The Courthouse in Kinlough is no longer a place where justice is dispensed, but John Bromley found that where food is concerned justice is done.

FOR most people a visit to a courthouse is not something they would relish. But in Kinlough a visit to the local courthouse is an altogether different type of experience.
The Courthouse in the north Leitrim village has long ago ceased to be a place where justice is dispensed. Now its role is about dispensing culinary delights and seeing that justice is done in terms of providing good food.
There is a ‘hard’ feel to the décor, with ceramic tiles and wood predominating, but this is softened by the subdued lighting and the overall effect is attractive.
The austerity that one normally associates with courthouses is also quickly dispelled by the sight of a roaring open fire, a sight to delight on a cold, wet January night.
The warm, friendly welcome also helps in creating the right atmosphere for a pleasant evening.
The menu has an Italian influence, reflecting the chef’s nationality, but forget pizzas.
There is a section of the menu devoted specifically to pasta in a variety of guises but it is only a small part of the story.
There are about eight interesting starters in the E6-E8 range but as we did not feel that hungry, we decided to move straight on to the main courses.
These vary in price from about E16 to E22 and offer a good range of choices from different steaks to chicken dishes and unusual items like swordfish and ostrich.
Seafood features quite strongly and both the specials on the night I visited were fish – a cod and prawn dish and John Dory.
The menu reads interestingly and I was tempted by a couple of things but eventually settled on Piero’s special chicken (named after the owner/chef).
The dish was breasts of chicken with mozzarella cheese and bacon, served with tagliatelle in a mushroom sauce. I was perhaps somewhat different than I had expected but very nice none the same.
My companion was also happy enough with her more straight-forward sirloin steak with a pepper sauce.
The dishes came with nicely cooked baby potatoes, carrots and mangetout (which always make me think of Del Boy in ‘Only Fools and Horses’).
The desserts are E6 and I opted for something which I can’t remember the exact name of but it was basically a slice of very rich chocolate cake served with ice-cream. It was delicious and I wished there was more of it.
A pleasant meal was rounded off with a good pot of coffee, which at E1.60 brought the total bill to E44.60.