The Restaurant Recommendation Thread

evilivor

Karmella wrote: »

Where's this?

South Mall end of Grand Parade. Same people who do House at the Opera House.

Nonoperational

Where door 51 used to be. Nice place for a casual beer and some food.

Faith

Didn't realise they did food there - must try it out.

Milly33

We finally got to Oysters last night and I have to say we were well impressed. We got the menu pages vouchers €40 for a two course just to try the place out. The staff there were loverly very nice and helpful. One of us was gluten free only and it was great as they were not limited to anything bar the bread but they had different bread. The meal was loverly and you got a nice sample of a cold soup, and some bread and dips. The food was lovely and fresh..

Would defiantly go back there!! Waiting on the next night already

byronbay2

byronbay2 wrote: »

I know that a lot of you hate the place but for the few (like me!) who are still fans, The Eastern Tandoori is back on Grabone after a few months hiatus:

http://www.grabone.ie/cork/view-all

€26 for 2 starters and 2 main courses is a great offer in my opinion and I have bought another couple of vouchers to keep me going!

Went to The Eastern Tandoori tonight and the grub was up to their usual standard i.e excellent. The place was chocka with fellow voucher-monkeys but there were plenty of staff and no problems with the service. Happy out, as always - €26 for 2 courses for 2 is a gift imo!

Note: I have no connection with The Eastern Tandoori whatsoever; merely hoping to debunk some ugly and ill-founded rumours (started here) about Cork's best Indian.

the beer revolu

byronbay2 wrote: »

Note: I have no connection with The Eastern Tandoori whatsoever; merely hoping to debunk some ugly and ill-founded rumours (started here) about Cork's best Indian.

My opinion is not based on rumour of any sort, be they ugly or I'll-founded. My opinion is based on personal experience - an experience that left me vowing never to darken their door again.

It may be your opinion that ET is Cork's best Indian but many, many people would find that idea laughable. It's not just this forum. Ever read their TripAdvisor reviews?

Please do not suggest that my and other people's opinions are malicious rumour just because you don't agree with them.

nerwen

byronbay2 wrote: »

Went to The Eastern Tandoori tonight and the grub was up to their usual standard i.e excellent. The place was chocka with fellow voucher-monkeys but there were plenty of staff and no problems with the service. Happy out, as always - €26 for 2 courses for 2 is a gift imo!

Note: I have no connection with The Eastern Tandoori whatsoever; merely hoping to debunk some ugly and ill-founded rumours (started here) about Cork's best Indian.

Over the 5 years I've been here in Cork I've given ET many chances, simply because I really like the look of the place, the decor and the space they have. Also, the very first time I went there it was good! I want(ed) to believe!

The problem is, the following times (and there's been 4 or 5 because I am an optimist) have all been either meh on food and **** on service or **** on both. The problem hasn't been to get service btw, but to get good service. Sulky, downright rude waiters is not an incentive to come back. As for the food, one memorable incident had a tikka masala that was just pink goo. My last try was in October last year.

Ugly rumors perhaps, but my personal opinion, like yours, is based on my experience with them.

pwurple

byronbay2 wrote: »

Went to The Eastern Tandoori tonight and the grub was up to their usual standard i.e excellent. The place was chocka with fellow voucher-monkeys but there were plenty of staff and no problems with the service. Happy out, as always - €26 for 2 courses for 2 is a gift imo!

Note: I have no connection with The Eastern Tandoori whatsoever; merely hoping to debunk some ugly and ill-founded rumours (started here) about Cork's best Indian.

My experience is that it the staff are very gruff and don't like being asked ANYTHING (like for another drink). The place is also fairly grubby and worn. It used to be fine, about ten years ago it was one of my favourite spots in town, but they just hadn't kept it up at all. Did you visit the toilets?

Do they still have the communal bowl of bombay mix in the holding area where everyone sits before you go to your table? It just seems like hygiene awareness is a bit low.

The last time i went was about two years ago and the food was inedible. This was the reason i stopped going... I would put up with iffy service if the food was good. It was a puddle of oil with some overcooked meat in it.

the beer revolu

Lol Byron.
This is quite funny. In jumping to the defence of your much loved restaurant, you have in fact done it a disservice. Had you just posted about the lovely meal you had, no one would have reacted negatively but by dismissing people's opinions as ugly, ill-founded rumours you encouraged people to come on defending their genuine negative opinions.

Just as well you have no connection with the restaurant. In marketing terms, you seriously shot yourself in the foot.

54kroc

I have to agree with the last few posts about the Eastern Tandoori, I think it's an awful place, and I don't know anyone that actually like it either.
I think the beer revolu sums it up perfectly when he says it laughable to think it's Corks best Indian restaurant.

@ byronbay2, Have you been to any of the other Indian restaurants around Cork?

jdawson

I went to the Sultan on Penrose Wharf with the missus a few weeks ago. The food is fantastic, we both cleaned every plate. There's nothing else like it in Cork and the guys running it are great. They don't serve alcohol but we didn't mind at all. They're closed for maintenance from the 17th March - 12th May according to facebook, well worth a visit before that.

EDIT: Worth calling ahead or booking a table as it's fairly popular.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sultan-Cafe-Restaurant-Shisha-Lounge/137153526456392

ABajaninCork

Went to the Eastern Tandoori once. That was enough, believe me. The food was disgusting. Stale poppadoms. (Spicy only, no plain. WTF??). Inedible food swimming in grease. I asked for a Dhansak. They literally took a pot of curry and chucked a can of fruit salad in it. I kid you not. And they had the cheek to charge us €150 for four of us with no drinks.

He couldn't serve a meal like that in London. His windows would be smashed in!

BanzaiBk

jdawson wrote: »

I went to the Sultan on Penrose Wharf with the missus a few weeks ago. The food is fantastic, we both cleaned every plate. There's nothing else like it in Cork and the guys running it are great. They don't serve alcohol but we didn't mind at all. They're closed for maintenance from the 17th March - 12th May according to facebook, well worth a visit before that.

EDIT: Worth calling ahead or booking a table as it's fairly popular.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sultan-Cafe-Restaurant-Shisha-Lounge/137153526456392

:eek: that's some time for a renovation. Hopefully they return.

Missyelliot2

Went to Blackrock Castle this weekend.....was really disappointed with the food. Had been there for a family thing 2 weeks ago and it was lovely (although we all ordered pizzas). Got the beef salad with chickpeas and I swear I must have munched through about 100 chickpeas, and the beef was really chewy.
The waitress asked if everything was ok (as my salad bowl didn't look like it had been touched, due to those chickpeas!) and I nodded like the churchill dog. Sooooo mad at myself, but didn't want to seem awkward...

nerwen

jdawson wrote: »

I went to the Sultan on Penrose Wharf ... They're closed for maintenance from the 17th March - 12th May ...

Definitely popping back in before they close, I love that place! Thanks for mentioning it.

byronbay2

54kroc wrote: »

I have to agree with the last few posts about the Eastern Tandoori, I think it's an awful place, and I don't know anyone that actually like it either.
@ byronbay2, Have you been to any of the other Indian restaurants around Cork?

Well, I'll tell you one thing: there are obviously a lot of people who go there once and never return - any time I go the place is busy!

Yes, I have been to several other Indian restaurants in Cork, all inferior to the ET in my opinion.

ABajaninCork wrote: »

He couldn't serve a meal like that in London. His windows would be smashed in!

I have been to lots of Indian restaurants in London, Birmingham and Manchester and have had some good, mediocre and awful experiences. The ET is a match for the best of these.


Anyhoo, I've said my piece now and will withdraw gracefully from the debate. I merely wanted to act as a mouthpiece for the little people, the forgotten people, the non-connoisseurs who go to the ET week-in, week-out for good food, good value and good service. They don't check Trip Advisor/Boards in advance and don't bother writing reviews afterwards.

I will just leave you with one (Puckish) comment that will no-doubt bring even greater approbrium down on me: I don't think much of that Ramen gaff! The food is too sweet, the noodles too stodgy and those duck spring rolls are the mankiest things I have (half) eaten for a long time!

pwurple

Missyelliot2 wrote: »

Went to Blackrock Castle this weekend.....was really disappointed with the food. Had been there for a family thing 2 weeks ago and it was lovely (although we all ordered pizzas). Got the beef salad with chickpeas and I swear I must have munched through about 100 chickpeas, and the beef was really chewy.
The waitress asked if everything was ok (as my salad bowl didn't look like it had been touched, due to those chickpeas!) and I nodded like the churchill dog. Sooooo mad at myself, but didn't want to seem awkward...

You should have said something! I just had the same thing for lunch today. I like the amount of chickpeas, and the beef was fine. It was way too sweet for me though. Not mad about sweet chilli dressings. I should have read the menu properly, it does actually say 'sweet' in it. Anyway, my 3 year old loved her mini pizza and ice cream snowman, so we had fun.

54kroc

byronbay2 wrote: »

Well, I'll tell you one thing: there are obviously a lot of people who go there once and never return - any time I go the place is busy!

Yes, I have been to several other Indian restaurants in Cork, all inferior to the ET in my opinion.



I have been to lots of Indian restaurants in London, Birmingham and Manchester and have had some good, mediocre and awful experiences. The ET is a match for the best of these.


Anyhoo, I've said my piece now and will withdraw gracefully from the debate. I merely wanted to act as a mouthpiece for the little people, the forgotten people, the non-connoisseurs who go to the ET week-in, week-out for good food, good value and good service. They don't check Trip Advisor/Boards in advance and don't bother writing reviews afterwards.

I will just leave you with one (Puckish) comment that will no-doubt bring even greater approbrium down on me: I don't think much of that Ramen gaff! The food is too sweet, the noodles too stodgy and those duck spring rolls are the mankiest things I have (half) eaten for a long time!

I've never been to an Indian in Ireland that has come close to what Birmingham and London have to offer, we've different tastes I guess.

Have to agree with you about the Ramen though, easily the most overrated place I've been to.

ABajaninCork

Ramen wasn't the greatest, I agree. The service was what really annoyed me. Plus the fact the food's seriously overpriced for what's supposed to be 'street food'. I'm sure there's better to be had in Cork as well as London.

The best rubies in the world are to be found on the Curry Mile in Birmingham, with Leeds a close second. Shimla Pink's rules! I've said it before. I've NEVER found a decent ruby here. I wait until I go home to London

Dave47

54kroc wrote: »

I've never been to an Indian in Ireland that has come close to what Birmingham and London have to offer, we've different tastes I guess.

Have to agree with you about the Ramen though, easily the most overrated place I've been to.

not surprised it would be overrated considering the love for wagamama in cork lol- think its 4 stars on tripadvisor??

iyers is the place i want to try- menu looks v different

nerwen

Dave47 wrote: »

not surprised it would be overrated considering the love for wagamama in cork lol- think its 4 stars on tripadvisor??

I personally love wagamama for lunch and early/quick dinner, but then I do see it as street food, not a restaurant as such.

I love the duck gyoza, their recent ramen thing of which I tried two (pork and beef), both were tasty, the chicken katsu curry is tasty and my very own favorite ginger chicken udon is awesome. It's not a date place, nor a place you go with your folks, but not every place with food has to be that. It might not be very authentic either, but in this case I don't care much as it's trumped by the fact that I really like the food.

All things in context.

Haven't tried ramen, though it's on my to do list, so no comment on that.

pwurple

Wgamama and ramen are noodle bars...wagamama is a chain and Ramen more for takeaway. I don't know why people have such massive overblown expectations. They are what they are, and do just that. I don't think either are aspiring to be actual restaurants. I like both. Ramen mainly because they use fresh veg. Wagamama because it's fairly child-friendly and isn't mcdonalds.

For the best sit-down asian restaurant in town, I still think Yuan Ming Yuan (chinese) leads by a mile.

evilivor

pwurple wrote: »

Wgamama and ramen are noodle bars...wagamama is a chain and Ramen more for takeaway. I don't know why people have such massive overblown expectations. They are what they are, and do just that. I don't think either are aspiring to be actual restaurants. I like both. Ramen mainly because they use fresh veg. Wagamama because it's fairly child-friendly and isn't mcdonalds.

For the best sit-down asian restaurant in town, I still think Yuan Ming Yuan (chinese) leads by a mile.

Both Wagamama and Ramen describe themselves as restaurants.

pwurple

evilivor wrote: »

Both Wagamama and Ramen describe themselves as restaurants.

So does mcdonalds...

evilivor

pwurple wrote: »

So does mcdonalds...

Correctly as McDonalds is, indeed, a restaurant.

pwurple

evilivor wrote: »

Correctly as McDonalds is, indeed, a restaurant.

Righto, and would you have the same expectation levels for the food/experience in mcdonalds and say... Oysters?

I'm just saying people should possibly adjust their massive expectations for very different sorts of establishments.

nerwen

pwurple wrote: »

For the best sit-down asian restaurant in town, I still think Yuan Ming Yuan (chinese) leads by a mile.

Agreed. I haven't had the chance to try out all of the authentic dim sum they have, but I have plans to correct that shortly! Mmm steamed buns.

j8wk2feszrnpao

The one and only time I went to Wagamama's, the service was slow - waitress forgot my order twice.
Didn't think much of the food, quite bland.
Felt it didn't it offered value for money, no interest in visiting it again.

evilivor

Cafe Bar Deli has closed down.

Lemag

evilivor wrote: »

Cafe Bar Deli has closed down.

Since Wednesday/Thursday last week.

sporina

evilivor wrote: »

Cafe Bar Deli has closed down.

oh well i am not sorry - i have posted before about this place..

it was always busy though - wonder why it actually closed?

who_me

sporina wrote: »

oh well i am not sorry - i have posted before about this place..

it was always busy though - wonder why it actually closed?

Hard to say, it's a great location with frontage on French Church St. and Academy St., which are even busier now with the Opera Lane development. It might just have been bought up / re-leased by something/someone bigger & better.

One thing that annoyed me though was how it seemed to close quite early. I've been turned away at around 8:30. That alone made me less inclined to go back there.

evilivor

sporina wrote: »

oh well i am not sorry - i have posted before about this place..

it was always busy though - wonder why it actually closed?

Post deleted. This is off topic, no need to go into the ins and outs of why you think it closed, and it's all pure speculation.

Keep to restaurant reviews/recommendations please folks.

Leahyl

BanzaiBk

Iyers for lunch, delicious!

Nonoperational

pwurple wrote: »

Wgamama and ramen are noodle bars...wagamama is a chain and Ramen more for takeaway. I don't know why people have such massive overblown expectations. They are what they are, and do just that. I don't think either are aspiring to be actual restaurants. I like both. Ramen mainly because they use fresh veg. Wagamama because it's fairly child-friendly and isn't mcdonalds.

For the best sit-down asian restaurant in town, I still think Yuan Ming Yuan (chinese) leads by a mile.

Perfectly put. I think Ramen is great for a €9.95 pad thai. I'd spend €6 or there abouts making it myself if I went to Tesco to get the ingredients. Once a month I get a craving for a Big Mac and at the time I think it's the nicest thing in the world.

But if I want a nice meal on a Saturday night neither would be anywhere near my radar. They are what they are, and at the right time they are great.

TeletextPear

Does anyone know if Chan's in Douglas is closed down? Tried ordering tonight but the phone rang out and their profile isnt on just eat anymore

Milly33

Just called into the titanic in Cobh and well we wont be rushing back. Bad service, bad food

AshAdele

went to the Brook in Glanmire last night, it was ok but they really need to sort out there portions, we both eat from the early bird menu. a black pudding fritter started was just two golf ball size pudding balls on some sauce. the buffalo chick wings where piled high, took ten minutes to eat.

the mains were a pasta dish and a pork belly dish. again portion sizes were all over the place. huge bowl of pasta and lots of chicken compared to two small pieces of pork with fancy garnishes of undercook potato balls and a few sauces. thankfully they did add a bowl of mash.

the food was alright but i wouldn't rush back there

nerwen

Finally tried out Ramen tonight, ordered in from them and expected to wait a while, but the food arrived after only 30 minutes. I am central though, so it wasn't a long drive for them.

Anyway, my flatmate got a duck salad and was a little sad when he saw it, the salad, while tasty, was tiny. It was priced at 7.50 so maybe it's meant to be a starter? Luckily we also had the bento box to share however; I found the prawns a bit overdone, but that's probably because it was delivery, the duck spring roll and satay chicken were both good and it all came with plenty of dipping sauce, one for each.

I got the japanese udon and I was impressed with the portion size, it was damn tasty (pardon my French) and I was very happily surprised when they actually noticed a small amendment I made to the dish on the order. While most places have the option, for delivery very few seem to bother removing that pesky onion I don't like. But these guys did, yay!

All in all, good food, good delivery, decent price. Would order again.

olliesgirl55

If you want a really nice dinner out try Greene's on Macurtain Street. The food, ambience and service are top notch. They are a bit pricey but well worth it.

Nonoperational

nerwen wrote: »

Finally tried out Ramen tonight, ordered in from them and expected to wait a while, but the food arrived after only 30 minutes. I am central though, so it wasn't a long drive for them.

Anyway, my flatmate got a duck salad and was a little sad when he saw it, the salad, while tasty, was tiny. It was priced at 7.50 so maybe it's meant to be a starter? Luckily we also had the bento box to share however; I found the prawns a bit overdone, but that's probably because it was delivery, the duck spring roll and satay chicken were both good and it all came with plenty of dipping sauce, one for each.

I got the japanese udon and I was impressed with the portion size, it was damn tasty (pardon my French) and I was very happily surprised when they actually noticed a small amendment I made to the dish on the order. While most places have the option, for delivery very few seem to bother removing that pesky onion I don't like. But these guys did, yay!

All in all, good food, good delivery, decent price. Would order again.

I wasn't a huge fan of the bento box, but the udon noodles are nice. The pad thai is my favourite. Very nice!

confusticated

I go to Banna Thai a fair bit, but have to give them a big thumbs up for yesterday, a massive crowd of us went there for lunch and pre-ordered (so that probably helped out a bit, but still). Food arrived pretty quickly, everything was tasty, but a really nice touch, they put out little sample plates of cakes for free when we were having tea and coffee afterwards. Very nice staff.

sporina

had a kebab from the sultan stall over the weekend - almost as good as one I had in Berlin - and they are the real thing..

leahyl

Went to Ginzeng in Mahon Point food court last night - had pad thai noodles, they were gorgeous. Huge portion for e7.80 - not bad.

SteelyDanJalapeno

Had lunch in Amicus over the weekend, had the Chicken Creole, wasn't a patch on KC's offering but still not bad, I found the pitta bread to hard and would of been impossible to eat by hand had to be cut with knife and fork i know this is normal behavior for a restaurant anyway.

Good service and reasonably priced.

SteelyDanJalapeno

+1 for the Pad Thani from Ramen, it was awesome.

who_me

TeletextPear wrote: »

Does anyone know if Chan's in Douglas is closed down? Tried ordering tonight but the phone rang out and their profile isnt on just eat anymore

Think it's gone and there's a new Thai restaurant there now.

pwurple

Neven mcguires home chef featured cork restaurant Les Gourmandaises tonight. Looked yummy. It's on the rte player for anyone interested.

Faith

Am I the only one who think Perry street is completely overrated? Tables crammed so close together that it feels like a Ryanair flight, and boring, expensive food. I don't understand why it's always so busy

Malari

I'd agree with you there Faith! I have a couple of friends who like it, so I've been more than I'd like to but every time is the same...very overpriced and not great service.