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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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the beer revolu

Over the years, many Indian restaurants in Cork have been recommended to me and I've always been disappointed. They all taste more or less the same to me.
I've been meaning to try Havelli but experience tells me that I will be disappointed. I think I just don't really like Indian Restaurant food as we typically get it in Europe.
Thali is better than most, IMO, but rather expensive for what it is.

I really love Iyer's but it's not for someone looking for a big curry.

the beer revolu

Had dinner in Kaya Asian Bites the other day.
They do a mix of Malaysian and Chinese food.
We had Hiananese Chicken Rice and Nasi Lemak Chicken .
Both were well cooked and authentic.
This goes on the list of regular spots for an inexpensive, good feed.

Treviso

the beer revolu wrote: »

Over the years, many Indian restaurants in Cork have been recommended to me and I've always been disappointed. They all taste more or less the same to me.
I've been meaning to try Havelli but experience tells me that I will be disappointed. I think I just don't really like Indian Restaurant food as we typically get it in Europe.
Thali is better than most, IMO, but rather expensive for what it is.

I really love Iyer's but it's not for someone looking for a big curry.

The important thing about Haveli is to speak to the waiter/waitress about what you like in an indian meal. Myself and the OH spoke to the waitress (who was also the owner) on our first visit and they customised our meals to our taste. It was superb then and on subsequent visits.

Everyone has their different taste when it comes to Indian. For those that want the usual madras/jafrezi offering then Haveli is not for you.

Oafley Jones

pwurple wrote: »

Have you been there recently? We couldn't tell the difference between three main courses the last time I was there. Everything just tasted like salt. Trading on past glories maybe. Plus, 5 quid for a naan? Maybe if it was some epic naan, and was city center rates to cover, but jeez.

What were the three?

Go there/get take out a few times a year. They've definitely more inconsistent lately, with their Paneer being a particular problem. Not that any of these variations are bad (most have a baseline of good) it's just there's marked difference in a dish from week to week.

They're also getting sloppy with their poppadoms; it's not uncommon to get a slightly stale one sneaking in.

Yes, they're expensive. But overall, they're still really good. It's one of the few places where the prawns are actually cooked well (with one exception out of maybe 20 orders) and not some rubbery thing that's being sitting in the sauce for far too long.

the beer revolu

Treviso wrote: »

. For those that want the usual madras/jafrezi offering then Haveli is not for you.

Do they not tick all these boxes?

Treviso

the beer revolu wrote: »

Do they not tick all these boxes?

here's the menu http://www.haveli.ie/A_La_Carte_Menu_Print.pdf

the beer revolu

Treviso wrote: »

here's the menu http://www.haveli.ie/A_La_Carte_Menu_Print.pdf

While it does look really nice, I'm always distrustful of restaurants with such huge menus, irrespective of what the style.

Why aren't there any Indian styled restaurants that serve 4 or 5 starters and 4 or 5 mains like any decent restaurant? Came across one like this in Antwerp some years ago and it was really, really good.

fonecrusher1

cadaliac wrote: »

Always thought the spice of India in Bishopstown was great for takeaway.
http://www.spiceofindiacork.com/menu.html

Couldn't agree more.

Of all the Indian / Pakistani restaurants i've eaten in between Cork, Dublin and up north the Spice of India in Bishopstown is hands down the best and many times better than anything similar in Cork. Consistently excellent food each time.

If you don't enjoy something on their menu then sorry but food from that region is not for you. Referring to byronbay2. Only thing I don't like is the restaurant itself is badly in need of a refurb.

Treviso

fonecrusher1 wrote: »

Couldn't agree more.

Of all the Indian / Pakistani restaurants i've eaten in between Cork, Dublin and up north the Spice of India in Bishopstown is hands down the best and many times better than anything similar in Cork. Consistently excellent food each time.

If you don't enjoy something on their menu then sorry but food from that region is not for you. Referring to byronbay2. Only thing I don't like is the restaurant itself is badly in need of a refurb.

Isn't the Spice of India owned/franchised by the same people who run Lal Quila? Or has that changed?

byronbay2

fonecrusher1 wrote: »

Couldn't agree more.

Of all the Indian / Pakistani restaurants i've eaten in between Cork, Dublin and up north the Spice of India in Bishopstown is hands down the best and many times better than anything similar in Cork. Consistently excellent food each time.

If you don't enjoy something on their menu then sorry but food from that region is not for you. Referring to byronbay2. Only thing I don't like is the restaurant itself is badly in need of a refurb.

Only ate in Spice Of India once (my brother thought it was excellent and gave a big thumbs-up) and thought it was pretty awful! In fairness, that was at least 10 years ago.

Spice of India (as far as I know) is famous for it's terrible food and outrageously rude staff - I have never eaten there!

Chuck Noland

byronbay2 wrote: »

Only ate in Spice Of India once (my brother thought it was excellent and gave a big thumbs-up) and thought it was pretty awful! In fairness, that was at least 10 years ago.

Spice of India (as far as I know) is famous for it's terrible food and outrageously rude staff - I have never eaten there!

So you only are in there once... but you have never eaten in there? Hmmmmmm

fonecrusher1

byronbay2 wrote: »

Only ate in Spice Of India once (my brother thought it was excellent and gave a big thumbs-up) and thought it was pretty awful! In fairness, that was at least 10 years ago.

Spice of India (as far as I know) is famous for it's terrible food and outrageously rude staff - I have never eaten there!

That's complete and utter bullsh1t.

SOI easily does the best Indian food in Cork imo and i've tried quite a few. Its pretty much my favorite cuisine and not once have I ever heard anyone say they thought the food was bad. Quite the opposite in fact. You're definitely better off sticking to the snack boxes or McDonalds i'd say.

leahyl

fonecrusher1 wrote: »

That's complete and utter bullsh1t.

SOI easily does the best Indian food in Cork imo and i've tried quite a few. Its pretty much my favorite cuisine and not once have I ever heard anyone say they thought the food was bad. Quite the opposite in fact. You're definitely better off sticking to the snack boxes or McDonalds i'd say.

It's fine, nothing special about it though. Haveli is far nicer in my opinion. The one thing I don't like about Haveli though are the poppadums - I don't like the caraway seeds on them, prefer just plain poppadums.

trebormurf

Spice Route on McCurtain St

fonecrusher1

leahyl wrote: »

It's fine, nothing special about it though. Haveli is far nicer in my opinion. The one thing I don't like about Haveli though are the poppadums - I don't like the caraway seeds on them, prefer just plain poppadums.

Each to their own but I think SOI is much nicer than Haveli.

Burty330

The Bhuna in Lal quila is excellent and the lamb Karahi in Spice of India is pure decadence. Trying different dishes is key.

Burty330

so is that garlic mayo in KCs their own creation? I bought a few brands on amazon before but couldn't find a match!

pwurple

Burty330 wrote: »

so is that garlic mayo in KCs their own creation? I bought a few brands on amazon before but couldn't find a match!

Yes, their own. They import that mayo from Holland I think I remember from years ago, and add the fresh garlic there.

anacc

Gotta try Spice of India soon, by the sounds of it!

pq0n1ct4ve8zf5

pwurple wrote: »

Yes, their own. They import that mayo from Holland I think I remember from years ago, and add the fresh garlic there.

Oh god shtop. I'll have to make a trip this evening.

.red.

pwurple wrote: »

Yes, their own. They import that mayo from Holland I think I remember from years ago, and add the fresh garlic there.

I got a few 10 litre buckets off them about 3/4 years back and the brand was Derrynaflan, which I think is made in Middleton.

Debub

the beer revolu wrote: »

Over the years, many Indian restaurants in Cork have been recommended to me and I've always been disappointed. They all taste more or less the same to me.
I've been meaning to try Havelli but experience tells me that I will be disappointed. I think I just don't really like Indian Restaurant food as we typically get it in Europe.
Thali is better than most, IMO, but rather expensive for what it is.

I really love Iyer's but it's not for someone looking for a big curry.

Most of the Indian restaurants have curries which do taste the same and they are not that authentic anyway, which makes commercial sense I would guess - the only Indian that we might go to once in a blue moon is Haveli as they would make the real food for us. Now this statement is from an Indians perspective, everybody's taste is different and 'good food' is quite relative

pwurple

.red. wrote: »

I got a few 10 litre buckets off them about 3/4 years back and the brand was Derrynaflan, which I think is made in Middleton.

Derrynaflann that got closed down with a food safety order? Yipes.

pwurple

Popped in to recommend the Parlour cafe on cornmarket street for both brekkie and tapas at night. Had both over the past few weeks and was impressed. Pancakes and cuppas for brekkie were yum, and the tapas, we were here with a group, had loads of stuff... olives, a kind of bruchetta, patatas bravas, croquettes stuffed with ham and manchego. Good raspberry & white choc cheesecake with a kind of gingernut base for dessert.

Also had a poached egg on toast in the Grocers Daughter in Grange, lovely spot. It's the simple things sometimes, the bread was real sourdough, and the egg was just perfectly done. Their scones and croissants looked yum. It's attached to the supervalu there.

BullBlackNova

pwurple wrote: »

Popped in to recommend the Parlour cafe on cornmarket street for both brekkie and tapas at night. Had both over the past few weeks and was impressed. Pancakes and cuppas for brekkie were yum, and the tapas, we were here with a group, had loads of stuff... olives, a kind of bruchetta, patatas bravas, croquettes stuffed with ham and manchego. Good raspberry & white choc cheesecake with a kind of gingernut base for dessert.

Also had a poached egg on toast in the Grocers Daughter in Grange, lovely spot. It's the simple things sometimes, the bread was real sourdough, and the egg was just perfectly done. Their scones and croissants looked yum. It's attached to the supervalu there.

Love the Parlour - haven't been for ages but always enjoyed my food there. Always pleased to see it get recommended here as I think it can be overlooked at times.

JackieChang

the beer revolu wrote: »

While it does look really nice, I'm always distrustful of restaurants with such huge menus, irrespective of what the style.

Why aren't there any Indian styled restaurants that serve 4 or 5 starters and 4 or 5 mains like any decent restaurant? Came across one like this in Antwerp some years ago and it was really, really good.

There's a new spot called Coriander in Ballincollig that has a very simple menu.

byronbay2

byronbay2 wrote: »

Only ate in Spice Of India once (my brother thought it was excellent and gave a big thumbs-up) and thought it was pretty awful! In fairness, that was at least 10 years ago.

Spice of India (as far as I know) is famous for it's terrible food and outrageously rude staff - I have never eaten there!

Sorry about the confusion I have caused: the 2nd paragraph should refer to Spice Inn, not Spice of India.

sporina

BullBlackNova wrote: »

Love the Parlour - haven't been for ages but always enjoyed my food there. Always pleased to see it get recommended here as I think it can be overlooked at times.

i love The Parlour too - superb dishes made with the best of ingredients.. and excellent coffee and cakes.. not been there for Tapas though..

byronbay2 wrote: »

Sorry about the confusion I have caused: the 2nd paragraph should refer to Spice Inn, not Spice of India.

my bro lovvvvvvvves The Spice Inn and he is only eats good food.. (as in, quality ingredients etc)..

.red.

Popped into Jam in Ballincollig the other day.
Both got scones and tea.
The tea wasn't nice, very yellow and weak no matter how hard I squeezed the teabag in the pot. I like a very strong cup so that could be a personal thing.
The scones were awful, either the previous day's, or they were just defrosted and put out. They tasted like the bulk made prepackaged ones you'd get in a pack of 4 from a supermarket.

The cakes and hot food looked lovely tho.

[Deleted User]

I don’t think much of jam at kinsale road roundabout
Much prefer pavilion, o Dwyer’s or the workshop. Must check out the place in grange