Shane Meehan 2023 - Stoked about World Cuisine Tapas
“Location is very important to me as I am born and bred in Strandhill and to look out over the ocean from where I work is something I feel very grateful for. I can get a quick surf before work sometimes which is a nice perk.”
Stoked is back!
After a winter break and a trip around the world discovering new recipes to bring home, the team have opened up the restaurant and are now open Wednesday to Sunday.
We caught up with Shane recently and were curious about the travel highlights. Without hesitation Shane said: “It is hard to get bad food in Thailand. We also learned there is no point going to fine dining restaurants there and the real flavors are on the street stalls”
Asked what is new, Shane told us that " the structure of the menu is the same, but there are lots of new flavors inspired by our travels. We have focused on upping our wine and drinks game to come up to the level of where we feel our food is at now. We have new spritzers and a selection of natural wines. We want to be proud of every bottle and again have a list that’s carefully thought out and has something for everyone."
And this is exactly why we love to dine in stoked: They never stop improving and developing and trying new recipes featuring local ingredients. So our recommendation from 2021 still stands: “It’s rare to find a restaurant serving tapas with dishes influenced by cuisines from all over the world, from sushi to bbq ribs, Dahl to Cambodian chicken, oysters to sea bream and more. With attention to detail, but most importantly excellently seasoned, our dining experience was a culinary delight from the beginning till the end. Highly recommended!” (Gaby and Hans Wieland on tripadvisor, 24th September 2021)
Stoked is exciting
Like so many chefs Shane Meehan of Stoked in Strandhill went away before he came back: “I got my chef qualifications at a young age and travelled straight away.” Working in various establishments life changed when on a home visit he met Carl Clarke from London who worked in The Countess (later The Draft House). “When I saw his menu I walked straight into the kitchen and jumped in. This was the proper start of my food journey”, Shane remembers.
Shane with his mentor Carl Clarke, who runs chick’n sours in London.
But it would take another detour via London, Dublin and Sligo (Montmartre, Cromleach Lodge, McGarrigles and Knox.) before he could realise his dream of opening his own restaurant. It was in Knox where he got a dry run for Stoked, he says: ”I thought of the ever growing concept of small plates and tapas. and that was it.” When the restaurant above the Strand Bar became available Stoked was born: “I’m forever grateful to the lads for giving me the opportunity and helping out in the early days when setting up.” says Shane.
“I also had a stall at the Strandhill Peoples Market in the back of my van. I used to make lobster Dogs and people loved them. I could see Tra Ban from my stall and that restaurant is now Stoked.”
Shane Meehan opened Stoked in April 2018 with his then business partner and chef Shane Hamilton. After two seasons together Shane tool full ownership last year in the middle of the pandemic. How did he cope with all the restrictions? “When we could re-open we were lucky to have a big space here and now also a great outdoor space that is airy and well spaced out so we coped quite well.”
World Cuisine Tapas
What is the ethos of Stoked we ask: “I like the idea of bringing new dishes to Sligo and let customers try something they never had before. The portions are often bigger than regular tapas but it’s a tapas style of service. Tapas is what we know best! We have very adventurous customers and when we put on some specials that are a bit out there, they sell out”, says Shane with a smile.
Surfing being the other passion in Shane’s life, we can see the joy and freedom of the surfer in the menu: “The food is whatever we want it to be and we just try to have fun with it and take dishes from all over the world and food that we would like to eat. We are limitless in what we can do and that’s a great thing.”
Asked about how they come up with their creations, Shane mentions books, travelling, the seasons , his talented chefs and suppliers. “We chat about an idea and it just rolls on from there.” He is full of praise for his team: “We have a great bunch of talented, motivated and hard-working chefs now and they are a pleasure to work with. I couldn't be more grateful to all my staff that push themselves every day for Stoked.”
Do they cater for vegetarians and vegans? We embrace the ever growing need for vegetarian and vegan food and use good honest food with decent ingredients and cooked with passion.
“The better the ingredient the less you have to do with it, to make it taste good.”
Shane and his team are blessed with their suppliers, many of them are young and energetic entrepreneurs with great dedication to quality. “We are using two local farms for vegetables, Carrowgarry farm where we also get our amazing coffee and newly established Knocknarea farm right beside us in Strandhill. Great producers with a big passion and an impressive knowledge and array of veggies.” Local and organic becomes ever more important, emphasises Shane. All their meat comes from Burns butchers in Cliffony, “lovely people who are passionate about what they produce and you can taste this in the finished produce.” Shane uses Sligo oysters. “I have lost count of how many people have told me they are the best they have ever tasted. It is very cool to be able to point out the back window and tell our customer that is where their oysters are grown.”
“I want to make Stoked a place where families and friends can get great food, wine and service, enjoy some time together and be happy!”
Shane enjoys the work life balance between the kitchen and riding the waves in Strandhill and says he is very competitive in both (although he no longer competes after winning his 10th national title in body boarding last year). “I want to keep getting better, but I am also realistic in that we still have a long way to go and can improve a lot.”
Here is Shane Meehan uncovered
What is your favourite food? My favourite food is seafood straight out of the water.
Finish the sentence: A chef is a passionate organized person who loves food and feeding people.
The country you travel for food: San Sebastián in the Basque Country would be one of my favourite destinations.
Three things you always have in your larder/fridge? Butter, miso , easy singles.
What is your most used gadget? Vitamix
Do you read cookbooks and which one do you come back to? Yes we have a good collection in the kitchen. Nathan Outlaw or Rick Stein are the ones I always come back too.
Who is your inspiration (not necessarily from the food world)? Carl Clarke, my mentor and Mike Stewart, the inventor of the bodyboard and who’s company sponsors me.
What are you currently listening to? Listening to the Sleaford Mods or whatever my chefs put on in the kitchen.
Something people don’t know about you? I’m 10th time national bodyboard champion of Ireland and currently 2nd in Europe.
What will be hot in 2023? For us it’s the same thing as every year, we try to do our own thing, draw inspiration from different places across the world while using local products. We try our best to have our own unique offering here in Sligo .
Shane’s dream: I hope one day I can sit and enjoy a meal in my own restaurant and experience what its like from the customers perspective.
