No mountain to climb at ready to go €500k West Cork bar and gastro restaurant 

Immediate interest has being shown in the well-trading Mountain House Bar in picturesque Ardfield, says estate agent Andy Donoghue of Hodnett Forde, with both local inquiries and interest from those already in the hospitality sector.

Although he doesn’t quote an asking price, it’s understood locally to be in the region of €500,000, for the 3,500 sq ft 60-seat bar and steak and seafood restaurant with commercial kitchen, overhead two-bed accommodation, and with long sea views to the west from its elevated acre site, with outdoor entertainment facilities.

The only pub in Ardfield, The Mountain was sold back in 2010 by long-time owner Ellen O’Sullivan, who was generations in the business and who, for decades, had run a shop and post office alongside the bar known far and wide at the time as Ellen’s.

Buyers were Patrick and Carol O’Sullivan, who had a background in both building and hospitality: Mr O’Sullivan grew up in the Brewery Bar in Clonakilty and they ran the bar and set up the restaurant for a period with extended family input while overhauling the 100-year-old roadside traditional building.

In 2020, just before covid, they leased it to local sisters Caitriona and Margaret Hegarty, who brought it to a new level of local engagement despite the covid disruptions, but who have now decided to step back from it at this year’s end, set to trade up to December.

Vendor Patrick O’Sullivan is open to approaches both to sell and to lease, says Hodnett Forde’s Mr Donoghue, and he’s retained a portion of the total of approximately two acres of ground which he had purchased back in 2010, one of the very few Munster bar sales of the recessionary period.

His retained site fronts the road from the church, past Ardfield national school, playground, St James GAA pitch, tennis courts, and more, leading to beaches and Galley Head lighthouse.

The property being sold on an acre still allowing for parking and further development if new owners wish, say Hodnett Forde, who say the bar and restaurant is in immaculate order, getting both local and strong seasonal and festive business.

It’s near a number of high-end hospitality venues, including Dunmore House Hotel and Dunowen House, the latter previously owned by the late Jimi Hendrix Experience bassist Noel Redding who played outdoor gigs at The Mountain House during the annual Ardfield fishing festival. Last weekend, the local GAA club hosted a successful inaugural four-day music festival, Pitch Perfect.... so the beat goes on.

Set in the midst of the picturesque scattered village community, The Mountain House is at a cross road on the Wild Atlantic Way and may suit operators who’d run it as destination food venue with bar. It’s available fully furnished, in turnkey condition with design and layout catering for mixed uses inside and out with covered patio area and gardens for al fresco dining, adds Mr Donoghue describing it as “a landmark property.”

DETAILS: Hodnett Forde
023-8833367