Brunch, part breakfast part lunch, all delicious. Much like cupcakes, Ireland has caught on to an American food trend and made it their own. The mid-morning to mid-day weekend meal is no different and Cork City has embraced it. Brunch can be for friends to catch up after a busy week or a time for family to gather, especially for holidays like Mother’s Day (March 18th this year), Father’s Day, Easter, Jazz Festival weekend or some such special occasion.
Here is a list of places I know of that offer weekend breakfasts and brunches that are worth a visit. I link to their brunch or weekend morning menus whenever possible.
PLEASE NOTE: This post only lists the weekend hours. These establishments also have weekday hours which you can learn about by clicking on the restaurant name to visit their website.
- Fenn’s Quay (located one street north and one street west of the Courthouse) serves breakfast/brunch, and lunch Mondays through Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. Their breakfast/brunch menu includes custom omelets to-order (custom ham, cheese, and tomato omelet pictured above), fluffy pancakes, eggs Benedict, eggs Florentine, fresh baked breads/croissants/scones, and scrambled eggs. Their Hollandaise sauce is Pasteurized (great for pregnant ladies). I love this place for my Saturday mornings because it is peaceful yet has a warm neighborhood feel. Linger over the morning newspaper (or your iPhone) and enjoy starting the day on your terms at your pace. Or meet up with friends and tease them about the crazy stuff they did the night before!
- Fresco Bistro at Lewis Glucksman Gallery on the campus of UCC serves brunch (menu) from 10:00am to 5:00pm on Saturdays and Noon to 5:00pm on Sundays. Tables are in demand (reservations available by phone: 0214901848) and a stroll around the gallery afterward is a good excuse to eat something decadent. Evidently (and not surprisingly), it serves up the best food on UCC campus hands down. For peek inside their kitchen, check out the appetite-inducing video of the food as photographed by Neil Danton. Great location for art lovers.
- Liberty Grill is serves brunch 8:00am-5:00pm on Saturdays. Like Fenns Quay, their Hollandaise sauce is Pasteurized (great for pregnant ladies).
- Idaho Café is open on Saturdays from 8:30am-6:00pm (their Facebook page). If you are vegetarian, options are limited.
- Crawford Gallery Café in Crawford Gallery serves from 9:00am-4:00pm on Saturdays (their eggs on toast pictured below). Great location for art lovers.
- Cafe Serendipity on Western Road opposite the River Lee Hotel serves breakfast/brunch from 8:00 a.m. Monday through Saturday.
- Nash 19 on Princes Street in Cork City Centre serves brunch on Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. and breakfast Mondays through Fridays.
- Electric serves lunch in their upstairs restaurant on Saturdays from 12:30pm and brunch on Sundays from Noon. Their website is updated with seasonal weekly menus. Downstairs, coffee/tea/cocoa and a selection of baked goods are available.
- SoHo serves brunch (menu) on weekends. Great if there’s a match on – have you seen their TV collection?!
- Bodega serves brunch and lunch (menu) from 10:00am on weekends.
SPECIAL HOLIDAY BRUNCHES
- Orchids Restaurant at Hayfield Manor serves a weekly special Sunday lunch (sample menu) and even more Special Gourmet Brunch a few times a year (Mother’s Day, Easter, Father’s Day, Jazz Festival).
- Greenes Restaurant is only open on Sundays for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Jazz weekend, and holiday weekends. Would be great on a sunny day if you grabbed a table by the waterfall!
- Ballymaloe Cookery School, though not in Cork City, is a notable destination serving lunch at 1:00pm with a regular menu on Saturdays and a special buffet on Sundays (details). The school offers a Brunch Cooking Course too. I went to Saturday lunch here for my birthday in 2009.
- Café Paradiso serves lunch (menu) from Noon to 3:00pm on Saturdays.
- Market Lane serves lunch from Noon or 1pm on weekends.
- FarmGate Restaurant serves lunch from Noon to 3:00pm on Saturdays.
As a Cork girl living in America for almost 20 years I discovered Dim Sum while visiting Boston’s China Town years ago & loved it from my very first bite ! A recent visit home to Cork had me searching out Dim Sum & to my delight was not disappointed at Yuan Ming Yuan restaurant on Prince’s Street. A great alternative to traditional brunch and a very fun meal to share with friends & family. p.s. leave room for dessert – the Egg Custard Tarts are delicious !!!!
Your Cafe Paradiso menu link is for a place in America, think something got mixed up!
Thanks for the recommendation, Ciara! Must check it out.
Claire, the link is updated. Thanks for catching that. Perhaps it was the universe’s way of telling me to go on a world tour of Cafe Paradisos?
Moving to Cork in four weeks from the states and stumbled upon your blog. Great information and I love that you included brunch!
How exciting, Megan! Cork is a great place to live so hope you like it here. Where are you moving from? A fresh perspective is always helpful, is there anything my blog is missing? I set out to write for those moving here but ended up writing more about living here. Which makes sense, but I do want to try to pass on my experience from the move as much as I can. Safe travels and how lucky you’re arriving in time for the Guinness Jazz Festival!!!
Evin, We moved from Indiana but we were only there for 10 months. I’m from the DC area and my husband is Irish (he lived in the DC area 12 years). We just arrived this weekend and looking forward to this new adventure!! I really enjoy your blog, it’s been very helpful.
Thanks, Megan! Hope we can meet up sometime now that you’re in Cork.
Evin, that sounds great!
Hi Evin – just to add that the Castle Cafe in Blackrock opens at 10am every morning for breakfast
Excellent, Joanne! I’ll add that to the list. I think I am going to split this post into two, the useful list and the photos so it loads quicker on mobile devices when people are literally standing in Cork City and looking for a place that’s open.
When Willie & I first met, it was great on a Saturday morning to buy the papers & go for brunch in town (Cork City). 18 years on & living in West Cork, he’s just returned from delivering over the past 4 hours so looking for a second breakfast (my version of brunch to keep him & the 2 boys going till mid afternoon.