{"id":635721,"date":"2026-09-25T15:16:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T15:16:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/635721\/"},"modified":"2026-09-25T15:16:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T15:16:14","slug":"the-lep-inn-is-back-behind-the-scenes-of-the-refurbished-leopardstown-inn-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/635721\/","title":{"rendered":"The Lep Inn is back: Behind the scenes of the refurbished Leopardstown Inn \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cIt\u2019s pub classics done really well,\u201d says chef Mark Ahessy, of the Loyola\u2019s Group\u2019s<\/a> The Old Spot<\/a> in Beggar\u2019s Bush, who along with fellow Old Spot chef Lukasz Maslowski has led the menu makeover at The Leopardstown Inn. <\/p>\n

While the landmark south Dublin pub was up for sale last year with a \u20ac7.25 million price tag<\/a>, the Loyola Group have decided to reopen the premises rather than sell it. <\/p>\n

The interiors have had a refresh with deep-green panelling, red leather chairs with button tufting and dark woods all part of the revamp. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea was to create a neighbourhood restaurant. You know, where families will come, and where it\u2019s not going to be alienating anyone. We\u2019ve got a massive grill, so we\u2019re cooking everything on fire. Our oven is fire, our grill is fire, so it\u2019s going to be a challenge for the kitchen,\u201d says Ahessy. <\/p>\n

This focus of this relaunch of the venue is more gastro than pub, with the website describing the venture as a \u201cneighbourhood kitchen and pub\u201d, and the pricing of menu items reflects that too. <\/p>\n

At the higher end of the menu is 12-hour slow braised beef cheek with creamy mash and bourguignon sauce for \u20ac38, while pork loin cooked over fire is \u20ac36. Traditional fare such as half a roast chicken with all the trimmings is \u20ac26; a burger and chips is \u20ac24. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re making everything ourselves,\u201d says Ahssey. \u201cAll our burger buns have been made. We\u2019re making batch bread for our roast chicken and stuffing sandwiches for lunch. Just doing all the kind of homely stuff that you want when you go into a pub or a neighbourhood restaurant, everything done properly using sustainable, good ingredients.\u201d<\/p>\n

Food producers include pork from Winetavern Farm in Wicklow and McLaughlin\u2019s beef for the dry-aged smash burger, but it\u2019s not only food where there has been care in provenance. <\/p>\n

Annmarie O\u2019Neill, who managed Charlotte Quay for six years with the Bereen Brothers Group, is head of hospitality and is fronting the wine list\u2019s expansion from 15 wines to 62. <\/p>\n

\"TheThe Leopardstown Inn on Brewery Road, Stillorgan, Dublin. Photograph: Dara Mac D\u00f3naill \/ The Irish Times \"RoastedRoasted salters rare breed pork loin, charred hispi cabbage, buttery mash and bramley apple cider jus at The Leopardstown Inn. Photograph: Dara Mac D\u00f3naill \/ The Irish Times \"TheThe Leopardstown Inn menu. Photograph: Dara Mac D\u00f3naill \/ The Irish Times <\/p>\n

The newly extended wine menu \u2013 supplied by Wine Labs \u2013 has bottles starting at \u20ac38 and rounds out at \u20ac150, while glasses start at \u20ac8.50. <\/p>\n

\u201cEvery supplier we use focuses on small family-run vineyards. There are no conglomerate wines. Nothing like a big brand name. Everything is niche,\u201d O\u2019Neill says.<\/p>\n

The attached off-licence, Grape and Grain, is also getting a makeover \u2013 the premises is now leased to Dublin 3\u2019s Sweeney\u2019s off-licence, who The Leopardstown Inn will work alongside.<\/p>\n

Sweeney\u2019s \u2013 known for their wine selection, craft beers and daily toasties in Fairview \u2013 will offer charcuterie boards in the Leopardstown location as well as barista coffee.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe relationship between us is going to be very close. You can get a bottle of wine for corkage on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and bring it into us,\u201d says O\u2019Neill. <\/p>\n

Some things will remain the same however, and Leopardstown Inn staple Gerry Murphy, who has been pulling pints for more than 30 years, will still be on hand. <\/p>\n

Reflecting on the relaunch, O\u2019Neill says the venture will be a definite shift from the traditional pub environment. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Lep Inn is transitioning from a really lovely pub that serves food to a really nice restaurant that also has a bar.\u201d<\/p>\n

Open seven days a week from noon, the kitchen will close at 9.30pm Monday to Saturday, and 8pm on Sunday. Lunch will run from 12pm to 3pm, and dinner service from 5pm onwards.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Leopardstown Inn on Brewery Road, Stillorgan, Dublin. Photograph: Dara Mac D\u00f3naill \/ The Irish Times \"TheThe Leopardstown Inn on Brewery Road, Stillorgan, Dublin. Photograph: Dara Mac D\u00f3naill \/ The Irish Times \"TheThe Leopardstown Inn on Brewery Road, Stillorgan, Dublin. Photograph: Dara Mac D\u00f3naill \/ The Irish Times <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cIt\u2019s pub classics done really well,\u201d says chef Mark Ahessy, of the Loyola\u2019s Group\u2019s The Old Spot in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":635722,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[72,61,60,16797,269996,709,5861,83767],"class_list":["post-635721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-leopardstown","tag-loyola-group","tag-magazine","tag-restaurant","tag-stillorgan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/635721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=635721"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/635721\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/635722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=635721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=635721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=635721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}