| La Cascade | |
| Established: | 1991-2018 |
| Head-Chef: | Heiko Reibandt |
| Food-Type: | Modern Irish |
| Rating: | Michelin Guide |
| City: | Kenmare, County Kerry |
| Country: | Ireland |
| Website: | Official website |
La Cascade was the previous restaurant of Sheen Falls Lodge, a hotel outside the town of Kenmare, County Kerry, Ireland. It is a fine-dining restaurant that was awarded one Michelin star each year in the period 1993 to 1998.[1]
During the period the restaurant was awarded the Michelin star, the head chef was Fergus Moore.[2]
The restaurant changed name to The Falls in 2018 when it and the hotel changed ownership.[3]
The site of the present-day hotel Sheen Falls Lodge and thus La Cascade was originally occupied by an old farm house, Sheen Cottage, as early as 1764.[4] It belonged to the Irish estate of the Marquess of Lansdowne.[5]
In 1777 a still-existing bridge was built over the falls next to the house. During the nineteenth century, the house and the grounds surrounding it were leased by different gentlemen.[6] In 1854 Frederick Trench, 2nd Baron Ashtown purchased the lease from George Woodhouse. Ashtown invested £ 1.000 in building a new fishing lodge, which incorporated the walls of the smaller Sheen Cottage as its southern part. Ashtown spent little time there but sublet to various tenants.[7]
In 1879 Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne bought the residue of his lease.[8] Thereafter the Lansdowne family used it as a hunting and fishing lodge. In 1948, Lord Bruntisfield bought the site and largely rebuilt the house before selling it again in 1962.[9]
In 1966 the estate passed into the ownership of a Manchester business man, who tried to turn Sheen Falls into a commercial fishery.[10] Without success, he sold the property to an international corporation, from which it was purchased by the Danish-born entrepreneur Bent Christian Høyer in 1988. He started with the construction of the 5-star hotel Sheen Falls Lodge, which was opened in 1991.[11] In February 2013 the hotel was bought by the international hotel group Palladian Hotels and Resorts for €5 million.[12]