Dear Editor,
Undeniably, Ireland’s hospitality industry faces countless difficulties. However, some trouble may also originate from their own shortcomings.
Currently, my spouse and I are enjoying our yearly vacation in Donegal. Regrettably, we found the quality of coffee in a rather contemporary cafe we visited yesterday morning to be quite disappointing; it was essentially warm milk with a price tag of almost €4.
Later, we dined in a pub for lunch. The establishment was filled with both locals and tourists. There was a television broadcasting a popular UK quiz show – a distraction despite being muted, especially if you seated at particular angles.
Donegal is known for its native music, thus it was rather disheartening to be subjected to mediocre British pop music, which ironically was enjoyed by the bartender.
It was surprising to see that this establishment had been given accolades affirming its culinary prowess given the substandard food we were served. My soup appeared as if it came from a bulk package, while my spouse’s salad included browning lettuce leaves. The responses of other foreign customers around us were intriguing.
Fortunately, our previous day’s experience at a humble cafe in another part of Donegal was better; there was good food, decent coffee, and a pleasant absence of music and televisions.
Yours faithfully,
John Burns,
Blackrock,
County Dublin.