Pullman Restaurant

History of the Pullman Restaurant

The Pullman Restaurant on the grounds of the Glenlo Abbey Hotel & Estate is one of Ireland`s truly unique dining experiences. Comprising of two dining carriages, one of which is called Leona, dates back to 1927 and was part of the original Orient Express.

The carriage has had a varied life, it famously covered the Orient Express route, taken in Istanbul, Monte Carlo-Nice, all the way to St. Petersburg in Russia. As well as that, the carriage was part of the Brighton Belle which route would have transported guests from London to Brighton. Many celebrated and famous personas of the time, like Charlie Chaplin, Laurel & Hardy to name a few would have travelled this route to Brighton to perform, as it was the hive of activity for Theatre and show in Great Britain at the time.

1965 saw Leona’s final journey when she was used as part of Winston Churchill ‘s funeral cortege to transport his remains to his final resting place at St. Martins Church, just outside Blenheim Palace.

After this event, Leona played a starring role in the 1974 film adaption of Agatha Christie’s, ‘Murder on the Orient Express’, which starred Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall and Sean Connery.

Leona also served as a restaurant at Elsenham Station in Essex, not far from London Stansted Airport and included the 1954 carriage Linda, which makes up the other half of our unique dining facility. We opened our doors in May 1998.

The Pullman Restaurant offers fabulous views of Lough Corrib and our beautiful Estate and ironically it is located only 300 meters away from the old track bed of the now sadly lost Galway-Clifden railway line which was disbanded in the mid 1930`s.

Aboard the Pullman, you will enjoy a unique dining experience like no other, the service is jovial and personal with a thoughtfully selected list of fine wines and the best locally sourced food prepared by our experienced and passionate kitchen team.

All aboard!!