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Joris Minne: Pretty Mary's
Award-winning Pretty Mary’s is pushing the boundaries of pub-restaurant fare to put Moira on the map as a foodie destination
Monday, 18 July 2011
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Why do some towns succeed and others not? What is the magic ingredient, for instance, that makes Newry commercially successful and Armagh struggle?
It can’t be anything to do with elegance, grace or history, because Armagh would win that beauty contest in the first heat.
And how do you explain the tale of two small neighbouring towns like Moira and Hillsborough? They share similar backgrounds and rural contexts yet Moira is more scuffed, a little rougher round the edges than Hillsborough. It might be as historically significant as Hillsborough, but it doesn’t share the same cleaner.
Hillsborough is home to royalty and the Secretary of State, it has a castle and some upmarket bars and restaurants and is blessed with elegance and understated charm.
Moira is home to the American Fried Chicken take-away (made famous by the hernia-inducing funnyman, Phone-jacker), McCartney’s Butcher’s and two or three pubs. Both towns are similarly sized, only slightly off the beaten track and populated by commuters.
But Moira is fighting back and could be about to match its neighbour through the gift of food.
It has the Ivory, an excellent bistro with a menu to keep the children and the grandparents interested; not far out of town is the Tannery and then there is Pretty Mary’s on Main Street which is very good indeed. Pretty Mary’s (formerly a bar called Norman’s) unprepossessing but distinctly historic frontage hides a cavernous interior. The old bar up near the front door is still there and, while a splendid piece of Victorian pub history is preserved here, it morphs quietly and without any clumsiness, shock or surprise into a super-cool and unselfconscious modern lounge at the back of the place with low slung sofas, tasteful lamps and standard lights, chocolate and cream walls, quality wooden tables and chairs and a bit of bare brick here and there.
Its very well designed and pleasing interior manages to provide all the cosiness of the olde pub and the comfort of good modern furniture. Early on a Saturday evening the bar and restaurant are busy with two different crowds. The boys at the bar are the kind you’ll find anywhere between Ballycastle and Dingle, watching football on the telly, laughing and joking and generally enjoying themselves. The slightly more self-conscious diners are lounging in the restaurant area trying to look relaxed in their smart casual outfits.
The service is instantly ignited and three of us are seated on a slight rise at the very back giving us a strategic position from which to view the goings on as far up as the front door.
Even if it is in Moira, Pretty Mary’s is a classy operation and the menu quickly displays that the kind of thinking going on in the kitchen is not just about giving the people what they want — it’s pushing the pub-restaurant repertoire a bit further.
There is Fermanagh ham hock with warm baby gem lettuce, soft boiled egg and beetroot crisps, a quiche of Fivemiletown goat’s cheese and caramelized onion, paper thin slices of Finnebrogue venison tenderloin with horseradish cream and watercress salad and, one of my favourites, Lissara duck confit with potato cake and duck egg with very rarely seen endive leaves.
Mains, including a rare breed pork belly, are as tasty and satisfying as the starters and there is clear evidence of high professionalism in the kitchen. Beautifully presented dishes are crispy where expected, soft and giving elsewhere but everything has big flavours.
A Thai chicken curry for the 10-year-old was declared the best she’d ever had. I checked it and she was right — it was light, fragrant and served with just the right stickiness to the rice. One sometimes gets the feeling that they are cooking by numbers in pubs but this felt distinctly bespoke.
It’s no wonder then, that Pretty Mary’s is an award-winning restaurant. It deserves all the accolades it receives. As well as serving up great food it provides Moira with a soul — that bar is very compelling.
The service is youthful and attentive, the prices are better than reasonable and the mood is happy. But most importantly, Pretty Mary’s is giving Moira a leg up the social ladder. It’s a classy operation which combines local pub atmospherics and cool modern restaurant quality very successfully. Look out, Hillsborough, Moira’s on its way.
The Bill
Ham hock £6
Quiche £6
Pork belly £13
Salmons with mussels £14
Thai curry £12.95
Bottle wine £14
Total £65.95
Address
86 Main Street, Moira, Craigavon BT67 0LH
Tel: 028 9261 1318
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