Mount Congreve Gardens Welcomes New Culinary Operator

By Robert McHugh
Mount Congreve Gardens Welcomes New Culinary Operator

The team at Mount Congreve Gardens have announced they have welcomed CLIFF as the new culinary operator at the Mount Congreve Gardens Stables Café.

CLIFF is a group comprised of Irish hospitality brands including Cliff House Hotel, Michelin-starred House Restaurant, Cliff Beach House, Urchin in Ardmore, and Cliff at Lyons estate in Kildare.

The group will also provide catering support for private events hosted in the recently renovated Mount Congreve House.

New Menu

The Pantry at CLIFF team recently launched a new menu and operations after having already operated their own Café on the grounds of the 19th century village of the Cliff at Lyons for the last five years.

The team will offer breakfast and lunch dishes, Afternoon Tea and grab-and-go options with the menu influenced by local producers.

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Walled Gardens

The chefs are also working with the new Mount Congreve School of Horticulture who are restoring the walled gardens and helping to grow fruit and vegetables for the café.

The café offering has been designed by CLIFF executive chef Sean Smith who spearheaded the award-winning Mill restaurant located at the Cliff at Lyons in Kildare.

Head Chef

Head Chef Bruno Caveirina lives locally and previously worked for Cliff Townhouse in Dublin and most recently the award-winning 360 Cookhouse in Dungarvan.

The kitchen team will be joined by Nelson Saraiva as the new Café Manager. Originally a native of Portugal, Saraiva has worked for CLIFF for over 10 years.

€7m Redevelopment

The Mount Congreve House and Gardens recently underwent a €7 million redevelopment with a brand new visitor centre and The Stables Café having being purpose-built for the new experience.

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Visitors can now arrive through the main front doors of the house into the foyer to enjoy an immersive audio-visual exhibition of the garden and family history.

The location has 70 acres of woodland gardens and four acres of walled gardens within a 140-acre estate located 10 minutes outside of Waterford city.

Brand-New Afternoon Tea Menu

The Stables Café at Mount Congreve Gardens is a dog-friendly space and it is open daily for the summer months and will open Thursday - Sunday in the autumn.

In addition, a brand-new Afternoon Tea menu will commence from September 2nd, this will be served in the Tack Room overlooking the gardens at €35 per person.

'Global Tourist Destination'

"For all of us at CLIFF, Waterford is a place that is closest to our hearts and Mount Congreve is a destination that we have always loved and admired," said Tristan Jacob, joint managing director from CLIFF.

"We are delighted to work with the Mount Congreve team in driving the destination as a global tourist destination and we will relish the opportunity to bring a flavour of CLIFF to the beautiful new visitor centre and gardens.”