First look: Cúan Greene’s hotly anticipated high-end restaurant and guest house in Co Laois
Chef Cúán Greene’s ambitious high-end guest house and restaurant project just outside Abbeyleix is set to open its doors to the public on July 7th after many months of intense work.In January, Greene (33) and the first members of his kitchen team began development of the menu for Ómós in a nearby test kitchen. As each new team member came on board and the gleaming kitchen equipment started to arrive, the momentum and anticipation in the team gathered pace. It was hugely important to Greene to build a collaborative team around him. For his head chef, he chose Scotsman Matt Smith, formerly of Michelin-starred Lignum in Galway and Inver restaurant in Scotland. His sous chef is former Bastible colleague Gareth O’Brien, who has spent time also at Koks and Paz in the Faroe Islands. Ómós is based at Millbrook House, a late-Victorian house on 1.7 hectares, formerly owned by Laois County Council. Things have advanced considerably since I made an early site visit last year. The team is now installed in the test kitchen. A poster hangs on a fridge door, with hand-drawn illustrations of the dishes and notes on key ingredients. It’s an exciting taste of what it takes to launch a fine-dining restaurant.READ MOREMark Moriarty’s recipe for sticky Korean pork belly sliders with Asian slawMark Moriarty’s recipe for pork belly dandan noodles with peanut and spring onionsMark Moriarty’s ultimate recipe for home-made hummus Mark Moriarty’s whipped ricotta dip with hot honey, pine nuts and preserved lemon pestoInside Cúán Greene’s hotly anticipated high-end restaurant and guest house, Ómós, in Co Laois. Video: Bryan O'Brien At a bench, Smith and O’Brien are carefully cleaning young green pine cones which were foraged locally the day before by the restaurant team. It’s an example of the inclusive stance taken by Greene, who wants the entire team working together, for each other. “We are constantly asking: how can we be better every day, educate ourselves, communicate better and get our ethos across effectively?” says Smith, referring to both the development of dishes, recorded using an online collaboration tool, and the minutiae of writing standard operating procedures for the restaurant. Once ready, the pine cones are placed in a sweet, sharp syrup and added to the growing larder of preserves and ferments that is a key part of Ómós. Walking through the larder and cold rooms – an Aladdin’s cave of cheffy ingredients – Greene talks about his philosophy on leadership and the evolution of restaurant work.We step into a kitchen where Ryan Lally, head baker and formerly of Grá Pizza, is working on his brown bread recipe. Bread at Ómós will be made using heritage grains from producers such as Manna Heritage Mills, and it requires tweaking and testing to perfect each bake. A tray of fragrant glazed cinnamon and cardamom buns indicates that things are going in the right direction.From a shelving unit Greene gently pulls out some of the restaurant tableware: restrained matt ceramic dishes in neutral, earthy tones from Fermoyle Pottery and Claire Dooley among others; wooden spoons hand-carved by Hewn Spoons; and sleek stainless steel cutlery from Italian design house Pininfarina. It’s typical of Greene’s style, staunchly advocating for Irish heritage crafts, but always with an eye for the perfect finishing touch.Ómós: Restaurant exterior. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien Ómós: Niall Flynn, head sommelier, in the dining room. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien Ómós: Cúán Greene, co-owner and executive chef, and Matt Smith, head chef, at the new restaurant and guest house. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien As the Abbeyleix site nears completion it’s an immense transformation from my first visit nine months ago. The redbrick facade of the restored main house is softly framed by the newly planted gardens designed by Edward Shackleton. Nearby, a Tolkien-esque wooden sauna nestles in the shrubs, accessed by a bridge carved from a single large slab of Kilkenny limestone.The restaurant and kitchen teams, led by Sarah Kennelly and Alison Tierney respectively, are packing up the test kitchen and moving to their permanent home in the new, low-slung, copper-roofed restaurant building designed by Ryan W Kennihan Architects. Soon the entire team will deep clean the entire space, transforming it into Ireland’s newest fine-dining kitchen. Ómós: Head chef Matt Smith. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien Matt Smith working on baked tomato tart, 'the absolute essence of summer'. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien To enter the restaurant, guests will pass through a farmyard-style stone wall into a plant-filled courtyard with covered walkways evoking a subtle touch of Japan. To the left is the guest lounge, filled with wooden chairs and benches styled on old Irish farmhouse designs, with views overlooking the replanted walled garden. Interior designers Asca and Relief Gallery have skilfully merged the Irish vernacular style of wood and textured fabrics with touches of Asian and modern design. To the right is the entrance to the spacious raftered diningroom with its elegant floor of Kilkenny blue limestone. Guests will pass chefs at work in the open kitchen and on the wood-fired open grill before being seated in pale oak chairs made in Wicklow by Michael Murphy.The unique open kitchen features three long, steel-topped benches where chefs will prepare dishes in full view of customers. There is no pass in the traditional sense, with the expediter working at the top of one bench with a view of the entire room and ready to greet guests on entry.So what can diners expect from the first menu at Ómós?“We want to start with big impact, our baked tomato tart in a heritage grain pastry case, the absolute essence of summer, before refreshing you with an iced broth,” says Greene.Ómós: Courtyard of guest house. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien Ómós guest bathroom. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien Ómós: Guest bedroom. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien Other highlights will include the Irish salad, a unique twist on what Greene humorously calls the “mammy salad”, elevated here with rolled ham from rare-breed Mangalitsa pigs from Fermanagh and salad cream made with fermented barley. Diners will also experience “the best spud you will ever eat based on a recipe from Gareth’s granny”. The menu pays deep respect to Irish produce and all the learnings that the chefs have picked from working in Ireland and abroad. While he retains a majority shareholding, Greene’s co-investors include Stripe technology billionaire John Collison, who paid €20 million in 2021 to acquire the adjoining Abbey Leix estate, an 18th century mansion on 453 hectares. The other investors are Daire Hickey, co-founder and managing partner at 150 Bond, a communications consultancy based in New York; Samuel Dennigan, founder and chief executive of plant-based foods brand Strong Roots; and Jean Comer, a US-based family friend. The dream of opening a restaurant is one that many chefs share, but there is no doubting that the stars have uniquely aligned for Greene. He strongly believes that this site in Millbrook House was always meant to be something special. With just a month to opening, he is relaxed and expresses a deep gratitude and astonishment at the opportunity he has been given. The dinner menu – serving 15 dishes – will cost €175 per head, while lunch is €150. Wine pairings from sommelier Niall Flynn, formerly of Loam in Galway, start from €99, and there will also be a carefully developed juice pairing. Dinner will be served five nights per week from Tuesday to Saturday, with an additional lunch service on Saturdays.[ Sneak preview: Chef Cúán Greene’s Collison-backed Laois restaurant and guesthouse takes shapeOpens in new window ]The 40-seater restaurant will give priority to residents, while the private diningroom overlooking the mill pond seats 10. Rooms at the guest house start from €395 per night, rising to more than €1,000 for a suite, meaning that an overnight stay for two with dinner and wine will cost nearly €950 at a minimum. While the menu pricing is on par with other Irish high-end options, it will be an indulgence or a once-in-a-lifetime treat for many. Greene acknowledges the expense, referring to the meaning of Ómós in Irish. “It’s all about heritage, tradition and respect. There are makers we want to support, wages we want to pay and investments we have made. Our hope is that our guests will experience our form of luxury in many small, meaningful moments that will leave lasting memories.”Tableware at Ómós. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien Ómós, a new fine-dining restaurant and guest house, is based at Millbrook House, a late-Victorian property in Abbeyleix, Co Laois. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien
