The Lemon Tree dining room has a chic feel, with linen clad tables and neutral colour scheme giving a contemporary look. Evenings are very cosy and intimate, yet this is the sort of place you can go for a gathering with friends or family, or a romantic date, and you won’t feel one bit out of place. The kitchen is a focal point in the room. Chefs can be seen working through the hatch. Customers like to be able to meet the folk who are making their food.

The kitchen at Lemon Tree is the domain of Gary, Thomas and Christopher. Christopher has been cooking here since he was thirteen. A true old fashioned way to learn your trade, as often happens in France and Italy. And what a bundle of energy he is – enthusiastic but unassuming. When he’s not busy concocting new and exciting dishes for the restaurant, he’s out visiting some of the best restaurants in Ireland for inspiration. He’s a natural. Older brother Gary is another self-taught cook, who makes all the breads for the restaurant. Get into a discussion with him about sourdough and you could be there for hours. What he doesn’t know about dough isn’t worth knowing.

Christopher says proudly ‘there is no Head Chef here. We work together and everyone knows what everyone else does.’

Expect a good smattering of local and seasonal ingredients on the menu, laid out in simple terms. The Molloys grow their own potatoes and use a Letterkenny suppliers for other vegetables and salads. Fish and shellfish are highlights, as is the seasonal game in the colder months. Diners can look forward to such delights as Organic Mulroy Bay Mussels, Ballyholey Farm Beetroot and Noone Farm Chicken.

There is a great selection of well priced house wines by glass and bottle and an international selection of classics. There’s also Irish craft beer from the Kinnegar Brewing list of Farmhouse Beers from Donegal.

This restaurant could happily sit in any major city, but it’s here in pretty Letterkenny where the beauty of the Donegal region provides a wonderful backdrop, and terrific ingredients to great food.