Hot places for summer travels

So, it's just about time to head off in search of summertime frolics, and here are ten places that will make summer '05 unforgettable.

The Tannery Townhouse, Dungarvan

Paul and Maire Flynn's new rooms are the best bit of good news to have come out of Dungarvan recently, and they are seriously good news for food lovers, who can now stay overnight just across the street from The Tannery and make a real night out of dinner at one of the country's greatest restaurants. Seriously cool style, and great value for money.
10 Quay St, Dungarvan, Co Waterford
Tel: 058-45420 www.tannery.ie

Aroma, Donegal Craft Centre

We had a white wine risotto with asparagus in the tiny space of Tom Dooney's Aroma, in the little Craft Village just south of Donegal town, and it was one of the most perfect things we have eaten in yonks, the aroma of wine just drifting off the perfectly cooked rice, the asparagus just so, amazing cooking from Arturo de Alba. We actually wanted to eat everything on the blackboard menu, from tomato, pear and ginger soup to creamy chicken, mushroom and garlic casserole with basmati rice. Do not miss Aroma.
Donegal Craft Centre, Donegal Tel: 074-972 3222.

Rathmullan House, Donegal

Peter Cheesman, chef at Rathmullan House, won the 2005 Moreau Chablis fish cookery prize for an incredible starter dish of assiette of crab, consisting of a crab cake, a crab tian, a crab bisque, a crab mousse and a crab and Crozier Blue tartlet. Fabulous cooking, and a gentle and relaxed country house that also offers superb value for money.
Rathmullan House Lough Swilly, Rathmullan, Letterkenny, Co Donegal
Tel: 074-9158188 www.rathmullanhouse.com

The Oarsman, Carrick-on-Shannon

Sean Hanna's fab cooking in The Oarsman means this is the must-visit spot if you are messing about on boats for the summer. The team under brothers Ronan and Conor Maher, are really on a high right now, so make sure you book well in advance, especially if you want a table at the weekend.
Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim
Tel: 071-962 1733 www.theoarsman.com

Café Rua, Castlebar

Aran and Colleen McMahon's lovely shop and bakery isn't just home to their own excellent baking, scrummy breakfasts and lovely lunches. It's also a shop wwhere you will find the best foods of the zone: Clarke's smoked fish from Ballina; Kelly's sausages from Newport, Noodle House pastas from Sligo; organic vegetables from Castlebar, with the best intelopers imaginable, such as cheeses from Sheridans and oatmeal from Macroom. So, bring on the Kelly's pork and leek sausages with mash and roast red onion and thyme gravy, or the fish pie with buttered carrots, or a hearty slice of spinach and Ardsallagh goat's cheese tart with tomato and basil salad. Excellent..
New Antrim Street, Castlebar, Co Mayo Tel: 094 902 3376

Ballyvolane, County Cork

Justin & Jenny Green may well be running the best country house in Ireland right now. Whatever it is you want in a country house - a raucous house party, a quiet time to yourself, they can deliver it, in a smashing house that is at the centre of the hospitality zeitgeist. And don't miss the rhubarb martinis!
Castlelyons, Fermoy, North Cork
Tel: 025-36349 www.ballyvolanehouse.ie

The Bread Crumb, Kenmare

You seek the perfect pretzel? Kenmare, then, is your destination, for the Bread Crumb is a splendidly simple little bakery specialising in German style breads and pastries. The breads are good, the pastries are extra good, and it's a real treat to see a dedicated specialist bakery like this in Ireland's gastronomic capital.
New Road, Kenmare, Co Kerry
Tel: 087-2680279 www.thebreadcrumb.com

West Cork Gourmet Store, Ballydehob & Schull

Joanna Cassidy's empire is expanding, with a nifty new WCGS now open in Schull, just opposite the car park at the bottom of Main Street. Smart lunch plates, good foods and wines to go, not to be missed when way out in West Cork.
Staball Hill, Ballydehob Tel: 028-37781
East End, Schull, Co Cork Tel: 028-27613

Kelly's Sea Spa, Rosslare, Co Wexford

Spas are multiplying all over the country, but sea spa at the legendary Kelly's Hotel in Rosslare, County Wexford, is really some sort of spa bliss. You linger and laze for an hour in the spa before the treatments, swimming, showering, sweating, being pummelled by water everywhichway. And it's not just for hotel guests: smart locals and holidaymakers are queueing up to be transported to blissville.
Kelly's Resort Hotel Ltd., Rosslare, Co Wexford
Tel: 053-32114 www.kellys.ie www.seaspa.ie

Boqueria, Cork

Boqueria, on Bridge Street, just north of the river Lee, is only ace. Step in the door, and so carefully has the interior been assembled that you are instantly in Barcelona or San Sebastian. Smoky lighting, a tall bar, then a small room at the rear with seating wrapping around the walls. The shelves stock Spanish wines, foods and books on Spanish cookery.
The cooking hits home smoothly and sharply, thanks to being smartly sourced. What gives the game away in here is the name-check of the best local artisans: Hederman wild salmon; Arbutus bread; Krawczyk salami; Hegarty's cheddar; Glenilen yogurt; Ardsallagh cheese. Heaven's above, you can even get a bowl of Macroom Oatmeal, the world's greatest porridge, for breakfast, and that comes with Molaga West Cork honey. Great wines, cracking tapas from 5 pm, breakfast from 8am, lunch from noon.
6 Bridge Street, Cork
Tel: 021-455 9049 www.boqueriasixbridgest.com