Best...everything in Cork...(Bars, cinema, restaurants etc)

Gyre

I have already asked what the best music stores are in a previous forum but I realise that I will continue to ask questions about the new city so I might as well slap it all into the one forum.

So...what and where are the best restaurants (cheapest and good food preferably) , bars, cinemas, take aways, internet cafes, shopping centres, tourist sites, walks, nite clubs (which are easy on the doors...not that it matters), best place for gigs...and all the rest I am missing...

Yes...I am certainly new to the capital of culture in Ireland!

Delphi91

From my experience, the best cinema is at Mahon - loads of room, nice big comfy seats, etc.

Mike

daveyjoe

Rymus' Munster Pubs does a good job of reviewing pubs in the Munster area. I'd love to hear what are peoples favourite pubs though. My experience is limited by my age and by the fact that my friends only ever want to go to the same places. I only ever really go to The Gaelic Bar/Corner House if I'm in Carrigaline (where I live) or The Bróg if I'm in Cork city.

Faerie

The best cinema is, without a doubt, Mahon Point. It's new, comfortable, convenient and spacious and it has more films. However it is more expensive than the other cinemas!

It's hard to pick a restaurant because it really depends on your personal taste. I love Ristorante Rossini in town for the music, the quality of the food, the service and the atmosphere, and I love Italian food! Scoozis (also in town) has good food too and is very reasonable.

Maho Point is also the best shopping centre. TBH the shopping centres in cork aren't that great compared to Dublin, but Mahon Point is the best. It's big and new and airy, and there is a better selection of shops than in any other shopping centre e.g. Debenhams, Tescos, The Foodcourt, cinema, Sam mcCauleys, and plenty of men's and women's clothes shops.


My favourite pub in town is definately the brog. It has good music and a great atmosphere but if you don't like young/studenty pubs, keep away!

Fast_Mover

Faerie wrote:

It's hard to pick a restaurant because it really depends on your personal taste. I love Ristorante Rossini in town for the music, the quality of the food, the service and the atmosphere, and I love Italian food! Scoozis (also in town) has good food too and is very reasonable.
!

I love Italian food/those restaurants aswell..therefore i second the above!
Yummm...!!
Now i'm hungry!!

Kold

Bars: An Bróg, An Bodran (sp? don't speak a word of Irish), Franciscan, Woodford can be nice, Sin é, The LV, Bodega

Cinema: Location wins, The Gate

Restaurants: Hm.. Weird, Can't really think of any great ones off hand.. And I'd have like 6 or 7 if you wanted a restaurant in Rome :S Blue Ginger in Bishopstown can be really quite nice (Asian Fusian), Ambassador isn't really worth the cash, There's a nice li'l Italian (Il Padrino comes to mind, not sure though) Off Oliver Plunkett. French Church St seems to have a lot of nice looking places.

Fast Food: Late night city, you're limited really to Hillbillies, BK, McDonalds, The Istambul and Abra... I'd go with the Istambul. During the day, Ristorante on Macurtain is good.

dudara

Cinema: In terms of location, the Gate is best. Otherwise, it's the Mahon.

Restaurants: I actually have to disagree with some of the previous posters. Pretty much all the Italian restaurants here in Cork are terrible. They really seem to have conned the Cork population into thinking that over-priced pasta in gloopy dull sauces are great. Padrino's is good enough, but it only does pizza and pasta and no meat courses.

Starvast on Princes Street is a great Chinese.
The Ruen Thai over Boots on Patrick Street and Taste of Thailand on Bridge Street are yummy Thai restaurants.
The Boqueria is a wine bar serving tapas on Bridge street. It's very tasty but also a little pricey.
Wagamamas on South Main Street is always good for a cheap tasty fix of Japanese food.
The Triskel Cafe is great for coffee and a sandwich/salad and has free wifi.
For quality coffee, I like Gusto, or either of the two coffee shops in the English Market.
For kebab, you should try Ege Kebab near the College gates. So tasty.

Bars and pubs are subjective, but I like Tom Barry's on Barrack Street, Preachers on Washington Street (though the crowd can be quite loud and silly most of the time.) I like Fred Zepps off the South Mall and I like the Slate on Tuckey Street. Lots of others though.

I'm a traditionalist and don't like the Bróg since it got done up. Prior to that it was a great relaxed pub with good price deals on Saturday evenings. The Oval at the corner of Tuckey Street and South Main Street has gone downhill in character since it was done up, but you should try it as it still is quite an individual pub.

Kold

The Bróg has gotten pretty expensive at night (during the day, €2.90 a pint is great though!) 4.40 for me pint of heineken, always hurts after I've been on the continent.

Wagamama's is awful food and awful service. Cpt Americas does very dry burgers... I like to order it when I'm up in Suas so you don't have to be blasted out by the music videos.

StandnDeliver

best cinema - mahon cinema

nice places to eat ruen thai ,tung sing, castelini's on princes st lovely food,not forgetting Zanzibar best value for money in cork.

pubs: the slate,mutton lane,bodega,


pubs to stay from would be the brog,drink is muck ,also Cocos always get drink orders wrong and have the same taps as the brog awful slop.
The quad isnt much better flat pints.

Restaurants i didnt like is the mexian restaurant on careys lane awful service and the food id make better at home from a jar.

trixter

As a newly emmigrated american to cork, with a long history in california (I was born 30 miles from mexico) I can say that cafe mexicana right off saint patrick street is not bad at all.

There are a few things they either dont care about or dont know, such as when you warm tortillas, you need a very very tiny amount of water in there to prevent them from getting dried out, and you cant just shove em in a basket with a napkin wrapped around em, there are tortilla holders that keep em very warm for an hour or so, plus they keep moisture in there so they dont dry out. I can forgive them for this.

The menu selection is a tiny bit limited, but then this is ireland, some 6000 miles from mexico, and to have many menu items that never actually sell can be a bit of a problem for them. They do have a fair amount of choices though, and the food itself was pretty good.

The food is more like American Mexican rather than true Mexican, or at least the dish I had was.

Cafe Mexicana. Carey's Lane, Cork, Ireland Tel: 021 427 6433
Its between Saint Patricks Street and the Tesco on Paul Street.

JaneHudson

Best restaurant is cafe paradiso - it's vegetarian but it's not cheap.
The brog keeps getting worse - last few times I was there there was a funky smell and unfriendly bar staff. Sober Lane is my new fave pub. It is a nice happy atmosphere and they even have pizza.

Gyre

Heyo!

Thank for the list of places guys!Really helps. I got a place on uesday on Barrack St. I'm making my way around cork via maps etc. I'm starting my course Thursday! Yeah!

run_Forrest_run

yes, I agree, Mahon is the best cinema...the worst = smelly Douglas.

Fysh

Am I the only one that's not sold on Mahon? Partly because of the location, partly the price, and partly their overall tendendcy to show relatively crap films. (Yes, I can be a bit snobby about films. Such is life.) The Gate, which has far fewer screens, manages a far better balance of mainstream fare and reasonably indieish films (though this has decreased to an extent since the demise of the Capitol) and the Kino's the usual source for really independent films.

As for pubs, I'm amazed the Franciscan Well hasn't been mentioned. Great pub. The Brog isn't terrible, but it's a far cry from great. Plus, it smells.

Tree

I dunno, mahon is grand for those of us w/ our own transport. prices are awful but they show as much mainstream and indy stuff as teh gate do. They have more screens to be showing stuff out there sure. The gate seems to have improved its selection of smaller films in recent months but it's still not fantastic.


The Franciscan is definitely the best spot for cider in a beer garden, cant beat it, and its not that far out from town, despite people grumbling on a night out.


Best Chinese is definitley star vast on princes street.

Best chocolate shop is O'Connaill's down french church street, the milk-white-and-praline hot choc is to die for

Kold

Fysh wrote:

.

As for pubs, I'm amazed the Franciscan Well hasn't been mentioned. Great pub. The Brog isn't terrible, but it's a far cry from great. Plus, it smells.

Kold wrote:

Franciscan

.

gimmick

Best Cinema : Mahon. The parking does it for me

Best restaurants: General menu - Luigis
Italians - The place on Careys Lane which I cant think of now.
Chinky - Ambassador
Indian - Bombay Palace
Lunch - Kafkas
Fast Food - Lennoxs

Pubs:
Tom Barrys (OP if you are living on Barracka, this place should serve as your local. Great pub apart from the one moody barmaid).
The Oval
Dan Lowrys
Franciscan Well
Dennehys

All the clubs are crap. Maybe with the exception of Go Deep.

Roar

Internet Cafe

Web Workhouse on winthrop street by mcdonalds. The one in Rory Gallagher Place has Limewire and a cd burnign facility, if you're that way inclined.

Restaurants

Agree with Trixter, My favourite is Cafe Mexicana, french church street i think (or is it carey's lane? either way its a side street my HMV)

Nachos there are devine, and you have to try the beef burrito.

Cinema

Despite the outrageous price, mahon point. Best selection of movies, most screens,, and they do haggen daz ice cream which is always a winner. Avoid the "nachos" though.

(just dont go to bennigans downstairs for something to eat beforehand, goddamn awful place)

Night Club

The Savoy on Saturday night with Stevie G, can be a bit of a cattle mart at times but Steve always plays a class mix of soul/hip hop/rnb/rock etc.

Pubs

Deffo Tom Barry's. Great in the summer with that beer garden out back, lovely and cosy in winter with the fire lighting. great music on the speakers. Nice variety of beers there too. happy days.


Clothes

Check out Indigo on Washington Street, and Prime Time too

Football

Cork City FC, Turner's cross. get the number 3 bus from the south mall, it will take you right outside the ground.

next home game is tomorrow week 29th September v Bray Wanderers, hopefully a handy 3 points. Be sure and pop into the horseshoe bar before and after for the complete matchday experience!

Tree

ooh i didnt know twas stevie g playing sat nights in the savoy, its a pretty good night for regular clubbin. for rock purgatory is your only man (fri nights in cyprus avenue)


kafka's is indeed savage for lunch. mmmmmmmmmmmmmm lunch menu

Kold

Tree wrote:

for rock purgatory is your only man (fri nights in cyprus avenue)

Freakscene too :P Wed nights in the Qube

foxyboxer

Internet Cafe

Web Workhouse on winthrop street

Restaurants

Wagamama's - excellent food for the price. same price as a large meal at maccie d's but it's nutritious

Cinema

Mahon. Based purely on the sound. the opening to superman returns had me sold.

Night Club

nah..they're all ****e tbh

Pubs

Tom Barry's

Clothes

Zara at Mahon Point (Please open an outlet in town...PLEASE!!!). Designer clothes at affordable prices. Bought a beautiful black winter coat there last year for 180 notes. Will last me a good few years. Wouldn't go past it.

Tree

freakscene is kinda the suck lately, only goin there for the fact that i know half the people there. music upstairs is chronic, though the stuff downstairs is grooooooooooovy but its packed

Heisenberg.

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Jack B. Badd

I miss the Capital. It was part of the Cork college experience and now it's gone Gate ftw though!

Tree

Café mex is fantastic leave room for dessert!

Aroma is a lovely chinese upstairs in emmet place, would defo reccommend

Heisenberg.

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Raskolnikov

Luigi Malone's have a good lunch time menu, a set meal and (decent sized) drink for €9.50. Food won't exactly set the world alight but it's decent.

Anyone know where to get good coffee in the City? Starbucks out in the Airport is great, but it's out in the Airport! Gloria Jean's in town just doesn't compare I'm afraid! While I'm at it, are there any off-licences in the city that stock a decent range of foreign booze? Looking for Aquavait in particular.

Tree

o'connails chocolate shop do nice coffees, esp their black chocolate mocha, the only mocha i'll drink

Kold

Raskolnikov wrote:

Luigi Malone's have a good lunch time menu, a set meal and (decent sized) drink for €9.50. Food won't exactly set the world alight but it's decent.

Both times I've been there they've caught me out with the beer, the waitress didn't even tell me it couldn't be a Heineken. Make sure you say 'the free beer' rather than order your usual.

D-Generate

I seem to remember the Abotts Ale House Off Licence at the Sin é end of McCurtain St selling lots and lots of odd beers. Its behind the circuit court I think, just next to one of the lap dancing clubs. As a side note the owner of the place disarmed a 17 year old with a knife trying to rob beer, well so says the Echo!

ClareBear

Costigans on Washington Street (though it's always too packed now), Le Cheile on North Main Street, Coal Quay and Bodega are my favourite pubs in Cork.

I agree all the clubs are crap.

Heisenberg.

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ClareBear

The Scientist wrote:

Closed down.

Ha ha really??? You can tell it's been a while since I've been down that street....though not that long...when did it close down? I used to work in the Gate cinema so that was our drinking spot. Pity it's gone

Heisenberg.

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ClareBear

The Scientist wrote:

ya, i passed it the other day and it looked like it was'nt open in weeks, all the chairs gathering dust etc...
Im sure there renovating it.
I agree it was a cool bar, i had my 21st in there actually....

So did I.

Hopefully it'll be back again, always had a great time there.

Tree

went there for my eighteenth, great party spot

think theres some sorta restaurant pub thing goin in ther eventually.

dudara

Raskolnikov wrote:

Anyone know where to get good coffee in the City? Starbucks out in the Airport is great, but it's out in the Airport! Gloria Jean's in town just doesn't compare I'm afraid!

I like the coffee in Gusto, and both of the coffee shops in the Market are great. Otherwise, most other coffee in Cork is muck!!

blue banana

Tribes on Tuckey Street is great for a huge variety of snacks, it's open late too.

irishcrazyhorse

blue banana wrote:

Tribes on Tuckey Street is great for a huge variety of snacks, it's open late too.

Yeah but the owner is a nutter,the staff dont have a clue and the place is full of kids!

Heisenberg.

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Faith

irishcrazyhorse wrote:

Yeah but the owner is a nutter,the staff dont have a clue and the place is full of kids!

The place changed owners a couple of times since then. It's lost the kids, afaik, and gotten all redecorated and grown up. Shame, I had some great times in there as a skint, depressed 15 year old.

blue banana

Cinema
Mahon Point - easy parking and you can buy your tickets online for €5.50 www.omniplex.ie

Restaurants
Rossinis - except on weekend nights when the service can go down cos it''s so busy
Greenes, Mac Curtain Street
Luigi Malones

Snacks
Tribes, Tuckey Street

Pubs
Tom Barrys
Counihans
The Ovens
Barrys in Douglas

Froot

Pub: Mutton Lane.

Restaurant: The Ambassador or Luigi Malones for the steak alone.

Night Club: Savoy or Havana Browns always play decent music.

Heisenberg.

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toxic_angel

I'm surprised noone has mentioned Soho as a restaurant. I know at weekends the bar can be full of pretentious idiots who are all checking themselves out the entire time, but the food there is amazing and not that expensive, considering the quality of it.