing but the best of the west coast to work with.

"The result is food that disarms with its charms, a cooking both of its place and of its time, genuine and generous, and a treat to eat.

"With ingredients such as Andarl Farm pork belly, Galway goat’s cheese, and Blacksod Bay crab, Ralph allows his imagination to roam freely, creating plates with vivid flavours and textures. Service is exceptional and prices are keen."

Reacting to the Sunday Times selection, Barry said: "There are a lot of restaurants in Dublin, Cork and Galway and to get three in Mayo is great.

"Being listed by the McKennas is great recognition. It says we are doing something right. We are doing it the right way and the hard way. It is a great boost for the five full-time and four part-time staff."

Barry complained, however: "We don’t have enough staff at the moment. It is torture. You cannot get staff, both chefs and front of house, or even part-time waiting staff. There is a huge shortage of people in hospitality at the moment.

"A lot of people I would have known in the industry all left during Covid and have got positions in Baxter, Coca Cola or different places.

"It is a tough road starting out. You have to work your way up the ladder before you can get decent money, like any trade."

Because of the staffing shortage Barry is reverting to a four-day week after Easter.

He explained: "The simple fact is I don’t have the staff so I have to go down to a four-day week. It is about not only attracting new people into positions that I have, but keeping the staff I have happy. We will be doing four long days instead of five days and they will be happy with the work-life balance. It will mean they will have three days off.

"I have got four kids and the way it is at the minute from once Wednesday comes I drop them to school at 9.30 a.m. and I am gone to work until 10.30 p.m. or 11 p.m. Is it good enough for Helen to be at home rearing the family on her own and seeing me for half an hour in the morning? It’s not.

"While we are closed on a Monday and Tuesday I still have to do the office and paperwork. So I am looking forward to the four-day week."

When Barry started House of Plates the concept was sharing plates.

He added: "I had the idea that we would start off as a small plate restaurant. We did that very successfully for four years until Covid came.

"Then with the whole fact of people sharing food and sharing plates, we had to say this is not going to work. So our business model was completely out the window and there was a recommendation from government not to be sharing plates.

"We switched it back and started doing take-aways. This was very successful and we are still doing it.

"We were doing 80 people sit-in on a Sunday and we are doing that again now plus 180 take-away. The business has grown but it is at a stage now with staffing levels that I have to cut back."

Barry’s daughter Nora (6) has a page for kids on Instagram and Facebook - Nora on food - where she has a couple of hundred thousand followers.

Barry said: "We started doing that when I was in lockdown for a bit of craic. One of her videos got three million views in America. It all started when she made soup and all of a sudden it took off.

"We got a couple of book deals. We turned them down as we didn’t want to put the pressure on her."

The return of live shows at the Royal Theatre in the town has been a boon for Barry’s business.

He explained: "The amount of business we are getting out of the Royal Theatre is unreal. If there is a show on in the Royal Theatre we are guaranteed to be full from 5 to 7 p.m. The knock-on effect is great for the town."

The other two Mayo restaurants selected by the McKennas were An Port Mor, Brewery Place, and Savoir Fare, Bridge Street, in Westport.