19/08/2020
Dear followers, friends and family!
Michele and I are very sad to announce that following 5 years of fabulous dream, love, food and wine sharing, we are closing our beloved restaurant Le Petit Pois.
The reasons are the ones to be expected, a very hard year 2020 particularly with our very small and tight room and no clear sign of international improvement in the months to come.
There are no real good words to describe these five years, it was more than just running a restaurant, it has been our life project, our water and air for five years, we have put our soul into it and the only thing we can say is we have been more than rewarded for it : you have been amazing. And by you we mean quite a number of people that we want to talk about here :
- first of all our family and friends : children who had to cope with busy-always-talking-of-the-same-thing parents, parents who had to cope with busy-always-talking-of-the-same-thing children, and amazing friends who contributed to the design, recipes, and overall support of our crazy adventure. A special one of course for our Dave who not only designed the whole restaurant and menu but did so many drawings and paintings for us, this restaurant is kind of his too...
- then of course our staff, Le Petit Pois' family as we call it, people who have put their heart in making Le Petit Pois what it was, a place with a smile, Kate, Anna, Blaithin, Remi, Mael, Pascal, Charles, Camille, Ben, Jim, Balazs, Jarlath, the so reliable Max, the always-here-if-we-needed-them Pierre and Justin, the very special Lassa without who the restaurant could never have started and who enlightened the first year of her presence and energy, and finally of course the corner stones of the restaurant : Geof and Antoine, who have been the heart of the restaurant since day one and had it all on their shoulders for the last year.
- our incredible suppliers, we know how hard their job is, and dealing with the requirements of a fine dining restaurant is a painful daily task, so thanks for supporting us up to the very end, a special thank to Alex and Fred from Le Petit Délice who helped us on all aspects and Franck from French Wine Market who saved us more than once when we ran out of wine, always with unique, hard to find bottles.
- the local support from hard working neighbours and partners have been amazing, Niamh from the Front Door, our friends at Esquire Coffee in Eyre Square, Natalie and Eoin mcCambridges, Luke and Maggie from 2 Wild Geese, the Corrib tea house team, our Sunday brunch place to recover from crazy weeks, and the whole Sheridan's team for continuous support and hosting our cheese parties! Also big thumbs up to Sarah, Aonghus and the Lewd Tunes band for re-energising the whole team with crazy Sunday dancing nights...
- and finally last but not least, you, all incredible diners, who have visited us once or more, some of you becoming regulars and sometimes like relatives, all the after service chat, the hugs, the support : these five years have meant so much to us and that's thanks to you. We have received so many testimonies of love from you, mails, cards, flowers, visits, reviews, poems, gorgeous wine bottles, that we realize how Le Petit Pois was more than a restaurant but a very special place for lots of you.
We were also lucky enough to be rewarded many times by the industry from Michelin Guide to Georgina Campbell and McKenna's one, and receiving the Connacht Best Wine Experience was a very special moment.
We hope you have enjoyed visiting Le Petit Pois and that you will keep a fond memory of it, we share here a few photos of very special people and very special moments and Galway being so small, we will see you around.
Michèle & Philippe
