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The Restaurant Recommendation Thread

Faith

There's been a crazy number of threads recently looking for restaurant recommendations, so I'd like to start a specific thread for it. Please post below about your favourite restaurants - why you like them, what price range they are, what type of food they serve, if they have an early bird, opening hours if you know them, where they're located. If you could include a link to the website, that would be great. The more details, the better. This is not a thread to post negative reviews - there's a thread in the main Food & Drink forum for that if you like. Basically, I want this thread to be full of recommendations, not positive and negative reviews. That being said, you can disagree with a recommendation briefly if you really feel the need to, but you must have a really valid reason such as an awful experience, rather than "I don't really like the food" or "It's too expensive".

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[Deleted User]

I went to Umi Falafel during the week. Was okay, wasn't blown away by it. I got the Palestinian falafel and my friend got a mixture of salads. We shared the halloumi sticks. I've had much better falafel elsewhere. My friend wasn't that gone on her salads. The halloumi sticks just reminded me of mozzarella sticks in Mc Donald's.

I do reckon though I was just not very hungry, so that's why I didn't enjoy it that much. Also, the whole menu looked amazing, so definitely going to go back and give it another go. The staff were lovely and prices were very reasonable.

Had lunch today in The Parlour. Always have a good experience there. They do lovely soup and sandwiches. I went for tapas there last summer and was very impressed. Must try the tapas again soon.

I was just think today Cork city really needs a good seafood restaurant. Quinlan's is nice but it's more kind of takeaway/casual style, not somewhere you would go for a special meal. The fish restaurant in the Electric is only okay in my opinion. It's a shame Oysters shut down. I heard great things about it and never tried it.

sozbox

georgiecasey wrote: »

great reviews livedadream. i can't see how anyone could prefer a coqbull burger over a bunsen burger but to each their own!

do you get the bunsen well done or medium?

Went to Bunsen Thursday and CoqBull yesterday. Got a medium burger in each with chips.

There's no comparison, Bunsen wins hands down, much better bun, I find the CoqBull bun is too big, not a good meat to bun ratio.

Bunsen cheaper too!

the beer revolu

It's not just me that was thinking that preggers girl sounded like a right barrel of laughs!

pwurple

Big thumbs up from me for golden elephant in douglas too. Love that place. Am slightly wondering do they reuse that pineapple for the pineapple rice?

Must try Umi falafel, the spicy one sounds great!

On the new rachel's review, just wondering, why can't "preggers" eat calamari or nuts? Fish and nuts are good for you when pregnant, where is she getting her advice... the 50's?

Wtf happened with the bread? When I was there, and on the website they made a song and dance about the bread being homemade and the BUTTER even being homemade that day. Is that gone now?

nerwen

Only been to Bunsen once, but I liked the burger. It's a squishy one, one I wish I could get after a night out on the lash. Everything else I felt was average but expensive, so not sure I'd go back for a sit down. Pop in to get a burger to go though, definitely.

Went to Coqbull yesterday and they've got a hot cross bun burger atm, 3 people in the group had it; 1 loved it, 1 liked it, 1 wasn't a fan. Also their milkshakes are pretty darn on point.

Rhinohippo

TrustedApple wrote: »

I had a bunsen there last weekend just epic there burgers are perfect and taste so nice. Same as there shoestring frys.

I got mine cooked medium well and it was really nice.

With clqbull I don't get why there busy as there burgers are not great at all and are very dry and overpriced for what they are. My girlfirend loves it I hate it and only go as she won't to but she loves bunsen so I hope that mean I don't have to go to coqbull for a while.

It seems that most places pull out the stops when they are new but some places, when they are around for a while, depending on staff etc, standards can slip. I'm wondering if that's the case here?

livedadream

georgiecasey wrote: »

great reviews livedadream. i can't see how anyone could prefer a coqbull burger over a bunsen burger but to each their own!

do you get the bunsen well done or medium?

Thanks, medium, i cant stand well cooked meat (its the french in me

)
like i said the burger was good, no complaints there, it was a standard good burger but for me eating out is more than that, atmosphere, cost, service and for me coq and bull wins over bunsen overall.

TrustedApple

georgiecasey wrote: »

great reviews livedadream. i can't see how anyone could prefer a coqbull burger over a bunsen burger but to each their own!

do you get the bunsen well done or medium?

I had a bunsen there last weekend just epic there burgers are perfect and taste so nice. Same as there shoestring frys.

I got mine cooked medium well and it was really nice.

With clqbull I don't get why there busy as there burgers are not great at all and are very dry and overpriced for what they are. My girlfirend loves it I hate it and only go as she won't to but she loves bunsen so I hope that mean I don't have to go to coqbull for a while.

MyPeopleDrankTheSoup

great reviews livedadream. i can't see how anyone could prefer a coqbull burger over a bunsen burger but to each their own!

do you get the bunsen well done or medium?

overmantle

Plus one for Golden Elephant in Douglas.

sporina

gosh just saw "flame asian street food" on washington street - another one.. i think that they have one on Blarney st too

how can they all do business?!

Surreptitious

Those walls of text are very hard to read.

Léan

@livedadream had the opposite experience of Bunsun.

Have eaten there twice since it opened. Really good.
Good quality meat. No frills. Cooked perfectly. Bonus points for having the option to get a burger 'medium' (they don't do rare).

It's a classic burger done exceptionally well. Toppings are great. Shoestring fries are tasty. Chocolate milkshake is 10/10 too.

My experience of Coq Bull is the food tends to be way over cooked. Similar with Son of a Bun - started out pretty good but now everything is dry and over done.

To me a good burger is good quality meat, straight forward toppings, cooked well. I'm really not into this sky-scraper, million toppings thing that seems to be popular in some places.

livedadream

Rachels:
(god help me, dont want to start off another bangwagon)
booked for 8pm with two girlfriends. arrived, table wasnt ready. (one of aforementioned GF's is preggers so waiting isnt really an option) was asked would we like a drink in the piano bar so we said yes, well preggo was NOT happy, high chairs and not able to drink, lolz. so the cocktails were lovely but you cant really go wrong with them can you. I do take issue to the GIANT prices on cocktails (although i know this isnt just Rachels) but it does add a soild 30 euro onto your night it you have two drinks.
visually the place is beautiful. looks like nothingness from the outside.but once your in, it is stunning.
the tables are a little squished imo. sound level is also pretty high, (low ceilings maybe?)
staff are attentive but i did see/hear another table complaining that they had sat down before us and hadnt ordered by the time we got our first bits.
we ordered:
calamari and the meat platter for starters (there wasnt anything preggers could have except the soup and she wasnt interested in it)
calamari was nice but a little soggy. what i will tell you is the chef is mad for the old wild garlic, it was on everything! also at 13 euro its a joke.
the meat platter was prosciutto with goats cheese and a little salad, was visually appealing but lacked strong flavors and the portion was a bit mean.
poor pregro had to go hungry as the waiter couldnt tell her what was nut free or suitable for her. ie: shellfish, cheese etc.
mains:
I had lamb and it was okay, was a bit over cooked for me (but the others at the table thought it was fine) more grey than pink i guess.
Preggers has steak, was very well cooked, she was delighted good sides.
next guest had pizza which the base was crisp and bubbly but a big mean on the toppings and wasnt hot more lukewarm by the time we were served.
sides were: skinny chips, salad, veg and mash. all yum and we were told to ask for more if we wanted it.
dessert was only a chose of two so we all got chocolate tart. it was delish!
main take away's:
why have a sommelier in a small cork restaurant? seems a bit OTT to me and might explain the over pricing.
staff linger and its a bit creepy. seems to be an issue with staffing either too many or not enough, and some definitely dont know what their doing. our dude was shaking filling up water glasses.
if your going to have a small menu like you do, dont run out of stuff.
are you seriously going to be the only restaurant in Cork that doesnt serve bread?
my friends and i eat out alot, we sit down we chill out and we spend, one of our favourite parts if sitting down while looking at the menu dipping the bread into some nice oil or balsamic vinegar or just plain butter. when my preggers friend (we made her ask cos it would be less embarrassing for us) asked the waiter if we were getting bread, his mock horror that we would ask was very off putting 'oh we dont do that''.
we also interacted with about 12 different staff members by the end of the night. none of whom were the lady herself (i didnt see her) i dont buy into the whole Rachel's means she needs to be there manning the passe every night but i did read in the press release that she would be there. I had read the reviews about the carvery and the stuff on facebook (note alot of the 5 star reviews with no comments are left by staff, not acceptable)
not great value for money,
if i wanted a fancy, expensive night out there are other places.
hopefully it will improve, its promising and definitely has potential.

livedadream

okay Zambrero.
I got: a power bowl: two servings (scoops?) of chicken marinated in asobo, salad and three kinds of salsa: onion and coriander, corn salsa and tomato salsa. with a basil sauce. salad is fresh and not over soaked.
two hard tacos with beef, cheese, sour cream and gauc.
tacos were the best, crisp and cruncy and salty and then the beef and cheese were perfect.
its a bit pricey for what your paying for but if you take into the CSR bit then i kinda dont mind.
place is really clean and bright, staff could do with a bit more knowledge, i asked them about the beef (how it was cooked) and she didnt know. and they had just made a pork burrito for the guy in front of me and not changed equipment and gloves etc, it wasnt busy i was the last person in the queue, when i asked her to change gloves, that i dont eat pork she said she was giving me beef, causing me to tell her she has used the gloves to make the pork dish. got a nice scowl for that but what can ya do.
would go back but only for the tacos! girl at the till was lovely.
didnt get the chocolate fountain because i got a take away and its not really my thing.

livedadream

Bunsen:
Hipster comes to Cork (again)
unless you chose where to eat based on queuing and instagraming pictures, dont bother.

coq and bull is better.
Burger was good- fresh bun, well cooked, crispy lettuce, onion etc. but its all just to meh for me.
I echo others posters about paying a fiver for a (smallish) portion of sweet potato fries.for a burger, beer and sweet potato fries i paid the best part of 20 euro.

atmosphere isnt conducive to chatting with mates and chilling out.

also was called 'mate' by the person serving... super disconcerting for a 30 year old female when being addressed by a 17-18 year old male.... wont be going back. foods not worth it.
would recommend like above if you instagram your food no matter what it looks like.

livedadream

Umi Falafel:
take away: we got: the palestinian- unreal- hummus, tomato, cucumber pickles, fried aubergine, flat parsley and chilli & tahini sauce- in a pitta, loads of falafels in it 3 or 4. a bit on the hot (spicy) side for me, but im not great with heat.
the lebanese- tomato, cucumber pickles, flat parsley and tahini sauce- this was amazing, i preferred this to the palestinian, soft wrap crunchy fresh salad, again loads of falafel. id defo get this again.
spinach filo rolls- were only okay, but i guess thats just more it being just spinach and feta? (not sure of what cheese actually) filo was good, but it just doesnt really work.
baba ghanoush- I would live on this! it was so good, cool and refreshing after the kick from the palestinian great with the pitta to dip in.
giant couc cous and rosted veg, no visible veg in it other than a few flakes of red pepper solid topping of crumbled feta on top though. cous cous was bouncy and tasty and went really well with everything else.
we got bread (pitta) and dips of tahini, garlic mayo and hummus and all were tasty. well priced as well as it worked out at around 30 quid.

i ordered take away and everything was still warm when i got home (douglas area)
staff were super friendly and efficient and know their stuff, they were able to tell me all the allergens and other bits about the menu.
would definitely recommend.

BullBlackNova

Jentle Grenade wrote: »

Just another positive review for Umi Falafel. Very tasty food for a a really good price. It's quick too. The sharing board for two previously mentioned above is quite good value for money. We had two between four hounds and we still had leftovers.

Got lunch there yesterday, was well impressed. Palestinian falafel for â‚¬5 - think it was about 4 falafel in the pitta. Tasted really fresh and tasty too.

Love the range of flavours you get in East - the Mexican in particular - but Umi is a great addition too.

Jentle Grenade

Just another positive review for Umi Falafel. Very tasty food for a a really good price. It's quick too. The sharing board for two previously mentioned above is quite good value for money. We had two between four hounds and we still had leftovers.

leahyl

Speaking of salads, just heard this morning that the Dublin company "Chopped" is expanding its business and will be opening a place in Cork.

Surreptitious

It looks amazing! Great flavours and variety.

sporina

overmantle wrote: »

Is it pricey?

not at all... check out the website

overmantle

sporina wrote: »

had a delicious lunch in Loving Salads today - and it was mobbed.. queues out the door too..

Is it pricey?

DamienDarts

pwurple wrote: »

I saw someone I won't mention do the "don't you know who I am" routine at the door.

Name and shame the prick...

sporina

had a delicious lunch in Loving Salads today - and it was mobbed.. queues out the door too..

Rhinohippo

Definitely going to try Umi.

pq0n1ct4ve8zf5

sammyjo90 wrote: »

I think we should have a falafel date electro

You're on!

Seamai

Leonel Putrid Cheddar wrote: »

I think it's a food safety thing, they don't want people buying certain things for take out, travelling a moderate distance home and then reheating them.

Tried Umi on Academy Street last night, pretty bloody decent. The falafels and hummus were lovely, everything else was good (wasn't mad about the pickled vegetables but it's early days for them I suppose), and value for money was borderline ridiculously good. Got the sharing platter for two and a couple of sides between me and my sister, we're both greedy bitches and we were stuffed!

Really good variety on the menu compared to a lot of falafel/middle eastern places. Good service, nice space. Think I'll definitely be going back and working my way through the menu.

I've eaten in Umi at their Dame street restaurant in Dublin several times and have to agree with everything you've said, it's fantastic value, plenty of choice, healthy, meat free for those that want it (though the don't make a big deal of this). I'm looking forward to checking out their new place in Cork.

sammyjo90

I think we should have a falafel date electro

pq0n1ct4ve8zf5

sporina wrote: »

yeah I saw that - why is this?

I think it's a food safety thing, they don't want people buying certain things for take out, travelling a moderate distance home and then reheating them.

Tried Umi on Academy Street last night, pretty bloody decent. The falafels and hummus were lovely, everything else was good (wasn't mad about the pickled vegetables but it's early days for them I suppose), and value for money was borderline ridiculously good. Got the sharing platter for two and a couple of sides between me and my sister, we're both greedy bitches and we were stuffed!

Really good variety on the menu compared to a lot of falafel/middle eastern places. Good service, nice space. Think I'll definitely be going back and working my way through the menu.