At Ómós guesthouse and restaurant, a star chef is transforming Abbeyleix into Ireland’s next culinary destination

“I have always liked throwing myself in at the deep end and here I am very much at the deep end,” says 34-year-old Cúán Greene, chef and co-owner of Ómós. The 16-bedroom guesthouse and restaurant opened in July in the Irish countryside, just outside the town of Abbeyleix in County Laois. It offers the chance to sample Greene’s produce-driven tasting menu, served in its immaculately rendered, 40-cover restaurant.

Ómós is not your ordinary debut restaurant and inn. Its seven investors include John Collison, co-founder of Irish fintech firm Stripe, and Sam Dennigan, who launched food brand Strong Roots. Greene’s rise in prominence has been swift. After working internationally at restaurants including Noma in Copenhagen, he returned to Ireland in 2019 and later launched Ómós Digest, a weekly Substack newsletter about food culture. (Ómós, pronounced “Oh-mohs”, means “homage” or “respect” in Gaelic.) It was during this period that the idea of starting a bricks-and-mortar venture took shape. “I first met Cúán in 2020 to discuss a lovely concept but I never expected it to be a commercial proposition,” says Ómós’s chair, Sam Dennigan. “A lot of the time, these places can be follies for investors but I was conscious that Ómós wasn’t going to go that way.”

The original plan was to open a restaurant in Dublin – a bigger, more established market – but the project became more ambitious when Greene cooked for Collison at his newly acquired, 18th-century Abbeyleix Estate. The latter suggested that the chef take over Millbrook House, the former land agent’s Victorian residence, which lay derelict on the edge of the grounds, and turn it into a restaurant with rooms. “I had never considered opening a hotel before but I loved the idea of operating a restaurant where people could come and make themselves at home,” says Greene. His vision for Ómós was of a place with a feel inspired by the traditional Irish guesthouse – a vanishing category – albeit on a more luxurious scale.

“For me, the idea of being able to tell a new story of a more modern Ireland through food, experience and design seemed exciting,” says Dennigan, who feels that the country’s global image is still often defined by outmoded tropes. “Even so, as an investor, it was very much head over heart whether it looks like that or not.”

The renovation of the heritage-listed house and the creation of a new building to accommodate the restaurant and kitchens took more than three years to complete. The result is a three-way collaboration between Dublin-based Ryan W Kennihan Architects and Copenhagen-based interior architects Asca Studio and Relief Gallery, whose work Greene was familiar with.

For inspiration, architect Ryan Kennihan drew on the language and culture of rural Ireland’s vernacular architecture. “The ambition from my perspective was [to work with] what we found on site, aligning with Cúán’s vision, not chasing trends,” says Kennihan. “We wanted to create a timeless building that would be just as beautiful in 200 years.”

Greene and the designers spent the ensuing period visiting artisans across the country to refine the look, resulting in some 100 makers contributing to the project. Rooms in the guesthouse are scattered with custom-made furniture, Irish textiles and artworks, combining a pared-back Scandinavian sensibility with a distinctly Irish aesthetic. The bedside glasses were hand-blown by Greene’s mother, glass artist Róisín de Buitléar, while the 2,000 books scattered around the property were recommended by staff members.

The design is a reflection of the town to which the project is attracting a new generation of visitors. From Millbrook House, guests pass through gardens and a series of courtyards with exposed stone walls to the newly built restaurant. This features soaring ceilings and views of a market garden on one side and a tranquil mill pond on the other. The floor is laid with Kilkenny limestone and the gaps between the ceiling beams are lined with acoustic panels made from eelgrass by Danish firm Søuld. The oak dining tables are made from wood sourced from the estate and plates are hand-thrown by Fermoyle Pottery in County Kerry.

The menu draws on both Irish and international flavours, with techniques and combinations that Greene picked up in countries including Mexico and Thailand. The restaurant, however, mainly uses ingredients produced on site or nearby. Bread is baked using heritage grains and served with locally made butter; garden-plucked produce is paired with aged, smoked and cured meats and freshly netted seafood. Dessert includes a riff on a childhood favourite – retro ice-cream treat Viennetta – involving fig leaf, meadowsweet and blueberries. Those who stay overnight are also treated to breakfast the following morning in the guesthouse.

Already, Ómós’s presence is having a trickle-down effect on the local economy, with the business employing staff and drawing visitors to Abbeyleix. Guests can stroll into town along a trail through the estate forest or be ferried to Morrissey’s, an archetypal Irish pub-cum-grocery shop, for a pint of Guinness. Greene, who lives nearby, says that he is considering opening a deli or a wine bar nearby in the future. For now, though, his focus is on making Ómós sustainable. He acknowledges that support from the local community will be crucial to its success. “Strictly speaking, Abbeyleix is a town,” says Greene, “but, as they say, it takes a village.”
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