Chestnut

There's a relaxed yet professional feel to this sweet, intimate restaurant where the shelves are laden with wine, mead and all manner of jars full of produce marinating, curing or fermenting. Skeaghanore duck is among the County Cork produce championed on the constantly evolving tasting menu, where skilfully prepared dishes show a great understanding of textures and tastes, and are pleasingly understated in their pure, natural flavours. Smaller growers are present in the wine pairings, while they make their own juices and cordials for the non-alcoholic option.

Rapid Michelin star after opening

• Gained its first Michelin star within six months of opening (opened March 30, 2018; Michelin star awarded October 1, 2018), marking a rapid ascent for a small West Cork restaurant.

Tiny, intimate setting in a former pub

• A tiny 18-seat dining room located in a character-filled former Chestnut Tree pub in Ballydehob, West Cork, offering a highly intimate tasting experience.

Local, nature-inspired, minimal-waste cooking with a personal heritage

• Menus are built around seasonally available ingredients from West Cork and Ireland with a minimal waste approach; head chef Rob Krawczyk draws on his Polish heritage and his father's curing, smoking, and fermenting techniques to shape the cooking.

Signature Ingredients

• West Cork seasonal produce: The backbone of Restaurant Chestnut’s tasting menus. Dishes are built around ingredients that are grown, raised and gathered from West Cork’s rich larder and the island of Ireland; the kitchen designs menus to use what is seasonally best, emphasizing peak flavor and sustainability, and maintaining a minimal-waste approach.
• Cured, smoked and fermented elements: A signature through-line developed by head chef Rob Krawczyk, drawing on his father’s Polish heritage. The kitchen cures and smoke-in ingredients in-house and uses fermentation to deepen flavors, textures and tang, providing hallmark tastes across courses.
• Island-of-Ireland pantry ingredients: In addition to West Cork produce, the restaurant sources ingredients from across Ireland to complement local produce, allowing a nuanced, regionally rooted flavor profile that still respects the surrounding landscape.