2 Best Restaurants in The Midlands, Ireland

Run by Neven Maguire, one of Ireland's top chefs, MacNean's is one of the best restaurants in the country; in fact, there's a waiting list of up to two years for weekends. The Menu Prestige, at €98 (€153, including wine), delivers a staggering selection of courses. Winning appetizers include partridge breast, quail, or Castletownbere sea scallop. Top mains include quail, strip loin of dry aged beef, or hake; for dessert, strawberry plate or chocolate crémeux will linger long on the palate. An eight-course vegetarian menu is also available for €98. Maguire also opened a cooking school featuring classes for all skill levels. Breakfast is served.

Given the remoteness of this Cavan town, consider reserving one of MacNean's 19 guest rooms as well as a table. The 65-km (40-mile) detour to Blacklion makes a lot more sense if you are heading from Dublin northwest to Sligo or Donegal.

A restored, stone former post office in an elegantly landscaped garden, the Olde Post Inn has won a clutch of awards and, as a result, is often booked solid. Sea bass, steak, game, and bacon and cabbage terrine are main-course favorites and highlight local and seasonal ingredients. The wine selection will appeal to Europhiles: Valpolicella, Pouilly-Fuissé, Sancerre, or if you feel like a splurge, try the flamboyantly fruity Puligny Montrachet at a cool €85. Artwork by some top Irish artists decorates the redbrick and stone walls. Staying overnight is strongly advised; six guest bedrooms, all in the original part of the postmaster's residence, have been modernized with fabrics in bright jewel tones alongside contemporary bathrooms. Special events such as gin evenings or a French wine and game night are held and are available for guests as part of a package.