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Eating Out in Cork City

Cork is something of a food lover's paradise, with many of its restaurants sourcing excellent raw ingredients from the large and growing community of artisan food suppliers in the surrounding area.

Tripe & Drisheen, by richardrichardIf you have a taste for the unusual, Cork has some regional specialities you might want to look out for - or to avoid! Drisheen is a sort of sausage or pudding made from sheep's blood, breadcrumbs and spices and traditionally served with tripe (stomach) in a thickened milk sauce. Not perhaps for everyone!

One of the best black puddings in Ireland is produced to a secret recipe in Clonakility and features on many local restaurant menus.

In more recent times a new tradition of cheesemaking has emerged and some really world class cheeses are produced locally. Look out for Milleens, Durrus, Gubbeen, Gabriel and Desmond in particular.

Eating Out in Cork on a Budget

The first stop for anyone with an interest in food has to be the famous English Market, where food has been sold for almost 400 years. Stalls crowded into the market sell both cooked food and deli style take away food as well raw ingredients.

It is a treasure trove of both locally produced and imported food and an experience not to be missed. On a Summer day this is the perfect place to buy the makings of a picnic - take it accross the road to the Bishop Lucey Park to eat.

Jackie Lennox's Chip Shop on the Bandon Road is the place to go for a tasty take away meal of fresh fish and excellent chips - chunky and freshly cut from good potatoes. Their curry sauce is spoken of very highly, but will not be to everyone's taste.

OZ - Cork ( 353 21 4272711) is a cafe on the Grand Parade which serves great sandwiches and light meals at lunch in a very trendy setting - very New York. It's a little more expensive at dinner.

The Idaho Cafe ( 353 21 4276376) on Caroline St serves food that is a cut above the average all day. Breakfast, with a huge selection of home baked breads and pastrys, is a real treat here and is served right up to lunch time. Very civilised. They use very good ingredients and lots of organic meat and veg.

Cafe Gusto ( 353 21 4254446) on Washington St is a coffee bar serving terrific rolls, wraps and salads in a cheerful and friendly setting. There are only about 20 seats, but everything is available to take away.

The Cafe Bar Deli on Academy St is always busy and serves good value pizzas, pastas and salads all day and into the evening. Expect to queue at busy times.

Middle Range Restaurants in Cork

The restaurant upstairs at the English Market, the Farmgate Cafe ( 353 21 4278134), doesn't have far to go to source its ingredients, and the menu varies daily according to what is available in the Market. There is always a buzz here, with shoppers, stallholders and office worker alike flocking to enjoy the wholesome good value food.

The Bodega ( 353 21 4272878) in Cornmarket St is something of a Cork institution, especially for Sunday Brunch. It is a very laid back place where it is easy to linger in conversation over the simple but well prepared food. With different menus for lunch and dinner and an wide range of light snacks available, this is really an anytime place.

Probys Bistro ( 353 21 4316531) on Probys Quay is a lively spot where excellent local ingredients are given a Mediterranean twist, a style of cooking that is not always successful but which work perfectly here.

They have amazing sandwiches on a range of excellent breads at lunchtime, excellent tapas in the early evening and the set dinner menu is terrific value.

Nakon Thai ( 353 21 4369900) in Douglas Village is probably Cork's best ethnic restaurant. The light fresh food with wonderfully vibrant flavours is served by very friendly and always smiling staff.

High End Dining in Cork

Les Gourmandises ( 353 21 4251959) on Cook St is exceptional, a friendly unpretentious place with food that would happily grace the table in restaurants charging twice the price or more. Many of the staff are French, and it sometimes feels as though a French neighbourhood restaurant somehow landed in Cork. It could just sneak into the mid range section because its set menu prices at both lunch and dinner are so well priced.

Isaac's Restaurant ( 353 21 4353951) in a converted warehouse in Mac Curtain St has a stated aim of providing good value for money and they meet this consistently with an inventive and interesting menu. The choice ranges from very simple but impeccably prepared dishes using local ingredients to unusual and inventive food with a Spanish twist.

Cafe Paradiso ( 353 21 4277939) on the Western Road is a rare thing indeed, a vegetarian restaurant which serves food of a such variety and such a high standard that even confirmed meat lovers will be converted.

The Manor Room at Hayfield Manor Hotel ( 353 21 4845900) is renowned for its classic cooking, with a French chef using the best locally sources ingredients in a menu that features several classics. A five course dinner here will leave you in that state of soporific happiness which only very special food induces.

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In This Section

• Eating Out Guide
• History of Irish Food
• Restaurants in Belfast
• Restaurants in Cork
• Restaurants in Dublin
• Restaurants in Galway
• Restaurants in Killarney
• Restaurants in Limerick
• Irish Recipes

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