The Clink Boutique Hotel.

Aidan really knows his craft. He thought carefully about every ingredient and adjusted traditional cocktails to suit what we told him we liked and didn't like. He even makes his own vanilla syrup from vanilla bean pods, which shows the care he puts into drinks and customers. He checked in to make sure we were enjoying the evening and that our cocktails were right. Possibly the best bartender and mixologist I've come across in a bar in Ireland. For quality cocktails and expert service in Carlow, I'd go to Aidan. 10/10, would recommend!

We'd never eaten at The Clink before, even though we live nearby, but we'll definitely go back. Our pre-booked table was ready promptly, the staff were attentive, service was efficient and the food quality was excellent. Everyone was happy with their meal, and there were very good choices for our vegan group. The only small issue was the T-bone steak on a sizzler plate that felt too small and made cutting it a little awkward. The food more than made up for that.

The food was the only good part of the evening, and we could barely enjoy it. On Valentine's night we expected something more intimate, but it felt like management was trying to make as much as possible from a big crowd. We felt rushed and unwanted, and the unhappy diners waiting for tables brought down the mood around the place. Our set menu had several of its most popular dishes unavailable by 7pm, despite already being limited. There was only one menu for the two of us, which was odd. Nobody explained the à la carte option, which was only available via a QR code, or we'd have ordered from it. The young blonde waitress dropped my partner's rose on the table without much thought, setting the night off badly. She never checked on us, and seemed to leave as quickly as she could after bringing food. We had to ask for cutlery after the mains arrived, then those plates sat for 25 minutes after we finished. We left without the dessert we'd ordered, feeling deflated. We never got water, and the wine we ordered never came, though it was still on the bill. We asked twice about it and ended up without a drink all night. Staff were bickering; one very obnoxious bartender spent more time complaining in front of customers than making drinks, while the other bartender was trying hard to do his job. Perhaps that's why our wine never showed up. The person I can only assume was the supervisor or manager on duty seemed clueless about where food and drinks were going and ran around without control of the tables. She passed authority to lower-ranking staff who shouldn't have had to handle this, especially when the team was clearly short staffed. There was no clear leadership or guidance. We went to her to pay and explain our disappointment, then she sent us to another young staff member, who we think was called grace and was tall. She was very nice and dealt with us respectfully and well, even though this was clearly beyond her role.

We used to like The Clink, but it's gone seriously downhill. We booked a table and still waited an hour. After we were seated, we ordered starters and asked for our son's food to come with them, but he was left waiting for an hour. When we asked about it, they said they didn't have the steak, and nobody had thought to tell us before then. Our mains arrived, but we waited 15 minutes for cutlery, so the food was cold by the time we could eat. The place was filthy, and tables weren't being cleared even with a huge queue waiting to be seated. Staff were rushing around like headless chickens and didn't seem to know what they were doing. Our drinks kept getting mixed up or never arrived. When my 13-year-old went to order a 7Up, someone spoke to him very rudely.