KC Blakes reviews

cacio

Hey guys,

Sorry if this has been done, tried the google search but didn't get anything from it.

Has anyone been here and have an opinion on it? What type of atmosphere is in the restaurant? I'm looking for somewhere for a fancy meal but with a good relaxed atmosphere.

Ig KC is no good can you recommend somewhere else? I'd like to get somewhere with a choice as there's varied taste in our group. I looked at Oscars but I dont think there's enough on the menu.

Price doesn't matter too much. Location is not a major factor but somewhere in town or east side (as far as Oranmore/Claregalway) would be best.

Thanks!

Madame Razz

Can be very hit and miss. When you get it on a good night it's very good, but on a bad night it's dire.

muppetkiller

It's nice but nothing particulaly special about it to be honest. And it's pretty pricey.

I love The Asian Tea House on Mary Street, Thai Garden , Mac Swiggans is always great but the menu is getting old at this stage. There's supposed to be a fab returant on Dominick Street called Abalone or something but i've never been.

?Cee?view

KC Blakes can be absolutely terrible - not worth the risk.

Try:

The Malt House
Oscars
Kirwan's Lane - but can be a bit stuffy
Ard Bia at Nimmos

cacio

Thanks for the help.

It's for a small wedding party so I'd like somewhere I know will be good.
Oscars is out as there's not a lot of choice.
McSwiggans is ok but not my favourite and not nice enough for this occasion.
Asian Tea House is lovely but we can't go somewhere with a specific ethnicity.
I'd love to go to Eastern Tandoori but I know the parents wouldn't want to go there.

Chinese/Indian/Italian etc specific places aren't what I'm looking for.
I'd love to find somewhere that includes a couple of dished from these places but definitely need somewhere with an Irish touch for the older generations. I'd really like to get somewhere classy.

Not hard to please at all am I!

Madame Razz

OP, I don't think you could go too far wrong with Artisan or Abalone, or upstairs in Sheridans on the docks. The 3 best restaurants in Galway at the mo.

?Cee?view

Madame Razz wrote: »

OP, I don't think you could go too far wrong with Artisan or Abalone, or upstairs in Sheridans on the docks. The 3 best restaurants in Galway at the mo.

All above are good suggestions, but having said that I've not been to Sheridans yet.

Forget my suggestion of Ard Bia - too small for a group.

KC Blakes would be awful for a small wedding. You'd end up getting divorced as either the bride or groom would punch the pushy staff

Have you thought of the G? I'm threatening to go there for a while. It gets amazing reviews and as an hotel should be better able to cater to the requirements of a small wedding party. I don't think it's overly pricey. Easily accessible as well if aged parents and relatives are a consideration.

holly8

cacio wrote: »

Thanks for the help.

It's for a small wedding party so I'd like somewhere I know will be good.
Oscars is out as there's not a lot of choice.
McSwiggans is ok but not my favourite and not nice enough for this occasion.
Asian Tea House is lovely but we can't go somewhere with a specific ethnicity.
I'd love to go to Eastern Tandoori but I know the parents wouldn't want to go there.

Chinese/Indian/Italian etc specific places aren't what I'm looking for.
I'd love to find somewhere that includes a couple of dished from these places but definitely need somewhere with an Irish touch for the older generations. I'd really like to get somewhere classy.

Not hard to please at all am I!

the malt house has gotten good reviews

?Cee?view

holly8 wrote: »

the malt house has gotten good reviews

You should go in and have a look. Depending on the size of your group, you might be able to book the whole area to the left and behind the bar. it'd be nice for a small group, say 10 -15 max

Seaneh

About KC Blakes.

Last time I was there I got a pork belly dish and it was so over cooked i could barely even eat it without wanting to punch someone in the face, have had great meals in there two though, that said, after last time, at that price, I wouldn't take the risk. The waitress was very apologetic and she comped the course in question and comped a bottle of wine too but still, if you are going to price something
that highly it better be ****ing good.

As for the rest, it can't have been great because I can't even remember what I had...

?Cee?view

Seaneh wrote: »

i could barely even eat it without wanting to punch someone in the face,

As for the rest, it can't have been great because I can't even remember what I had...

Rather than a nice meal, you probably need some help with anger management and memory loss if that's the way you'd react to a course you don't like Could the comped wine have had something to do with the memory loss

Sounds to me like the staff were very accomodating.

Any time I've had the pork belly there (I presume you're talking Malt House) it's been great and there's no way you could call the place expensive.

...and yes, I'm an angry person too, but I generally calm down when I'm fed:D

DeadSkin

churchview wrote: »

Have you thought of the G? I'm threatening to go there for a while. It gets amazing reviews and as an hotel should be better able to cater to the requirements of a small wedding party. I don't think it's overly pricey. Easily accessible as well if aged parents and relatives are a consideration.

+1 for the G. Excellent food, excellent staff. Worth lookin' at if price is not an issue.

McTigs

Upstairs in Sheridans on the docks is far and away the best restaurant in galway at the minute. Eaten there 5 or 6 times there tis year and it's always the business.

Abolone on domnick street woulb be my next

But neither may suit your needs... limited menu in sherdans and abolone might be a bit small

Seaneh

churchview wrote: »

Rather than a nice meal, you probably need some help with anger management and memory loss if that's the way you'd react to a course you don't like Could the comped wine have had something to do with the memory loss

Sounds to me like the staff were very accomodating.

Any time I've had the pork belly there (I presume you're talking Malt House) it's been great and there's no way you could call the place expensive.

...and yes, I'm an angry person too, but I generally calm down when I'm fed:D

Was talking about KC Blakes, sorry.

It wasn't a bottle, was a glass and certainly wasn't the reason as I'd never get drunk while trying to enjoy a meal!

When I see belly pork on a menu i get excited, its such a beautiful cut of meat, but jesus this was horrible, dry, though, under seasoned, just everything that could have been wrong was wrong.

The staff were lovely, no complaints there and like I said I've had good meals in there, but I'm a one strike and you're out kind of person, I'd rather go across the road to BK's and spend 25 euro on a 3 course menu and get consistantly delicious food.












p.s. I may be overly critical as I am a chef...

Shatner

churchview wrote: »

All above are good suggestions, but having said that I've not been to Sheridans yet.

Forget my suggestion of Ard Bia - too small for a group.

KC Blakes would be awful for a small wedding. You'd end up getting divorced as either the bride or groom would punch the pushy staff

Have you thought of the G? I'm threatening to go there for a while. It gets amazing reviews and as an hotel should be better able to cater to the requirements of a small wedding party. I don't think it's overly pricey. Easily accessible as well if aged parents and relatives are a consideration.

I ate in the G with my girlfriend 3 years ago this weekend. We both agree that it was the worst meal we have ever had. The staff were completely obnoxious and the hotel decor (while relatively new) was already shabby - dirty mirrors, chipped paintwork etc.

Unless it has improved beyond belief in the meantime, I would not go there again.

Oh, and I'm not price sensitive and have eaten better meals in places that were far cheaper, and far more expensive than the G - here and abroad.

At the time, I thought that the G would be a white elephant of the celtic tiger. It's pretty much built on a statoil garage FFS. There are much nicer hotels out there in nicer surroundings. Have you considered the Twelve in Barna? Great staff, nice hotel.

Think G has changed hands in the meantime. May have improved.

Have eaten in KC's. I thought it was decent, but maybe I went there on a good night. Don't think it's suitable for a wedding party though.

holly8

or the White Gables, Moycullen is consistently good.
Litetrally "consistent" too as the menu never seems to change ... but it does what it says on the tin!

fergiesfolly

Went to Cookes(Abbeygate St. Upper) for the first time in ages about a month ago and it was really good. Wasn't too expensive and there was a pretty varied menu. Don't know if they cater for larger groups, but might be worth a ring.

cacio

Thanks a million guys.
Helpful bunch around here! I think I'll skip KC as I want somewhere guaranteed good.

I think I'll print out the menus of a couple of places you mentioned and see what gets the most votes. It's only a small wedding - about 10 people - and quite informal but I do want a great meal!

Dont want to be rushed out of a place either so if any of the above have a tendancy to do that let me know.

Thanks again.

_Whimsical_

holly8 wrote: »

or the White Gables, Moycullen is consistently good.
Litetrally "consistent" too as the menu never seems to change ... but it does what it says on the tin!

I second White Gables. It's a little bit outside town but it is always nice and the menu would certainly appeal to all age groups. If you want to give the food a try they now run a shop selling dishes that they serve in the restaurant that you can buy and take home and eat.The shop is beside the restaurant. They aren't too expensive in the shop. It would be a good way of seeing if you like the food.

I think KC Blakes run a similar shop where you can buy their dishes to take home. It used to be in Knocknacarra. I like KC Blakes food but if I was you I would avoid it for a wedding party. Anytime I've been there the staff have been very focused on getting a very fast turn over of customers.The courses fly out the door to you and you usually get the bill along with the desert.They do not encourage you to take your time over things at all and get narky if you do.It's not a physically comfortable atmosphere.They often used to cram 4 people into tables that could barely accomodate two.Definitely no room to put your elbows on the table there! Unless the place has changed alot then the atmosphere isn't conducive to being sociable or relaxed at all.I don't think it would work for a family celebration.

Have you thought of the Pullman Carriage Restaurant at Glenlo Abbey ? I've heard recently that the food is lovely there. The environment is lovely and a bit different so it could be very nice for a celebration and for photos.

Most places have sample menus online if you want to check up on them btw.
White Gables : http://www.whitegables.com/menus.html
Pullman Restaurant : http://www.pullmanrestaurant.com/

Shatner

chilly wrote: »

I second White Gables. It's a little bit outside town but it is always nice and the menu would certainly appeal to all age groups. If you want to give the food a try they now run a shop selling dishes that they serve in the restaurant that you can buy and take home and eat.The shop is beside the restaurant. They aren't too expensive in the shop. It would be a good way of seeing if you like the food.

I think KC Blakes run a similar shop where you can buy their dishes to take home. It used to be in Knocknacarra. I like KC Blakes food but if I was you I would avoid it for a wedding party. Anytime I've been there the staff have been very focused on getting a very fast turn over of customers.The courses fly out the door to you and you usually get the bill along with the desert.They do not encourage you to take your time over things at all and get narky if you do.It's not a physically comfortable atmosphere.They often used to cram 4 people into tables that could barely accomodate two.Definitely no room to put your elbows on the table there! Unless the place has changed alot then the atmosphere isn't conducive to being sociable or relaxed at all.I don't think it would work for a family celebration.

Have you thought of the Pullman Carriage Restaurant at Glenlo Abbey ? I've heard recently that the food is lovely there. The environment is lovely and a bit different so it could be very nice for a celebration and for photos.

Most places have sample menus online if you want to check up on them btw.
White Gables : http://www.whitegables.com/menus.html
Pullman Restaurant : http://www.pullmanrestaurant.com/

Glenlo Abbey looks great from the photos I've seen. Really different for something like a wedding party. Haven't eaten there yet though.

holly8

Funnily enough, it's my sister's wedding on Friday 23rd - small family wedding, sounds like a similar scenario - and we are all going to Renvyle House in Connemara. All ages, all different tastes. But she wants good food, good atmosphere and good service. And not be ran out of the place when we've finished.
That's why I'd recommend somewhere similar - like the the White Gables in Moycullen ... great atmosphere, lovely surrounds, brill service & staff. Great food and something to suit everyone.. Now I've only ever ate there once but it really was memorable. And the service was just so good.
I lived in New York for years and I am really fussy about that kind of thing.

PS ate in Cookes a few months ago - would not remotely consider it, or KC Blakes, for a special occassion. Nor the Pullman in Glenlo Abbey - too cramped and not a great meal,

dec25532

KC Blake's is far too expensive for the quality of food on offer. Agree with the suggestions of White Gables or even Renvyle House Hotel where the ambience is totally relaxing and the scenery is to die for.

DD67

I will second the 12 hotel in Barna, my brother had a small civil wedding service there last year and the hotel could not have been more helpfull throughout the whole event. The food in the restaurant upstairs was top class, i would definitely recommend it.

kinetic

KC Blakes is over rated and over priced ,like so many eateries in Galway.
The Malt House has been revamped and is pretty good,with good specials on.

William72

went to KC Blakes a few years back and ordered fajitas - they served ketchup as salsa and didn't see the problem - kept calling it salsa too - awful place (have been keeping that story for some time now - thanks for the opportunity to share )

forumfiend

Maybe try Cava on Dominic St.?

kellsum

Jeez I wouldn't go to Cava if you want to eat all at the same time! I was there last week with a small party and they served us all at different times so essentially people in my party were eating an hour after ordering. This was a wednesday night so not exactly busy!

jmauel

kellsum wrote: »

Jeez I wouldn't go to Cava if you want to eat all at the same time! I was there last week with a small party and they served us all at different times so essentially people in my party were eating an hour after ordering. This was a wednesday night so not exactly busy!

Did you order tapas? Thats how tapas are served, they bring the dishes out when they are ready.

kellsum

Ya but it was a mix between both tapa's and a la carte and surely an hour to serve up tapa's and a Salad is a little excessive. As I said it wasn't exactly busy but my point was that if they wanted to eat together then there is no point in going to Cava!

gaeilgegrinds

Claregalway Hotel is a gem. Never had a poor meal there.

Asian tea house and tamarind unreal.

Love Oscars but kind of pricey.

lovelyhome

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