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Best Eats in Cork City

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Evin

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Best Eats in Cork City

This always comes up over the holidays when I gather with friends and the inevitable debate begins over who has the best Buffalo wings or where whatever food is best in Cork City. So, I kept notes.

I compared those notes to a couple very sad partial blog posts drafts from previous attempts to make a big list like this and compiled it all together. Once it was all in a list, I then added links to the restaurant/cafe/bar websites so you can find out more. After that, I went through my Flickr and Instagram photos to find three suitable images per section and embedded them to break up the list visually and give you examples of what I’m talking about. Needless to say, this took a long time. I started working on the post around Thanksgiving (late November) and finally completed it at New Year’s…then I slept and dreamed about all the good food in Cork.

Disclaimer: This isn’t official or vetted. It isn’t sponsored or related to compensation offered. It is not an advertisement. Most of them I go to myself, but a few are my friends’ nominations. I’m certain some amazing places were accidentally omitted from the list and because this is an idea list, comment with your favorites. All photos included are my own. If the photo is of your restaurant/food and you want to share it on your Facebook page, go for it, just link back here.

Fresh baked goodness! I'll have one of each. #brunch at @fennsquay in #Cork. @caitlHot #tea to start the #morning at my favorite #breakfast spot in #cork. #fennsquay @caitlIrish Porridge with Pumpkin Seeds and Rhubarb Compote at Nash 19

Best Breakfast – related Brunch in Cork blog post
Idaho Cafe
Fenn’s Quay
Nash 19
Tony’s
Amicus

Best Scone – related blog post
Fenn’s Quay
Idaho Cafe

Best Porridge
Idaho Cafe
Nash 19
Cafe Gusto
Fenn’s Quay
Your Mam’s Kitchen (seriously, homemade means eating in PJs)

Best Potato Cakes
Nash 19

#Fluffy #pancakes for #brunchcork at #fennsquay with @caitlStarted the day with family brunch at Crawford Gallery Cafe.DSC_0672

Best Fluffy Pancakes – related blog post
Fenn’s Quay
Liberty Grill

Best Crêpe Pancakes – related Brunch in Cork blog post
Sugar Cube
Paradise Crépe Restaurant
Half Door Cafe

Best Brunch – related Brunch in Cork blog post
Liberty Grill (Weekdays & Saturdays)
Fenn’s Quay (Saturdays)
Crawford Gallery Cafe (Saturdays)
Brick Lane (Saturdays and Sundays)
Goldberg’s Bar (Sundays)
The Sextant (Sundays)
Tony’s
There was even nostalgic talk of the long gone brunch at Electric

Phenomenal #sandwich at @fennsquay for #lunch made with @englishmarlet ingredients. @caitl is brilliant! A #closeup of my spiced #beef #sandwich at @fennsquayrestaurant. A #Cork must eat!Corned beef salad sandwich and a pint of Beamish at Long valley, Cork City

Best Corned Beef or Spiced Beef Sandwiches
Long Valley (Corned Beef) – related blog post
Fenn’s Quay

Best Sandwiches
Bracken’s Bakery
Long Valley (Corned Beef)
The Workshop
Farmgate English Market
Liberty Grill

Best Soup/Sandwich Value Lunch – Mostly under €10
Market Lane – related blog post
Fenn’s Quay
Goldberg’s Bar
Electric
Wildways

Post holiday stroll around town. Enjoying the quieter sidewalks and routine messages. Like Bradley's #corkcityMinute Steak Sandwich in EdinburghNothing like heavy holiday meals to increase the appeal of the humble sandwich.

Best Take-Away Sandwiches
Bracken’s Bakery (they’ll even prepare your school/work lunch for pick-up)
Long Valley (Corned Beef)
Wholy Grain
Bradley’s Off-Licence
KC & Son & Sons
The Sandwich Stall in The English Market
Wildways
Rocket Man

Garlic Chicken, Salad, and ChipsLunch at Tara's Tea RoomLunch at House Cafe in Cork Opera House

More Value Lunch Spots

Idaho Cafe
House Cafe
Perry Street Market Café
Cafe Gusto
Luigi Malone’s
Reardens Bar

Best Baked Potato
Wildways
Captain America’s

Best Afternoon Tea Vibe
Tara’s Tea Room
Hayfield Manor
Kingsley Hotel

Buffalo Wings at Cornstore Buffalo wings to 'wing' in the new year! Buffalo #wings

Best Chicken Wings

Luigi Malone’s (My personal favourite for Buffalo-style wings)
CoqBull
SoHo
East Village
Bodega
Cornstore
Scoozi!

Best Chicken Goujons
Sober Lane
O’Connors Seafood Restaurant in Bantry

Best Place to Watch the Match – related blog post
SoHo
Brick Lane
Rising Sons Brewery
Woolshed
And so many fab little pubs on Oliver Plunkett

Best Nachos
Cafe Mexicana
Bodega
6ix

Best Tapas and Sharing Plates

Electric Bar
Arthur Maynes
6ix

Oh, Chipsy Kings, stop tempting me with your fried potato goodness! Chips that actually taste like fried potato! Best #kid #lunch ever. Battered #monkfish with handcut #chips at @fennsquayrestaurant

Best Chips or Skinny French Fries
Chipsy Kings
Elbow Lane (they’re triple cooked!)
Luigi Malone’s
Charcoal Grill (neighbour to the Bierhaus)
Fenn’s Quay

Best Sweet Potato Fries
Brick Lane

Chipper / Fish & Chips
Jackie Lennox’s Chip Shop
The Fish Wife
Fishy Fishy
Fish Hatch

Not so traditional but delicious #thanksgiving #lunch at @electriccork #steak #sandwich #yum Steak Electric new lunch menu

Best Steak
Electric Restaurant
Annie’s Gastropub
Fenn’s Quay
Star Anise
Huguenot French Bistro & Wine Bar
Jacob’s on the Mall
Isaac’s
Brick Lane (teriyaki steak sandwich FTW)

Best Hamburgers
CoqBull (Personally, I only eat burgers here, at Fenn’s Quay, or at home)
Gourmet Burger Bistro
KC & Son & Sons (menu)
Charcoal Grill (neighbour to the Bierhaus)
Scoozi!
Diva Boutique Bakery
Gallagher’s
Liberty Grill

Z is for... jaZZy piZZa. Perfect #CorkJazz fuel... Freshly made pizza from #KnockoutPizza by the stage at #Cork Opera House and Crawford Gallery. So yummy!This place looks intriguing. #Rocket man on Princes Street in #CorkThe #woodfired #oven where my #pizza came from. #KnockoutPizza at #CorkJazz

Best Pizza
Sober Lane
Knockout Pizza
Novecento

Best Early Dinner or Pre-Theatre Prix Fixe Menu
Market Lane
Fenn’s Quay
Star Anise

Best Take Away Salads
Rocket Man
The Sandwich Stall in The English Market

Salmon with risotto at Sage MidletonWest Cork Scallops for dinner at Fenn's Quay in CorkLemon #sole #fish with Ballyhoura #mushroom #risotto for #dinner @fennsquay @caitl

Best Risotto
Sage Midleton
Fenn’s Quay
Castle Cafe
Serendipity Cafe

Best Fish
Eco Douglas
Fenn’s Quay
Fishy Fishy in Kinsale
O’Connors Seafood Restaurant in Bantry
Poacher’s Inn in Bandon

Best Crab Cakes
Fenn’s Quay
Electric
Liberty Grill
Fishy Fishy

Vegetarian Indian Two more days then my first vegetarian Indian meal of 2015. Aroi Cork Restaurant opening night. Asian Thai street food with local ingredients.

Best Completely Vegetarian Restaurant
Iyers Cafe
Quay Co-op
Cafe Paradiso

Best Stir-fried Rice
Aroi (my post about their opening)

Best Dinners of 2014 – Check out CorkBilly’s post

#Gelato o'clock Twas the Week Before Easter at O'Conaill's Chocolatier #Dessert! #Macarons from @theidahochef and @idahocafe in #cork as a get well treat.

Best Irish Chocolatier
Eve’s
The Chocolate Shop in The English Market
David in The English Market
O’Conaill’s

Best Macarons
Idaho Cafe

Best Milkshakes
Rockin’ Joe’s Diner

Best Gelato
Idaho Cafe
Gino’s

Best Dessert
Banoffee – Eco Douglas
Flourless Chocolate – Electric or Fenn’s Quay
Panna Cotta – Fenn’s Quay
Tarts & Cakes – Farmgate Midleton

IMG_3727 Kegs in Kinsale Friday night pints

Best Place to Party Like a Rock Star
Voodoo Rooms
Bodega
Wk End at The Roxy

Best Classic Pub for a Pint or a Whiskey
The Castle Inn
Dennehy’s Bar

Best Non-Alcoholic Mocktails
Luigi Malone’s
SoHo

Best Food When Tipsy
Hillbilly’s
Sober Lane
Chipsy Kings
Fast Al’s Pizza By The Slice

Now, if you’ll excuse me…writing this post has made me ravenously hungry!
What did I miss including in this list of lists?

Have you read my other listy posts? I’d link to them all here, but there are too many. But search for what interests you in the search field in the top right of the blog sidebar and it’ll show you whatever list I have on that topic. A few of the most popular linked to below:

19 responses to “Best Eats in Cork City”

  1. Yvonne Avatar
    Yvonne

    Any suggestions for best kid friendly restaurant? Preferably with some good vegetarian as well. I’ll be in Cork in a few weeks, visiting a vegetarian friend, so a very important question 🙂

    Reply
    1. Evin Avatar
      Evin

      Though Fenn’s Quay isn’t teaming with kids, it is great for family dining. They have crayons for drawing, a couple little toy cars, and can do a kid-size portion of anything on the menu. If you’re dining with many noisy kids, an early dinner at Milano, Luigi Malone’s, or Scoozi is ideal so they can have their fun and you worry less about disturbing other diners. Hope this helps, Yvonne.

      Reply
    2. Nora Avatar
      Nora

      You should call into a little Malay Kitchen; Asian Street Food. It’s a takeaway but their standard are very high. Their vegetarian dishes are sublime! The foods there are absolutely delicious, authentic Asian Street Food.
      They have the best Phad Thai in Cork! It’s a tofu heaven as well. Malay Kitchen. Paradise Place, Sth Main St., Cork City.

      Reply
  2. Beth Avatar
    Beth

    come on in!!!!! You obviously haven’t yet!

    Reply
    1. Evin Avatar
      Evin

      So right! I have only enjoyed your cooking once back at the Cork Gourmet Trail. Must make a plan to dine at yours sometime soon. What are you known for?

      Reply
  3. Rach Avatar
    Rach

    Brilliant, my brother is organising a Cork Stag (with an older group) so this would be a perfect for them as they are looking for somewhere to eat – very different from the usual stags you would see i know!

    Reply
    1. Evin Avatar
      Evin

      Glad to help!

      Reply
  4. PJ Avatar
    PJ

    great list,thanks for sharing!! But if you’re including places outside of the city for best fish like o’connors in bantry and fishy fishy you should include the poachers inn in Bandon,it’s amazing!

    Reply
    1. Evin Avatar
      Evin

      Will do. Thanks for nominating them for the list, PJ. I’ve actually never been to Bandon.

      Reply
  5. walter Avatar
    walter

    Hello! great list, posted it on facebook ‘Alone in Cork City’. Please contact me, we should meet !

    Reply
  6. Denise Avatar
    Denise

    You have to go to the Thady Inn for steak & chocolate cake. It’s in Farran but worth the trip. All they do is steak. & the cake!

    Reply
  7. danielmahon18 Avatar
    danielmahon18

    I would have to say you have missed out an entry for the macaron category, Cloudberry Bakery based in Kerry but they retail their macarons solely through Brown Thomas in Cork, they sell a variety of flavours including Vanilla, salt caramel, pistachio, chocolate, white choc with vanilla and raspberry, guiness (limited edition) winter berry christmas spice chocolate, whiskey chocolate and lemon all made by hand and packaged in gorgeous little boxes they are a must

    Reply
  8. ldhankey Avatar
    ldhankey

    Looks like ya seriously rate
    Fenn’s Quay – you might have given me the nudge I need to go there. For bread and cakes you should include Hassetts which opened in the English Market just before Christmas. Best millefeuilles amongst other things.

    Reply
    1. Evin Avatar
      Evin

      I saw the new stall, but haven’t been able to go. Now on my MUST list! Thanks for the recommendation. Fenn’s Quay has been our favourite for years. I think it comes down to the fact that half their menu is specials that are seasonal and local. So it’s never the same old dishes.

      Reply
  9. Najoua Avatar
    Najoua

    I think The Bookshelf Coffee House has the best scones by far! The expresso and americano are excellent too!

    Reply
  10. UCC International Pre-Departure Blog Series: Counting Down | UCC International Students

    […] I discovered an awesome blog post chock-full of restaurant suggestions that aided in my wish-list ma… […]

    Reply
  11. FoodRebel Avatar
    FoodRebel

    Thanks for the list. I love the pizzas in all of the places mentioned but I was wondering why John Graces was not selected for chicken ? A Cork institution and the finest snack box this side of the Lee.

    Reply
    1. Evin Avatar
      Evin

      I’ve never been to John Graces. I can’t select what I’ve not tried. Sadly, seven years isn’t long enough to have gotten everywhere…yet. I remain hopeful.

      Reply
  12. Amy O Callaghan Avatar
    Amy O Callaghan

    The best pizza in Cork is found in La Dolce Vita and the sea food was amazing too.

    Reply

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I’m Evin

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Welcome to ’40 Shades of…’, my corner of the internet dedicated to chronicling my move to and life in Ireland as an American. Here, I invite you to join me on my journey and learn what it’s like to move abroad, leave the United States, and live like a local in Cork city.

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