New Carlow restaurant promises the tastiest of Italian dishes

DELICIOUS pastas, pizzas, risottos and deserts are all on the menu at a brand new restaurant that’s just opened in Carlow town.

Situated on the corner where Barrack Street meets Tullow Street, Papardelles at The Salt Bar is a welcome addition to the restaurant scene in the town.

Owner William Fitzsimons opened Brasserie 15, a French-influenced restaurant further up Tullow Street, just over a year ago and business there is flying.

“Our French-influenced brasserie is doing really well so we thought that we might look at doing something Italian. I think there’s an opening for an Italian restaurant here in Carlow and, because it’s a different style of menu, we won’t be competing against Brasserie 15,” said William.

Papardelles will be open at night for a full restaurant experience where the customer is invited to enjoy the sophisticated atmosphere in the 65-seater dining room. Large, luxuriant, gilt-framed mirrors are placed around the room, reflecting the low lighting while on the walls are black and white prints from such films as Goodfellas, The Godfather and The Sopranos.

William has gutted out the whole place with a bespoke kitchen being installed to make the best use of the space while allowing the chefs to work efficiently and comfortably. Customers can see the dishes being prepared via an open counter so the atmosphere will be intimate.

The name of the restaurant comes from a type of pasta, pappardelle, a wide ribbon-shaped noodle whose meaning comes from the phrase “gobble up”.

The team wants people to enjoy their experience of dining out in a proper restaurant, whether the occasion is a cosy tete a tete with a loved one, a family occasion or a night out with friends.

William reckons that people are relishing evenings spent in restaurants again, after the various restrictions during the pandemic years. He likes his customers to feel welcome and for them to relax and enjoy their experience of eating in Papardelles so he’s put a lot of thought into the fit-out.

Situated upstairs from the Salt Bar, Papardelles has its own separate entrance where customers are greeted by waiting staff at the top of the stairs.

The menu will feature specials which will change according to the season and what’s market fresh that day. The a la carte offering will include such starters as prawns, Caprese salad, garlic mushrooms and bruschetta. For the main course, diners have great choice from a selection of risottos, pasta dishes and pizzas. There’s also rib-eye steak, sea bream and chicken dishes while vegetarians and vegans are also catered for. Deserts are homemade and luxurious while there’s an impressive wine list that compliments the Italian food. The restaurant will be open during the evenings while downstairs The Salt Bar will be open from daytime onwards into the night.

The menu here is catering for the lunch crowd as well as those who might pop in for a coffee or a drink with friends. There’s pizza and lasagna, burgers, salads and snacks like nachos to chose from, so whether it’s a good-sized lunch or something lighter, there’s something to suit everyone. The bar has a great range of beers on tap and for those who fancy it, there’s plenty of tasty gins and whiskeys as well as a delicious cocktail menu to choose from.

William and his team have spent weeks researching, testing, cooking and tweaking the menus. He has a full team of chefs with whom he has worked for years so they all know the business very well.

“I do have a strong influence on the menus but I have very good chefs that I absolutely trust. I’ve very lucky with them, they’re very committed to every project that we take on.” 

His right-hand man is David Walsh who helped him open Brasserie 15 while his head chef is John Doran who is working with another chef, Margaret Doran, (no relation!). William’s partner in life and business, Michelle O’Keeffe is managing their new venture with William’s daughter Katie Fitzsimons managing the restaurant.

William and Michelle have been together for some 35 years after first meeting at a disco in Kilkee Castle, with Michelle being a local woman.

The duo set up a catering company, Good Enuf 2 Eat Banqueting in 2007 and they now have a staff of up to 150 people.

Before launching Brasserie 15 and now Papardelles at The Salt Bar, their main interest of business was in catering for corporate and exclusive events. They also cater in various race courses including Gowran Park, Kilbeggan, Wexford, Tramore and Bellowstown.

“We like to keep ourselves busy,” smiled William. “We wanted to diversify our business by getting into restaurants. We’re doing very well, it’s flying in Brasserie 15 so we decide to open this restaurant, too. We’re looking forward to having a good Christmas. In Brasserie 15 we’ll have a special menu on for parties but we’ll have our usual menus for our regular customers both in the brasserie and in Papardelles at The Salt Bar. We have a very good, very loyal client base in Brasserie 15 and I think that it’ll work here for Papardelles, too. It’ll lend itself well to the town, I think. We’re offering people a choice and choice is always a good thing. It’ll work really well and we hope people will like it.” 

• Paperdelles Restaurant at the Salt Bar, 70 Tullow Street, Carlow 059 911 7290