Sunday Brunch in Cork City at No. 5 Fenn’s Quay Restaurant

Brunch may have been around for decades but Fenn’s Quay Restaurant, located on Sheares Street in Cork City Centre, is bringing it to Sundays on the 9^th, 16^th and 23^rd of December, from 11:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. Sundays are a day when there are not many brunch options in Cork City and are most needed during the peak shopping season. A perfect opportunity to fuel up before final Christmas shopping in town or take a moment away from the madness to eat well and take a moment for yourself – and no queues!

Executive Chefess Kate Lawlor created a delectable brunch menu featuring local ingredients in classics, like Eggs Benedict with Rosscarbery Rashers or Boiled Eggs and Soldiers with Marmite, and indulgent favorites, like fluffy Feirm Úr Buttermilk Pancakes with your choice of crème fraîche, homemade jam or maple syrup. For light eaters, there are Croissants, Porridge or Fruit Scones served with Irish butter and Kate’s own house-made jam. With a variety of brunch dishes on the special menu, you’ll be spoilt for choice. Known for its family-friendly menu and staff, even the littlest brunchers will enjoy themselves.

Sunday brunch is the perfect time to treat yourself to a relaxing meal. Make your outing a family affair or gather with friends. Fenn’s Quay will have its own playlist of Jazz favorites playing in the background so you can enjoy a break from holiday music and focus on good food and conversation. I mean, how many times can we listen to ‘All I Want For Christmas’?!

Fenn’s Quay is proudly an Eircom WiFiHub, a service that allows Eircom broadband, eMobile and Meteor customers to connect to the Internet when they are out and about.

About Fenn’s Quay

No. 5 Fenn’s Quay Restaurant offers cosy dining for breakfast, lunch and dinner in a welcoming, relaxed atmosphere. The menu offers fresh, simple, and creative dishes from the regions of Ireland with global inspiration. The casual dining room ambiance combines contemporary elegance with rustic traditional. Street parking available in front or in nearby North Main Street public lot. Reservations can be made by calling 021.427.9527. For more information, follow Fenn’s Quay on Twitter @FennsQuay.

Italian Food and Wine Night with da Vinci Wines of Tuscany at Fenn’s Quay

This Autumn, Fenn’s Quay’s head chefess and co-owner Kate Lawlor traveled to Tuscany to visit vineyards and learn about wine and olive oil. The resulting Instagram photos, stories and culinary inspiration were lovely to say the least. But for those of us who wished we could be there too, Chefess Kate is holding an Italian Food and Wine Night on November 29th with Cantine Leonardo da Vinci Wines of Tuscany, an innovative growers’ cooperative comprised of over 200 winegrowers whose grapes soak up the sun on the Tuscan hillsides of Italy.

The Italian Food and Wine Night takes place this Thursday, the 29th of November. Four courses, four different wines from Jacomo to match each course. Amazing food paired with a wine accompaniment to tantalise your taste buds! Only 35 spots are available for this special culinary evening, so move quickly to reserve your place. Perfect opportunity for foodies (and aspiring foodies) to develop knowledge of wine and food. The price is €45 per person. Reservations: 021.427.9527

No. 5 Fenn’s Quay Restaurant offers cosy dining for breakfast, lunch and dinner in a welcoming, relaxed atmosphere. The menu offers fresh, simple, and creative dishes from the regions of Ireland with global inspiration. The casual dining room ambiance combines contemporary elegance with rustic traditional. Fenns Quay is located on Shears Street (between Courthouse Street and Anne Street) in Cork City Centre. Street parking available in front or in nearby North Main Street public lot. Reservations: 021.427.9527

Why I’m a Regular at Fenn’s Quay and Electric

After reading Dianne Jacob’s post about food bloggers being pushovers (or not), I want to state clearly that even though I eat at Fenn’s Quay and Electric at least once a week, Tweet/blog about my visits there, am friends with Kate (something that happened after I wrote my TripAdvisor review) and know Ernest and Dennis, I do not receive any freebies or benefits that are not also given to other customers. Every so often, I get a free tea or hot chocolate as a random act of kindness to a group of people or customers, but this is not timed or in association with any action on my part. I have never ever been asked to write a post or review about either place. Below, I am listing what I like about each place.

FENN’S QUAY RESTAURANT

Sheares Street, Cork City (one street north from Washington Street, behind the Courthouse)
Tel: 021.427.9527
Facebook and Twitter
Open Monday to Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to late

Fenn’s Quay (owner: Kate Lawlor), Sheares Street, Cork City Centre

Why the love? 
1) The specials change daily and feature seasonal ingredients so it doesn’t get boring. But popular standards are always on their main menu. All at reasonable prices.
2) It is walking distance from my home, so it’s convenient.
3) The staff are friendly, helpful and knowledgable.
4) The food is delicious, using quality local ingredients.
5) The restaurant is clean with aubergine velvet banquet seating and chairs that feel elegant even though it’s a casual spot.
6) Ever since day one, my baby boy has received a warm welcome there and they make it easy to dine out with a little one. I am a sucker for a kid-friendly restaurant that isn’t geared toward children (ie, no frozen chicken fingers on the menu or plastic cups for everyone to drink from).
7) Free coffee refills.
8) Open from 8:30 a.m. Monday through Saturday. That’s three meals a day, six days a week!
9) Comfortable and warm. A very important attribute in rainy Cork.

 

ELECTRIC BAR

South Mall, Cork City (downstairs)
Tel: 021.422.2990
Facebook and Twitter
Open Monday to Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to late. Open Sundays too!

Electric Bar (owner: Ernest Cantillon), South Mall, Cork City Centre

Why the love? 
1) Simple but creative sandwiches and soups after Noon for reasonable prices.
2) It is walking distance from my home, so it’s convenient.
3) The staff are friendly and welcoming to my baby boy, LB.
4) There is a changing table in the handicapped restroom. Though it took me over six months of motherhood to discover that (I never asked).
5) It is clean with great natural light streaming in the windows.
6) They carry Australian non-alcoholic ginger beer and pitchers of water with different sliced citrus or fresh mint.
7) Welcoming to my knitting group. Knitters are the like the skateboarders of the craft world. We are too busy knitting to order lots of food and drink so not a real money-maker for wherever we meet.
8) Sometimes there is a little taster of biscotti with my hot chocolate and it’s such a treat. Not always there as it is not listed as part of the hot chocolate on the menu, so a nice surprise.

So, there you have the details on why I eat where I do. Now, there’s no need to doubt the sincerity of my posts and enthusiasm for Fenn’s Quay and Electric. I go to these places with regularity and love them without any compensation, freebies, bribery, brown envelopes or begging. Isn’t that how it’s supposed to be?

Special Jazz Weekend Sunday Brunch at Fenn’s Quay

Brunch may have been around for decades but Fenn’s Quay Restaurant, located on Sheares Street in Cork City Centre, is jazzing it up this Sunday from 11:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.

Executive Chefess Kate Lawlor created a delectable brunch menu featuring local ingredients in classics, like Eggs Benedict with Rosscarbery Rashers, Eggs Florentine (available with Ardsallagh goats cheese) or Boiled Eggs and Soldiers with Marmite, and indulgent favorites, like Feirm Úr Buttermilk Pancakes with your choice of crème fraîche, homemade jam or maple syrup.

For light eaters, there are Croissants, Porridge or Fruit Scones served with Irish butter and Kate’s own house-made jam. With a variety of brunch dishes on the special menu, you’ll be spoilt for choice.

Known for its family-friendly menu and staff, even the littlest brunchers will enjoy themselves. I know my little man, LB, will be having a blast. He’s in love with Kate’s Irish soda bread!

Sunday brunch on a bank holiday weekend is the perfect time to treat yourself to a relaxing meal. Make your outing a family affair or gather with friends. Fenn’s Quay will have its own playlist of Jazz favorites playing in the background so your conversation can be center stage.

Fenn’s Quay is proudly now an Eircom WiFiHub, a service that allows Eircom broadband, eMobile and Meteor customers to connect to the Internet when they are out and about. Each Twitter user receives one free mimosa when you Tweet about your brunch, mentioning @FennsQuay.

No. 5 Fenn’s Quay Restaurant offers cosy dining for breakfast, lunch and dinner in a welcoming, relaxed atmosphere. The menu offers fresh, simple, and creative dishes from the regions of Ireland with global inspiration. The casual dining room ambiance combines contemporary elegance with rustic traditional. Street parking available in front or in nearby North Main Street public lot. Reservations can be made by calling 021.427.9527.

Jeni Pim Wins Chef du Jour Final at Fenns Quay

Last Sunday, I attended the final night of the Chef du Jour challenge at Fenn’s Quay. Chef Kate Lawlor opened her kitchen to the two ladies, Jeni Pim of Tramore, Co. Waterford, and Sarah O’Riordan of Athy, Co. Kildare, for the evening and over 30 special diners joined the event. “I enjoy passing on knowledge but also learning from those who I meet & bring in to the kitchen,” said head chef Kate Lawlor.

It was an enjoyable evening and a delicious one. Each dish was carefully and expertly prepared in Fenn’s Quay’s professional kitchen to their usual high standard but with dishes we’ve not had before there since they were conceived in the minds of two amateur chefs.

The three Chef du Jour judges, boutique cookery school owner Margaret Smith and food bloggers Billy Lyons and yours truly, were on-hand to eat BOTH menus and judge them on presentation, flavor, texture, cooked perfection, and originality as well as execution of the menu itself. The diners each chose one of the two menus that evening, not knowing whose menu was who’s (no one did except the two chefs, their partners, and Chef Kate). But now that the event is over, we know which is which so here are each Chef du Jour’s menus and dishes.

Sarah O’Riordan’s menu:

Beef and Beetroot Slider with Horseradish Mayonnaise
As a big fan of beetroot and the American invention of the Slider (mini hamburger), you know I was destined to love this. And I did. The horseradish sauce was lovely with it and the bun was the perfect size. A softer bun may have been nicer, but the flavor of this one was good with the beef and beetroot. The clever uncooked pasta toothpick was ingenious.

Crispy Duck Egg with Asparagus Soldiers and Hollandaise
The asparagus was nicely cooked and the duck egg was innovative with its crunchy outer coating. The yolk was almost hard-cooked so not ideal for pairing with soldiers but still a unique course.

Lamb Neck Filet Marinated in Wild Garlic and Mint with Polenta Cafe, Sautéed Spinach and Vine Tomatoes
Helping an under-appreciated cut of meet shine! The mint was very subtle (almost too subtle) but one bite with each element included was amazing.

Churros with Mocha Ganache and A Chocolate Mousse
Amazing mousse, lovely ganache (though very rich for the full stomach I was working with by this point of the evening), and interesting churros. Completely unauthentic so I considered them without their name involved and they were light bits of fried sweet dough. Like if funnel cake had an affair with a beignet. It really needed cinnamon to be worthy of the name churros but on the whole anything sweet and fried is nice. But this was just one element of the dessert medley and the mousse was AMAZING!!

Jeni Pim’s [spoiler alert] winning menu:

Anti Pasti of Bruschetta Accompanied by a Bloody Mary Shot
Refreshing fresh tomato flavor. Light start to her Italian-themed menu.

Baby Beetroot and Shallot Tatin with a Lightly Dressed Rocket Salad
Have I mentioned my love of beetroot? I’m not usually a fan of rocket when it is used as a garnish so I was relieved when this use worked with the other ingredients in perfect harmony. A lovely course! Really lovely.

Italian Style Irish Lamb Shanks Served with Creamy Mash and Green Beans
Tender, well seasoned to bring out the shank’s natural flavor, and the sides didn’t try to upstage the natural star. I couldn’t finish my portion because it came after Sarah’s main course so I brought part of it home and reheated it two days later. It was still just as amazing.

Tiramisu Cake with a Mascarpone Cream, Espresso and a Vanilla Ice Cream
The best tiramisu I’ve eaten in the Republic of Ireland. Jeni admitted later she was nervous about this because she knew that my husband and I served tiramisu for our wedding cake (instead of traditional cake). But I was delighted with it and found the handmade textures endearing and the light flavors just right. The ice cream was good, but even better when the espresso was poured over it!

Jeni Pim was voted as the winner by the judges but Sarah O’Riordan’s menu was a worthy opponent. The evening was such fun and delicious. Of course, it is also a nice reminder that a night out can be just a really lovely meal with great company!

Fenns Quay is located on Shears Street (between Courthouse Street and Anne Street) in Cork City Centre. Outside of innovative events such as Chef du Jour, their normal hours of operation are: Monday through Saturday: 8.15am – 11.30 a.m. Breakfast; 12.00 – 3.00 p.m. Lunch; 5.00pm – 10.00 p.m. Dinner.

No. 5 Fenns Quay Restaurant was nominated for the 2012 Irish Restaurant Awards for Best Chef, Best Restaurant, and Best “Wine Experience” in the Munster region. Fenns Quay’s focus on fresh Irish ingredients has earned praise from diners and critics. No. 5 Fenns Quay serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner six days a week. The restaurant’s web site is at www.fennsquay.com and they are @FennsQuay on Twitter.

Chef du Jour Challenge Final at Fenns Quay on April 29th

No. 5 Fenns Quay announced the final event in their Chef du Jour Challenge will take place on Sunday, 29 April, 2012.

“I enjoy passing on knowledge but also learning from those who I meet & bring in to the kitchen,” said head chef Kate Lawlor. “Chef du Jour night is a must for all you foodies out there. We will be documenting the nights through photographs, Twitter & Facebook and expect all you Tweeters to be tweeting.”

No. 5 Fenns Quay Restaurant was nominated for the 2012 Irish Restaurant Awards for Best Chef, Best Restaurant, and Best “Wine Experience” in the Munster region. Fenns Quay’s focus on fresh Irish ingredients has earned praise from diners and critics. No. 5 Fenns Quay serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner six days a week. The restaurant’s web site is at www.fennsquay.com and they are @FennsQuay on Twitter.

The Chef du Jour challenge revolves around four amateur home chefs who each guest chef in Fenns Quay’s kitchen. Each challenger is selected based on the menu and leads the professional kitchen staff at Fenns Quay in the preparation and plating of their original dishes. The four challengers each took their place in the professional kitchen at No. 5 Fenns Quay over the past few months with Jeni Pim of Tramore, Co. Waterford, and Sarah O’Riordan of Athy, Co. Kildare, advancing to this Chef du Jour final. Jeni’s menu included a well-received main course of coq au vin with celeriac mash and a spinach and wild mushroom salad. Sarah’s menu offered a delectable duck confit with carrots, carrot butter, carrot mousse, with nutmeg dauphinoise. Paul Callaghan and Paul Axford also competed with impressive menus but will not compete in the final. But you certainly haven’t heard the last of these men as their menus and dishes were too noteworthy to not surface in another professional kitchen in the future.

Reservations are required to attend the Chef du Jour final on Sunday, April 29, 2012 at 7:45 p.m. The price is €36 per person for an amuse bouche, a starter, a main course, and a dessert with coffee or tea. The price does not include alcohol. Spaces are limited for each evening so ring the restaurant now to reserve your place (Tel: 021 4279527).

After the dessert course, the two final challengers will be evaluated by the three Chef du Jour judges, boutique cookery school owner Margaret Smith and food bloggers Billy Lyons and yours truly.

Fenns Quay is located on Shears Street (between Courthouse Street and Anne Street) in Cork City Centre. Outside of innovative events such as Chef du Jour, their normal hours of operation are: Monday through Saturday: 8.15am – 11.30 a.m. Breakfast; 12.00 – 3.00 p.m. Lunch; 5.00pm – 10.00 p.m. Dinner.

Chef du Jour 2012 at Fenns Quay with Paul Axford

Last night, I celebrated Leap Day with a good meal. No, let’s call it great. Fun company, lovely surroundings, and tasty food. Yes, definitely GREAT. It was the first in two nights of the 2012 Chef du Jour challenge at Fenns Quay restaurant. Paul Axford, an enthusiastic amateur cook and a Leeds Rhinos fan, was our Chef du Jour.

Head chef Kate Lawlor loves food and local ingredients! Perhaps she also considers the chef as an essential local ingredient because she started the Chef du Jour challenge in November with a second one going this week and next (Sarah Riordan on Wednesday Mar. 7), leading up to a final match-up of the two winners on a Sunday in April when the winner of this round faces winner of round one, Jeni Pimm! If you like food and don’t want the same old menu you always see, ring Fenns Quay to book a seat at the table for Sarah’s night in the kitchen next week or the final challenge night in April.

Now, let’s talk about last night’s four-star meal in detail, shall we? Did you just wonder if I took photos? You should know me by now…of course I took photos!

Here is the menu Paul presented to diners last evening.

 

Amuse bouche is beef carpaccio on a horseradish blini with two blades of chives. A beautiful presentation, amazing flavor, and something I could have eaten a platter of!

 

Starter time! Smoked salmon & prawn crêpe, fennel salad with oyster crème.

 

An empty plate is a sign of a happy stomach.

 

Toulouse and pistachio stuffed chicken with pommes Boulanger. Mine was kindly made without the Toulouse sausage and pig wrapping since I'm allergic to pork/ham/bacon.

 

The evening finished sweetly with a raspberry baked Alaska. It had a touch of cassis liquor.

 

Again with the empty plate? Crazy!

 

Fellow judges, Billy Lyons and Margaret UmNumNum Smith, and I agreed that Chef du Jour Paul Axford earned four stars for his menu and execution of the courses. Chef Kate presented an actual framed certificate with glittery stars!

Does this sound like something you’d enjoy? There is still time to reserve your place at the table for next week’s Chef du Jour challenge. Sharing her culinary fanaticism on the second night, Wednesday Mar. 7th, is Sarah Riordan. Check out her blog, YummyNom’s Culinary Adventures. Be sure to request a seat for Chef du Jour when you ring Fenns Quay for a booking. €36 per person per night for the four-course menu. Bookings: 021 4279527. Hash tag: #ChefduJour

Fenn’s Quay
Shears Street, Cork City
Tel: 021 4279527
Twitter
Chef Kate on Twitter

Other posts about Fenns Quay:

Reserve Your Seat for Chef du Jour at Fenns Quay (Feb. 2012)

Kate’s Beetroot Fudge Recipe (Jan. 2012)

Chef du Jour Returns (Jan. 2012)

Chef du Jour at Fenns Quay (Nov. 2011)

An Omelet Named After Me (Oct. 2011)

Lunch at Fenns Quay (Sept. 2008)

Chef du Jour returns to Fenns Quay

Fenns Quay will be hosting the second ever Chef du Jour challenge on February 28 and on March 7 to continue their head chef and owner Kate Lawlor’s support of and enthusiasm for creative culinary endeavors and local ingredients. According to Fenns Quay, “[Chef du Jour] night is a must for all you foodies out there. We will be documenting the nights through photographs, Twitter & Facebook and expect all you Tweeters to be tweeting.” Bookings: 021 4279527. Hash tag: #ChefduJour

Even not on Chef Du Jour nights, I enjoy dining at Fenns Quay because everything is fresh and prepared with care. In the mornings, Monday through Saturday, they offer fresh-baked scones and breads, coffee, tea, hot chocolate (they melt cocoa buttons in the cup), eggs, and omelets to order. Lunch includes an impressive daily menu of specials, from Castletownbere Scallops to a hot savory pie. Sandwiches, salads, and main courses from the main menu are also possible, but my policy is to always choose from the daily specials if given the choice. Dinners are just as delightful with a cozy warmth to boot. The restaurant is sparsely decorated, with local art taking second-seat to the more important cuisine. Oh, and have you heard about Kate’s beetroot fudge? No, well read all about it here!

The Cork City Centre restaurant hosted the first Chef Du Jour event in November with former plasterer-turned-food-enthusiast Paul Callaghan making the trip from Clare and Jeni Pim traveling from Tramore to take part, each running the Fenns Quay kitchen for a night to host a multi-course meal. A panel of three judges each night rated the chef’s performance. I was a judge on the first night, along with Elk O’Mahony and Billy Lyons, when Paul Callaghan’s menu was on the table (Margaret UmNumNum Smith took over for me as judge on the second night). This is the run-down of the delicious evening.

Cherry Tomato with Ardsallagh Goats Cheese, Basil Pesto & Sea Salt Cracker

Mussels from the English Market cooked with bacon and Ireland’s own Stonewell Cider

Roscarbery Pork Belly with Potato and Horseradish Puree, Braised Red Cabbage with a Mulled Red Wine Jus

Trio of Desserts: White chocolate cheesecake; Mixed berry crumble; Meringue tower of strawberries & vanilla cream

If these dishes make your mouth water, you should follow Paul Callaghan on Twitter and read his blog, Calso Cooks from the Sustainable Larder!

Fenns Quay
Sheares Street, Cork City (one street north from Washington Street)
Tel: 021.427.9527
@FennsQuay on Twitter and on Facebook

There are several street spots directly in front of the restaurant and nearby parking garages (North Main Street may be closest), plus it is on the #8 bus line.

  

Related Press for November’s Chef Du Jour

FENN’S QUAY: CHEF DU JOUR by CorkBilly

Fenn’s Quay: Chef du Jour from Dine & Wine Club Cork

Chef du Jour from Calso Cooks

Chef du Jour at Fenn’s Quay Cork from Pims.ie

Fenns Quay to host chef du jour compétition from Cork Independent