County Derry restaurant, Silky’s, wins prestigious YesChef award

Silky’s, as the restaurant has affectionately known, has been growing a reputation for great quality food and drink and has been attracting visitors from all over in recent months. The restaurant was taken over in August 2023 by Chef proprietor, Kevin Brolly, and John Pól Doherty, who looks after the front of house alongside a floor manager. 

Chef Brolly, prior to taking over the Dungiven establishment, had honed his skills at renowned four and five star hotels, both locally and internationally at prestigious establishments including Gleneagles Scotland, Lough Eske Castle, Redcastle Hotel and the luxurious Carlisle Bay in the Caribbean. 

His culinary journey of dedication has led Chef Brolly to return home to Dungiven, where he has developed a craft menu that celebrates the essence of comforting home cooked meals, while adding his own innovative twists that captivate diners and leave them craving more.

The restaurant provides a range of menus for diners to delight themselves with, including a lighter lunch menu alongside their main dinner menu and a Sunday dinner menu which is provided a-la-carte. 

The process to receive the award involved initially being nominated before being adjudged by the YesChef judges, who visit the restaurant without declaring themselves, like a secret shopper. The judges then nominate restaurants on merit for categories selected by the judges and decide which of those restaurants nominated are most deserving of an award.

On winning the award, John Pól said: “It felt great just to even be nominated, because we’re such a relatively new establishment. We didn’t think we would get anything, so to not only get nominated, but to win the Best Newcomer award, we are totally delighted.

“We plan to continue to stride forward, doing different bits and pieces like changing the menu regularly as the seasons change as we use local produce.

“Pan fried sea bass, buttered spinach, roast cauliflower purée and saffron cream would be one of our more popular dishes - we get the sea bass from just up the road, Keenan Seafood in Belfast.”

Assuming that garlic chips might be the most popular side dish, the County Derry Post was quickly corrected by John Pól: “Do you know what, our crispy kale is probably even more popular than the garlics, once people have tried it, they want it with everything.

“We would like to thank all our staff, both kitchen and front of house, for all their hard work as well as the public for their support and custom, and look forward to seeing them all through our doors again; both new and regular customers.”

Kevin will also be featured in this year's iteration of the YesChef magazine.