The Restaurant Recommendation Thread

SusieBlue · 09-01-2020 02:05PM

pwurple wrote: »

Banoffee is almost an abomination in an Italian restaurant, desserts are normally something the Italians do so brilliantly. Why would they chuck an English dessert on a menu in an italian. No Tiramisu, affogato, cannolli, icecream or pannacotta?

I agree with you, desserts can be really slapdash around the city.

However, Cafe Paradiso breaks the mould. The lemon tart, when available, needs to be sainted it is such a state of bliss.

I believe they did have a Tiramisu & affogato on the menu, as well as a few cheesecake options. I've just come to expect mediocre desserts at this point, I usually don't bother with them at all but I was still peckish on this occasion.

The only restaurant that comes to mind that does top notch desserts (imo) is Scoozies, but I'll add Cafe Paradiso to my list of places to try.

what the hell! · 09-01-2020 02:26PM

Market Lane do great desserts imo. Their orange bread and butter pudding is savage.

Oafley Jones · 09-01-2020 03:38PM

what the hell! wrote: »

Market Lane do great desserts imo. Their orange bread and butter pudding is savage.

ML are consistently good at everything. My only complaint was the ridiculously large size of the above, but they've recently almost halved it. The pig in me is disappointed, but it's a far better size now.

who_me · 09-01-2020 04:31PM

Oafley Jones wrote: »

ML are consistently good at everything. My only complaint was the ridiculously large size of the above, but they've recently almost halved it. The pig in me is disappointed, but it's a far better size now.

Yeah, agree with you both. I'm generally stuffed by the time I get to the desserts, but love a taste of something sweet with the coffee, so the size of the pudding was actually a turnoff. You'd think 'dessert tasters' should be a thing.

SusieBlue · 09-01-2020 04:37PM

who_me wrote: »

Yeah, agree with you both. I'm generally stuffed by the time I get to the desserts, but love a taste of something sweet with the coffee, so the size of the pudding was actually a turnoff. You'd think 'dessert tasters' should be a thing.

I wouldn't be a fan of Milanos/Pizza Express but they have this option, they do a tea/coffee with a very small tasting size of a dessert on the side for about €7/€8.
Its perfect if you just want a little taste of something with a coffee without going the whole hog with a massive portion of dessert.
I wish more places did it.

unplayable · 09-01-2020 04:46PM

may not be the right place but any good lunch spots i should know about.

have been living away for 7 years but back now. have tried orso/arthur maynes. i know brackens/long valley are great.

anywhere else recommended for soup sambos etc. thanks

Outkast_IRE · 09-01-2020 04:55PM

unplayable wrote: »

may not be the right place but any good lunch spots i should know about.

have been living away for 7 years but back now. have tried orso/arthur maynes. i know brackens/long valley are great.

anywhere else recommended for soup sambos etc. thanks

For a takeaway sandwich my go to spots are

1. The sandwich stall in the english market - Love the smoked chicken wrap - nice and light but really fresh and tasty.
2. Docklands Lapps Quay - Does some really great sandwich to takeaway, there is a little fridge in the corner on the right when you walk in. But be warned if the fridge is empty and you wanna get one made up the service can be slow.
3. Twenty Sandwich Bar Anglesea Street is nice for toasted sourdough bun. Really good ingredients . Very good efficient service.
4. Sonnys Deli . - Absolutely top notch sandwiches / rolls - Massive portion and good flavor combinations - Only reason its on the bottom of my list is i am too stuffed after it . I would rather they scaled back the size and the price accordingly.

pwurple · 09-01-2020 05:12PM

unplayable wrote: »

may not be the right place but any good lunch spots i should know about.

have been living away for 7 years but back now. have tried orso/arthur maynes. i know brackens/long valley are great.

anywhere else recommended for soup sambos etc. thanks

This is definitely the right spot!

All of OutKasts ones are good, and I'd add

The Long Valley
Ali's Kitchen
And oldie, good old Farmgate upstairs in the market.
The Sandwich stall in the market (on the side near the fish) for takeaway sandwiches and salads. Whhops! Already mentioned. Sub in the Bookshelf Cafe.
Nash 19
The Parlour
Perry Street Cafe

Something that isn't a sandwich, but excellent for lunch too is

Iyers Cafe on Popes Quay

literally the best indian food in the country. It's veggie, they have mega dhosas

Little bit out of town, on center park road, I like this place too

Ruth's diner

limnam · 09-01-2020 05:54PM

pwurple wrote: »

Banoffee is almost an abomination in an Italian restaurant, desserts are normally something the Italians do so brilliantly. Why would they chuck an English dessert on a menu in an italian. No Tiramisu, affogato, cannolli, icecream or pannacotta?

I agree with you, desserts can be really slapdash around the city.

However, Cafe Paradiso breaks the mould. The lemon tart, when available, needs to be sainted it is such a state of bliss.

So is garlic bread but plenty of Italian's here do it.

Probably playing to the crowd as banoffee is fairly popular here for whatever reason.

confusticated · 09-01-2020 06:11PM

who_me wrote: »

Yeah, agree with you both. I'm generally stuffed by the time I get to the desserts, but love a taste of something sweet with the coffee, so the size of the pudding was actually a turnoff. You'd think 'dessert tasters' should be a thing.

Market Lane used to do a chocolate pot, like a heavy chocolate mousse type thing in an espresso cup. Not sure if they still do but it was the job with a coffee after a main course there.

Also would add Union Grind on Union Quay to the list of lunch spots. Good value, lovely sandwiches and quiche, bit small thought and they definitely have packed too many tables in there.

limnam · 09-01-2020 06:42PM

confusticated wrote: »

Market Lane used to do a chocolate pot, like a heavy chocolate mousse type thing in an espresso cup. Not sure if they still do but it was the job with a coffee after a main course there.

Also would add Union Grind on Union Quay to the list of lunch spots. Good value, lovely sandwiches and quiche, bit small thought and they definitely have packed too many tables in there.

yep, friendly bunch in union too

sporina · 09-01-2020 09:07PM

SusieBlue wrote: »

I believe they did have a Tiramisu & affogato on the menu, as well as a few cheesecake options. I've just come to expect mediocre desserts at this point, I usually don't bother with them at all but I was still peckish on this occasion.

The only restaurant that comes to mind that does top notch desserts (imo) is Scoozies, but I'll add Cafe Paradiso to my list of places to try.

Scoozies' Banoffie pie is UNREAL

Burty330 · 09-01-2020 10:07PM

Went to Sonnys the other day and was faced with a queue that went out the door and around the corner. It moved pretty fast tho and i left with a salad bowl that was pretty great.
In the past it wasn't great however so i hope they keep it consistent. Not a knock on the taste , but the roast spuds have a very heavy fry in some sort of paprika oil. I like it but it can't be too healthy given the amount of saturated fat!

fin12 · 09-01-2020 10:23PM

I forgot to mention the food in The Oriel House, Ballincollig is lovely.

MissShihTzu · 11-01-2020 04:38PM

Has anyone tried The Glass Curtain on McCurtain St yet? looks quite good, so will try that soon.

igCorcaigh · 11-01-2020 06:12PM

MissShihTzu wrote: »

Has anyone tried The Glass Curtain on McCurtain St yet? looks quite good, so will try that soon.

I think there is a review by a poster some pages back.

23 of December.

Not sure how to link it from my phone, but it's there on search.

mrpdap · 11-01-2020 06:53PM

MissShihTzu wrote: »

Has anyone tried The Glass Curtain on McCurtain St yet? looks quite good, so will try that soon.

I was there Christmas eve. They had a set xmas menu, I had short ribs, delicious.
I’ll go back when my CC has recovered from recent excesses.

Harika · 11-01-2020 08:22PM

Got takeaway from Koriander in Ballincollig, great food, enjoyed it.

siblers · 12-01-2020 10:59AM

More of a deli but got Japanese curry from SensAsian in Ballincollig and it was unreal. Not a big curry fan but was so tasty.

Markcheese · 12-01-2020 04:02PM

siblers wrote: »

More of a deli but got Japanese curry from SensAsian in Ballincollig and it was unreal. Not a big curry fan but was so tasty.

They do a stall in mahon market as well ...

.red. · 12-01-2020 08:01PM

siblers wrote: »

More of a deli but got Japanese curry from SensAsian in Ballincollig and it was unreal. Not a big curry fan but was so tasty.

I drive past it a few times a week and never knew it existed. The website looks good.
Must pop in sometime.
Cheers.

Be right back · 12-01-2020 08:03PM

Was in the barn for a meal the other day. Very good and tasty. All happy with their meal.

pwurple · 13-01-2020 10:10AM

MissShihTzu wrote: »

Has anyone tried The Glass Curtain on McCurtain St yet? looks quite good, so will try that soon.

Hi, yes, was in there last week. The food is fab, wine list has a reasonable range from the 25ish mark up, I had the beetroot small plate (gorgeous looking and tasted amazing) and the fish of the day was fab. Their roast veg side disk was awesome.

I find the restaurant itself a bit noisy. Looks lovely, but the tables are laminate coated, they feel cheap, and all hard surfaces everywhere. Tiles, glass, marble etc. Same thing Rachel Allens place made really with the interior. Big open spaces can give a sense of awkwardness, you feel like everyone is listening in on your conversation, because you can hear everyone else. It makes me self-conscious anyway. Nice that the kitchen is open though, you can see the chefs working away which is a nice bit of theater. You can see everyone's eyes following the food around, seeing what people got.

Another minor quibble, we had an eyeroll moment at the water situation. Asked for tap water for the table, and was told that the city water isn't good quality so they charge 1 euro per bottle of filtered water. Now, it's fine, a euro isn't a lot, a pretty bottle all chilled etc, but they'd want to watch who they say that to in Cork, it's a small place and the water is perfectly drinkable ffs.

We were too full for dessert.

The menu is very small, they had this massive steak on there, a 62 euro beef chop. The waitress said it's for sharing... she had a table of 5 ladies share it with sides, and also tables of 2 share it. I kinda want to go back to try it, but need some hungry friends all willing to eat the same thing.

the beer revolu · 13-01-2020 10:36AM

That water bs would annoy me.
Nothing wrong with the tap water in the city.

Markcheese · 13-01-2020 11:23AM

the beer revolu wrote: »

That water bs would annoy me.
Nothing wrong with the tap water in the city.

It can taste of chlorine a bit , but nothing wrong with it ... Think they're kinda shooting themselves in the foot charging a euro ( at least they're not charging 3 or 4 euro which I've seen...) ,

Outkast_IRE · 16-01-2020 08:50AM

I think charging if the water is from a proper filtering and chilling tap is acceptable as these are generally much more expensive that people realise, and do have annual maintenance and running costs associated with them.

A proper commercial tap that filters the water and produces chilled and boiling water could be in the region of 2-3k to buy outright or they offer leasing options.

I work in the city centre and we have some of these taps and they do improve the taste of the water.

morgana · 16-01-2020 09:18AM

Went to Izz Cafe on George's Quay yesterday for the first time. Palestinian Cuisine. Omg. Small menu of different types of hummus and Palestinian flat bread with different toppings. We had the starter plate with hummus babaganoush and tabuleh and a falafel flatbread. Everything tasted lovely, the flatbread is just perfect. Standout for me was the beetroot hummus. The cafe itself is pretty small and busy, but they also do takeaway. Oh their sweets we tried a Sirup cake and a baklava type pastry filled with rose water flvoured cream. Yummm.

the beer revolu · 16-01-2020 11:19AM

morgana wrote: »

Went to Izz Cafe on George's Quay yesterday for the first time. Palestinian Cuisine. Omg. Small menu of different types of hummus and Palestinian flat bread with different toppings. We had the starter plate with hummus babaganoush and tabuleh and a falafel flatbread. Everything tasted lovely, the flatbread is just perfect. Standout for me was the beetroot hummus. The cafe itself is pretty small and busy, but they also do takeaway. Oh their sweets we tried a Sirup cake and a baklava type pastry filled with rose water flvoured cream. Yummm.

I must try there again.
I went when they weren't long open and had a falafel wrap but I thought it was really terrible. I found the bread very doughy and undercooked and I didn't like the spicing in it. I also didn't like how the falafel was smushed into the bread - no bite at all.
I love middle eastern food, so I will give it another go - perhaps they have improved.

pwurple · 17-01-2020 10:45AM

Outkast_IRE wrote: »

I think charging if the water is from a proper filtering and chilling tap is acceptable as these are generally much more expensive that people realise, and do have annual maintenance and running costs associated with them.

A proper commercial tap that filters the water and produces chilled and boiling water could be in the region of 2-3k to buy outright or they offer leasing options.

I work in the city centre and we have some of these taps and they do improve the taste of the water.

You're right, it does taste better filtered, and it certainly costs money.

I went back to Glass curtain this week (You'd swear I was out all the time, this was a fluke I swear! ), and there was no problem with the tap water this time, was a one-off encouragement I'd say. I kinda wished I had persuaded the table into the other water though, filtered was nicer!

tailgunner · 17-01-2020 11:16AM

Went to The Glass Curtain this week as well. Very impressed - flatbread to start and we had the pork collar and monkfish for mains, with shared sides. All really good. Nice wine list too. Too full for dessert, but the coffee (from Soma) was great.

They didn't push too hard on the filtered water when we asked for tap, but I'm a demon for sparking water so ended going for that when it was only a euro.

Nice to see the place so busy on a midweek evening. Hope it does well.

The Restaurant Recommendation Thread

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