Lir hailed by top critic after telling of fears for future

Lir seafood restaurant at Coleraine’s Marina has been boosted by a glowing review from Guardian food critic Jay Rayner.

The eatery, opened by Steve and Rebekah McCarry two-and-a-half years after their Native Seafood brand was born, was hailed for its exquisite and ever-changing menu and its commitment to sustainability

Rayner also praised a “profoundly Northern Irish commitment to portions that will get you through a hard winter” and singled out a monkfish sausage roll as worthy of being “put on a plinth”.

The timely review comes after the couple behind the award-winning Native Seafood told LCN about their fears for the future of the business as prices rise and they and their customers feel the squeeze.

Rebekah said: “We have had to raise our prices for fish mongers and for the restaurant in order to survive but we hate the thought of not making fish as accessible as it was before.

“Everyone is experiencing this on some level and we are terrified of how the new business will stay afloat. We are constantly busy, but our margins aren’t great as we are tentative about raising them ‘too high’” and putting people off. This means we are working insane hours and have been feeling like busy fools.

“We have two young kids and it isn’t fair on them or us missing out on some much time with them. We closed over May for two weeks to take a well-deserved break but also to try and come up with a sustainable long-term solution so that we can still serve the food that we want to but also not have to increase our prices by too much.”