Arán Bakery and Bistro - five years showcasing the best of Kilkenny

Bart Pawlukojć and Nicole Server-Pawlukojć are celebrating five years in business this year at Arán Bakery & Bistro on Barrack Street in Kilkenny City.

Although they come from different culinary backgrounds, Bart and Nicole join forces right here in Kilkenny at Arán Bakery & Bistro to bring you a taste of what they’ve learned from all over the world.

“Arán Bakery & Bistro is our creative outlet that allows us to make top-quality food accessible to everyone,” Bart explains.

“We aim to make simple, yet delicious dishes made from local ingredients that everyone can enjoy in our restaurant.”

Bart and Nicole make it clear that it’s very important to not be bound by one single menu or one single concept.

“Our menu changes regularly depending on seasonal availability,” they said.

“This allows us to offer imaginative variations of many of the most popular breakfast and brunch dishes, along with our evening à la carte menu in our restaurant.

“Our brunch and dinner menus showcase the best of local produce from Kilkenny and nearby counties.

“We bake our bread and grind our flour in-house. We source as many ingredients as possible from our local producers and farmers for our restaurant and bakery.

“We offer an all-day brunch, private evening dining, award-winning sourdough bread, and take-away sweet and savoury baked goods.

“There are irresistible cakes and pastries too, and natural wines (including bubbly) to give your meal a lift!

“Recent additions to the menu include specials, which change regularly, usually around every three weeks. It’s a really dynamic menu, designed to get the best out of the seasonal ingredients that we have.”

Renovations
Over the last five years, they’ve continued to strengthen the presence of Arán here in Kilkenny, navigating a pandemic in the process.

When they founded their premises on Barrack Street, every single business person advised them against it, but they took that gamble.

After defying the odds, Arán is now a vital part of the social scene of Barrack Street and has helped breathe new life into the area.

Major renovations were recently completed to the Bistro, allowing even more people to savour the award-winning food on the premises.

PICTURE: The newly renovated Arán Bistro / Credit - Kirsty Lyons

“If you haven’t been to our new place yet, please stop by and of course we still continue to be dog friendly and are now able to accommodate bigger groups,” Bart added.

“Now the entire shopfront opens up, so you can get the feel that you’re sitting outside but you’re actually inside.”

There is ample parking located nearby, further enhancing the convenience of paying a visit to the venue.

Parties and catering
Adding another string to their bow, Arán now also offers many different options for parties and private catering, meaning that they can help elevate your special day or event with exceptional catering fare.

Whether it’s a wedding, communion, barbeque or anything in between, if you get in touch with Bart and Nicole, they will be able to best advise you on the various options available.

They can also adjust and tailor bespoke food options to clients’ different tastes and budgets.

The whole restaurant can also be rented in the evenings, subject to availability, for intimate dining events.

Arán’s signature sauce available in shops? Now that’s Magic!

In a double celebration Arán Bistro has marked five years in business by unveiling a fresh new restaurant fit-out and expanding into retail with the product launch of their much-loved signature Magic Sauce.

Arán’s owners Nicole Server-Pawlukojć and Bart Pawlukojć have certainly put their own stamp on the new look dining space, the design of which has been heavily influenced by the years the couple spent working in top restaurants in Copenhagen - including an internship at the world-renowned Noma, which is where they first met.

Arán’s expansion isn’t confined to the four walls of their premises on Barrack Street. The Bistro has also branched out into the retail sector with the product launch of its signature sauce.

Their versatile Korean-inspired and plant-based Magic Sauce has been a mainstay on the menu since Nicole and Bart first opened their doors in 2019, elevating all manner of brunch dishes over the years and gaining many admirers along the way.

PICTURE: Arán Magic Sauce can transform any meal / Credit - Kirsty Lyons

The sauce strikes the perfect balance between sweet and spicy with a harmonious blend of flavours that will tantalise taste buds and transform mundane meals into something much more exciting.

Needless to say, news of its retail release is sure to see fans of the new must-have kitchen condiment clamouring to get their hands on a bottle.

Serving Suggestions:
Handcrafted in small batches using a combination of fresh, clean ingredients and traditional Korean spices that capture the true essence of the country’s cuisine, Arán’s Magic Sauce can be used either hot or cold, as a dipping sauce, marinade, or glaze.

The pairing possibilities are endless. Home cooks can use it to add a drizzle of ultimate umaminess to everything from their morning eggs and leftovers, to everyday sandwiches, wraps, noodles and stir-fries. And, Magic Sauce is also the perfect accompaniment for BBQ’d meats and vegetables, making them sing with very minimal effort.

Magic Sauce sums up perfectly the fusion of culture and flavours that epitomise the Bistro’s ethos and what their flavoursome food is all about - simple, yet delicious dishes made from local ingredients for everyone to enjoy that are not bound by one single menu or concept.

Arán’s Magic Sauce is available to purchase in 250ml sized bottles priced at €5.99 each from leading independent retailers and food stores. As a result of Arán’s participation in SuperValu’s 2024 Food Academy Programme, stockists include the local SuperValu store in Loughboy, Kilkenny, along with the Dublin-based SuperValu stores in Churchtown, Walkinstown, Navan, Knocklyon, Rathgar, and Sundrive.

Magic Sauce can also be purchased from Rivesci in Clonmel, Co Tipperary and Arán’s very own Deli, which is located right across the road from their Bistro on Barrack Street in Kilkenny City.

Additional stockists will be announced in the coming weeks.

Book/Order
Interested in ordering takeaway brunch or booking a table in the bistro? Use the website or phone number listed below. If you’ve never been to Arán Bakery & Bistro before, now is the perfect time to tick it off your bucket list.

Make sure to also follow Arán on social media to stay up-to-date with all of their latest innovations and culinary offerings!

Contact Details
8 The Arches, Barrack Street, Kilkenny City
Tel: 056 7756297
Web: arankilkenny.ie
Facebook: facebook.com/arankilkenny
Instagram: @arankilkenny

Opening Hours
Bistro
Mon: 9.30am-3.30pm
Tues: Closed
Wed: 9.30am-3.30pm
Thurs: 9.30am-3.30pm
Friday: 9am-3.30pm
Saturday: 9am-3.30pm
Sunday: 9am-3.30pm

Deli & Bakery
Monday: 7am-3pm
Tuesday: 7am-3pm
Wednesday: 7am-3pm
Thursday: 7am-3pm
Friday: 7am-3pm
Saturday: 7am-3pm
Sunday: 7am-3pm