The Restaurant Recommendation Thread

sporina

got a take out from Flame Asian Street Food yesterday and it was really good..

i am always dubious about take aways from places I am not familiar with but I would get it again..

anyone else eaten from there?

TrustedApple

sporina wrote: »

got a take out from Flame Asian Street Food yesterday and it was really good..

i am always dubious about take aways from places I am not familiar with but I would get it again..

anyone else eaten from there?

Yap I did a few months ago tought it was yuck to be fair and it went in the bin. I messaged them on Facebook they read the message and did not reply. Would not go back if you pay me.

Mamak is where I tried on Friday after months of walking past the place I made my mind up and ordered a take away from them.

To be fair the red massam curry was extra spicy but it was perfect and very very tasty.
Got spring rolls and a can for 9.90 you can't go wrong with that. Would go back that's for sure.

whatever76

leahyl wrote: »

whatever76 wrote: »

Went to Elm Tree over the weekend - cant fault service and ambiance of the place its lovely - cant say same for food though . v dissappointing I have to admit and it wasnt just me my partner said same.
Food was just bland and portions sizes way to big !

I'm surprised at that now to be honest, as I was only there last weekend myself and really enjoyed it! My brother isn't too gone on the place either though so maybe it depends what you get...!

yea perhaps I was surprised now - even the dessert was bad !

whatever76

leahyl wrote: »

whatever76 wrote: »

Went to Elm Tree over the weekend - cant fault service and ambiance of the place its lovely - cant say same for food though . v dissappointing I have to admit and it wasnt just me my partner said same.
Food was just bland and portions sizes way to big !

I'm surprised at that now to be honest, as I was only there last weekend myself and really enjoyed it! My brother isn't too gone on the place either though so maybe it depends what you get...!

yea perhaps I was surprised now - even the dessert was bad !

pwurple

whatever76 wrote: »

Went to Elm Tree over the weekend - cant fault service and ambiance of the place its lovely - cant say same for food though . v dissappointing I have to admit and it wasnt just me my partner said same.
Food was just bland and portions sizes way to big !

Yes, that is my experience there as well. big and basic. but sure look, loads of people love the big portion - low price thing, and it suits that crowd perfectly.


I went to Bastion in Kinsale a few weeks ago for our wedding anniversary. Highly HIGHLY recommend. They have a michelin bib gourmand and they might be trying for the star, so it's fine dining here lads. Not your spuds, two veg, roast place.

We had a dish called The Carrot, which was a roasted carrot, carrot mousse, something else, and then a carrot soup to pour over. Awesomes.

Oyster starter was three oysters with horseradish icecream (in the shape of a pearl) and beetroot shards on tabasco ice. Was stunningly delicious and great fun. There was loads more, fish popcorn was great too with a thai dipping sauce. They have a prosecco tap there, cocktails are prosecco based. Chef came out for chats and did a foam at the table. All thumbs up for me for a special occasion. I'm only looking for an occasion now to go back and try more on the menu.

H8GHOTI

That Bastion place sounds interesting. Just had a look at the menu there and would definitely like to try it some time.
Is it open long? Never heard of it.

H8GHOTI

The Elm Tree - ye talking about evening menu or carvery?
I've eaten there numerous times and always enjoyed it. I wouldn't be the biggest fan of meat/spuds/veg type dinners, so wouldn't go for carvery that often.
The evening menu though I think is fairly varied and wouldn't put it in the big portion and bland category.

sporina

TrustedApple wrote: »

Yap I did a few months ago tought it was yuck to be fair and it went in the bin. I messaged them on Facebook they read the message and did not reply. Would not go back if you pay me.

Mamak is where I tried on Friday after months of walking past the place I made my mind up and ordered a take away from them.

To be fair the red massam curry was extra spicy but it was perfect and very very tasty.
Got spring rolls and a can for 9.90 you can't go wrong with that. Would go back that's for sure.

yeah a friend of mine had a bad meal from Flame but we decided to try last night and glad it was good..

Funny you mention Mamak.. another mate got take out from there and they had a dodgy tummy all the next day..

I guess inconsistency is rampant in these places..

Oh how I miss Banna..

pwurple

H8GHOTI wrote: »

That Bastion place sounds interesting. Just had a look at the menu there and would definitely like to try it some time.
Is it open long? Never heard of it.

Open at least a year that I know of, because the first time i heard of them was at the chowder contest in kinsale last year.

check them out! I know cork and kinsale are supposed to be food capitals, but a lot of what seems to be opening recently are casual burger bars and bbq places. And don't get me wrong, I like them too... Just very little of the other end of the spectrum around Cork at the moment for some balance.

Not even a touch of snootyness about Bastion anyway. really welcoming, lovely place. Hope they do well.

pwurple

H8GHOTI wrote: »

The Elm Tree - ye talking about evening menu or carvery?
I've eaten there numerous times and always enjoyed it. I wouldn't be the biggest fan of meat/spuds/veg type dinners, so wouldn't go for carvery that often.
The evening menu though I think is fairly varied and wouldn't put it in the big portion and bland category.

Day for me. Not tried it at nighttime. Had the sandwich menu though the last time, not carvery.

whatever76

H8GHOTI wrote: »

The Elm Tree - ye talking about evening menu or carvery?
I've eaten there numerous times and always enjoyed it. I wouldn't be the biggest fan of meat/spuds/veg type dinners, so wouldn't go for carvery that often.
The evening menu though I think is fairly varied and wouldn't put it in the big portion and bland category.

Evening menu - maybe we got them on a bad night . As I say the place is lovely and service was great - just food was disappointing which was a shame.

leahyl

pwurple wrote: »

Yes, that is my experience there as well. big and basic. but sure look, loads of people love the big portion - low price thing, and it suits that crowd perfectly.

Not sure what you mean by this - "that crowd"? I'm certainly not into massive portions and I didn't get massive portions either when I was there, and it wasn't low price!! Maybe I'm thinking of a different place! If I had any less food I'd probably have still been hungry after, but had just enough. But then I've always wondered if I just eat more than others....maybe I do...:pac:

Having said all this though, I have only been there once so perhaps if I went back again I might not have the same experience. That's the problem I think with a lot of restaurants in Cork - consistency isn't there a lot of the time.

pwurple

leahyl wrote: »

pwurple wrote: »

Yes, that is my experience there as well. big and basic. but sure look, loads of people love the big portion - low price thing, and it suits that crowd perfectly.

Not sure what you mean by this - "that crowd"? I'm certainly not into massive portions and I didn't get massive portions either when I was there, and it wasn't low price!! Maybe I'm thinking of a different place! If I had any less food I'd probably have still been hungry after, but had just enough. But then I've always wondered if I just eat more than others....maybe I do...:pac:

Having said all this though, I have only been there once so perhaps if I went back again I might not have the same experience. That's the problem I think with a lot of restaurants in Cork - consistency isn't there a lot of the time.

Huh? That crowd is the crowd who like big portions. You know, play to your crowd.

It's 9 to 12 euro for a dinner at the elm tree. I'd consider that a low price. I know it's not centra-sandwich territory, but we're taking sit down meal here. Castle cafe main courses lunchtime in blackrock are 12-17. http://www.castlecafe.ie/menu.php?idF=74. Liberty grill in the city... 10 euro for the burger, side salad an extra 2.40. http://libertygrill.ie/menus/LibertyGrill_APRIL_2014_Lunch_web.pdf. And those are casual places, I'm not talking Hayfield manor here.

I've never been able to finish a meal in the elm tree. And a good few people I work with go there for lunch, so I'm there maybe once a month. Last thing I got was the chicken chimmichanga at lunchtime. It was 9.95, came with a big bowl of wedges, coleslaw, and was very big in fairness. (It also had random thai sweet chilli sauce in a mexican named dish, but whateva). I'd have fed myself and the two kids off it. I'd say it was 800-900 calories, easily. Equivalent Chicken sandwich in liberty grill with chips and a side salad comes to 15.20.

Nonoperational

Been to the Elm Tree at night a few times. It's handy, welcoming and convenient. It's actually a little over priced at night in my opinion.

The food is fine. I would agree that the portions are large and it's nothing too exciting. It's ideal on a Sunday when you feel a little shook and want to relax and have something unfussy and a pint.

Malari

I was only at the Elm Tree at night once, and found the portions huge and the food bland. Once was enough.

leahyl

pwurple wrote: »

Huh? That crowd is the crowd who like big portions. You know, play to your crowd.

It's 9 to 12 euro for a dinner at the elm tree. I'd consider that a low price. I know it's not centra-sandwich territory, but we're taking sit down meal here. Castle cafe main courses lunchtime in blackrock are 12-17. http://www.castlecafe.ie/menu.php?idF=74. Liberty grill in the city... 10 euro for the burger, side salad an extra 2.40. http://libertygrill.ie/menus/LibertyGrill_APRIL_2014_Lunch_web.pdf. And those are casual places, I'm not talking Hayfield manor here.

I've never been able to finish a meal in the elm tree. And a good few people I work with go there for lunch, so I'm there maybe once a month. Last thing I got was the chicken chimmichanga at lunchtime. It was 9.95, came with a big bowl of wedges, coleslaw, and was very big in fairness. (It also had random thai sweet chilli sauce in a mexican named dish, but whateva). I'd have fed myself and the two kids off it. I'd say it was 800-900 calories, easily. Equivalent Chicken sandwich in liberty grill with chips and a side salad comes to 15.20.

9-12 euro for a dinner??!! Eh no, I must have been ripped off so because I certainly did not get my main for 12e, I had the hake and it was 19e, some of the starters were about 7.50. You seem to be talking about lunch which I have no experience of there, i'm talking about evening meals! I don't know of anywhere that does a sit down evening main meal for 12e

The lunch service and dinner service appear to be quite different in the elm tree...

Ah here, let's not get into the calories that are in the food now :-P if you're out for a meal then you're out to enjoy it ;-)

Lunch menus are generally cheaper in places than the evening menus anyway.

pwurple

Yes, all my experience with elm tree are lunchtime. I've never been there are night, so can't comment on that at all.

And like I said, it's grand. You get a lot for your money.

whatever76

Any resturant recommendations for Rosscarbery ?
Was looking at Pilgrim - looks fab but afraid it wouldnt suit everyones taste so thats out sadly !

kcb

O'Callaghan Walshe is another great restaurant but if Pilgrims doesn't suit then maybe this won't either.

We ate in the bar of the Celtic Ross recently and it was very good. Nice setting if the evening is fine.

other than that you have The Market place which has gone down hill recently but still might be ok

There's a Chinese and also food in Nolans bar

And a very very good fish and chips hut

ncmc

Ate in Holy Smoke this evening, it was ok, not great. We had the BBQ blowout, the ribs were tasty but quite tough, didn't fall off the bone at all. The burnt ends were lovely, they were my favourite thing. The pulled pork was tasty, but again, a little tough. I didn't care for the chicken, but that was more a personal taste, I just didn't care for the taste. The corn bread was lovely. The chips were frozen which just isn't acceptable IMO. The creamed spinach was actually horrible, has a really weird taste, kind of fishy! Which I know isn't possible as they don't serve fish! Staff were nice and they had a nice beer selection. Price was affordable for the amount of food, but I wouldn't rush back.

pwurple

I was out in jacques during the week. Oh boy it was jammed, they were turning away people at the door on a thursday. Great to see a place doing well. It's a place i associate with my parents and their buddies... They love it, but maybe I'm coming into that age group now. Eek.

Anyway, we had a voucher, so went a bit splurgy, got pretty much the most expensive things on the menu. Buttered lobster for starter and shared the 24 oz rib eye steak. That steak is a MONSTER! Very very tasty. Looking around the place, there were a lot of steaks appearing. Service was good at the bar and in the restaurant part.

sporina

pwurple wrote: »

I was out in jacques during the week. Oh boy it was jammed, they were turning away people at the door on a thursday. Great to see a place doing well. It's a place i associate with my parents and their buddies... They love it, but maybe I'm coming into that age group now. Eek.

Anyway, we had a voucher, so went a bit splurgy, got pretty much the most expensive things on the menu. Buttered lobster for starter and shared the 24 oz rib eye steak. That steak is a MONSTER! Very very tasty. Looking around the place, there were a lot of steaks appearing. Service was good at the bar and in the restaurant part.

yeah i had a flawless meal in there recently.. crab linguine to start, hake for main (the size of my head) and we shared a desert sharing plate.. good good food and fab wine... lucky we had a nice quiet table in the corner as the restaurant itself was busy and quite noisy. it seems to get a local regular crowd.

BailMeOut

Pretty decent proper gelato place just opened on George's Quay called Casanova. Stopped in there today with my kids and the ice cream is excellent.

whatever76

kcb wrote: »

O'Callaghan Walshe is another great restaurant but if Pilgrims doesn't suit then maybe this won't either.

We ate in the bar of the Celtic Ross recently and it was very good. Nice setting if the evening is fine.

other than that you have The Market place which has gone down hill recently but still might be ok

There's a Chinese and also food in Nolans bar

And a very very good fish and chips hut

thanks for suggestions ... O Callaghan Walsh was fully booked so went to Market Place. Had a very nice meal there - couldnt fault it and BYO as well which was an added bonus .
Was very impressed with Rosscarbery itself - lovely little town that has a lovely community feel. I defo will go back to try out the other resturants - the looked fab !

sporina

Had Brunch in The Parlour cafe on the coal quay on Sunday and it was absolutely delicious.

pwurple

Got around to trying out Miyazaki.

Thumbs up for the hot food. We had gyoza, tempura veg, katsu curry and a ricebowl with prawns and veg. Loved them all.

Bit disappointed with the sushi. Might be that we were there in the evening and got literally the last tray, but it was a bit chunky, unrefined, too much rice. Flavours were good though. I'd try the sushi at lunchtime instead.

Malari

There's a new Asian place (I can't remember the name!) in Douglas where that Polish shop used to be, and the Daily's newsagent before it. Anyone checked it out?

sporina

Yeah,,,, I believe a new asian place has opened where chilli Padi use to be on Fr. Matthew St - Sagoasianbistro... anyone tried it yet?

nerwen

sporina wrote: »

Yeah,,,, I believe a new asian place has opened where chilli Padi use to be on Fr. Matthew St - Sagoasianbistro... anyone tried it yet?

Tried it as take out. Thoroughly mediocre food wise, a bit boring on flavour but massive portions and pretty much the same menu as chili padi.


Tried Casanova, the new ice cream place. Lovely ice cream, milkshake was alright.

sporina

nerwen wrote: »

Tried it as take out. Thoroughly mediocre food wise, a bit boring on flavour but massive portions and pretty much the same menu as chili padi.


Tried Casanova, the new ice cream place. Lovely ice cream, milkshake was alright.

regards Sago - was there much flavour? vegetables?

regards Casanova - I went there today - OMG it was soo good - i had gelato - tiramisu and hazelnut..

though i have had better ice cream before - i think i prefer it more firm like - with a melt factor - but maybe that a gelato/ice cream difference

but for what it was it was delicious

staff were soo nice - I hope they continue like that.. there was a queue out the door when I got there, and it continued while I was there..

word has spread..