Restaurant Recommendation Thread - Anyone for seconds?

rob316

In my favorite restaurant last night - Market Lane, haven't been for the best part of a year. Still exceptional, they are just operating on another level in quality and service. I was pleasantly surprised too that prices increases were pretty marginal in comparison to other places.

To me its the model restaurant, relatively simple food done well.

the beer revolu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121595820#Comment_121595820

Yeah. Can't help feeling that if the service wasn't so woeful, the pizzas probably would have tasted better!

Nothing worse than untrained floor staff, though.

shawki

I’ve been to Sano twice and got the cook at home pizzas three times.

Food has been great every time but one thing I’ve noticed from the get go is that the staff look quite jaded and uninterested which is strange for a place only open a few months.

opus

I'm a fan of Loving Salads on Academy St for lunch, a reasonably size bowl (although it has shrunk) with your choice of five portions plus hummus & seeds on top for €6.50. Can't go wrong really. Not fine dining of course 🙂

leahyl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121598479#Comment_121598479

Love that place - their salads are delicious. I don't go half as much as I should/would like. You've given me a hankering for it now!

igCorcaigh

Another dahl review. Spice Inn, North Main Street.

Very tasty and the staff are fun.

€16.40, so a bit pricey. Includes the onions. Bread was a bit dry.

Dbu

https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/munster/arid-41307469.html

Nash 19 Closing

the beer revolu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121606139#Comment_121606139

Thats unfortunate.

While it was a decent cafe/restaurant and did champion a lot of local produce, I could just never find affection for the place. It always felt like it was there to cater for a certain South Mall/chamber of commerce sort. I guess it just wasn't my type of place or I wasn't their type of customer.

Still, I take no pleasure in it's closure, I hope the employees find new jobs and that creditors aren't stung badly. It's not a good time to be a supplier to the trade, either.

rob316

Sad to see another closure, but she is a truly ignorant woman.

Last time I was in there having breakfast (years ago), she absolutely roared at the waitress for not bringing me a paper which I didn't ask for. I told her it was fine and she told me not to interrupt her while "discliplining" her staff.

Previous to that I asked her for another coffee while having my breakfast and she said "I'm the owner not a server, I'll get you one" .Really like?

airy fairy

Never had a love of the place. I remember it as a greasy spoon before it revamped many years ago. I got the feeling if you went it with Penney's bags while shopping, you weren't really wanted. Honestly, that aside, not sure why there was always hype about the place.

sporina

yeah I stopped going there years ago - found the owner so intimidating - and she was so rude to her staff..

i am sure that the staff will be able to get work elsewhere - and where they are treated better I hope

Rfrip

That’s really interesting now because I couldn’t never see the love for the place! Thought it was just me

shnaek

I was in the Corner House Bistro in Athlone today. They're closing tomorrow. It was a lovely place, 20 staff, the guy doesn't want to close but he says the VAT increase and wage increase was the final straw. He was saying there will be lots of closures between now and May. Then I come home and read this news. Sad to see local businesses closing, what will we be left with? Generic multinational eateries? Cities and towns full of sports shops? My sympathies to all at Nash - they did an amazing breakfast.

shawki

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121608360#Comment_121608360

VAT didn’t increase, a temporary reduction ended on the 1st September which Businesses had 6 months notice that it was going to end.

Dan Dare

I am very sorry for the staff at Nash 18, my experience just prior to Covid was exactly the same as the previous posters, a ghastly woman. The breakfasts were lovely, I never went back.

scrotist

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121601229#Comment_121601229

That's extremely pricey for basically lentil soup. Profit margin on that is probably 90%.

the beer revolu

Gosh, there really is little sympathy for Nash! I was being somewhat diplomatic in expressing my opinion fully expecting to be admonished by a certain poster for being negative and irritable! Not so, it seems.

PreCocious

Like so many others I got the impression that Nash19 was for a certain clique (the folks from The Mall and Douglas G.C.) and others were just barely tolerated.

Unfortunately that clique has drifted by and the alienated others didn't come in to save the place.

As Beer Revolution says I hope the staff are sorted and the local suppliers don't get stung.

Edit: I was surprised to see the amount of people clearly coming out and saying it wasn't a Local Treasure.

Norrie Rugger Head

Well this one does suck

the beer revolu

Like dominos at this stage 😐

PreCocious

"Return in the near future with a different offering".

sammyjo90

If some of my favourite places start to close im gonna be so sad.

Im torn between wanted to save money/not eat out and wanting to throw all my money at them so they stay open!

sporina

is The Sultan still open ?

Iguarantee

I'd never eaten in White Rabbit, at the same time I don't like to see places close as it puts their staff in difficult positions.

Ate in Nash 19 a couple of times (years ago), in hindsight, it reminds me of Perry Street (or vice-versa) i.e. €15 for a slice of quiche with salad. Unfortunate feedback here about the owner too.

Having a bunch of restaurants close in succession happened a few years back too, maybe 2009-ish? The volume of restaurants in Cork was thinned out and thereafter a few new ones opened and became popular (plenty didn't last too obviously). Off the top of my head: Annies Gastropub, Hardwood, Clancys, Zanzibaar, The Ambassador etc. closed up.

I had the feeling that (competent) staff were hard to get after Covid19; now that places seem to be closing down, are we going to see better service or will newly unemployed staff go do something else?

I've no doubt that running a restaurant is challenging, but I feel that many places really took liberties following Covid19 regards booking, pricing, service etc. Good service isn't a luxury like booking the emergency exit seat on a plane.

In my opinion there are few restaurants in Cork city with truly good service (Son of a Bun, Golden Elephant (Douglas), Jacobs on the Mall, Elbow Lane) and plenty with mediocre service e.g. Goldie where as soon as the main courses were served the service fell off a cliff, similarly Ichigo Ichie where the excellent service falls off a cliff toward the end of the meal and your left to figure out yourself that it's time to leave.

airy fairy

Went to cafe Mexicana the other night. Had the meal combo for 2 for €38. Delicious to a point, server got the incorrect order for one of the combos which was disappointing as it was the one I was most looking forward to (potato and bacon filling and got spinach instead). Decent meal, decent price.

Norrie Rugger Head

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121614141#Comment_121614141

Did you say it to them or just eat it?

Mistakes happen and every restaurant I've ever eaten in immediately attempt to correct it.

Now if you said it and got nowhere then, yeah, post a negative, but if you've not given them a chance...

igCorcaigh

Has anyone tried Khyber Grill yet?

I haven't visited, but hope to do so soon.

igCorcaigh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121613670#Comment_121613670

I must get out of the city centre for food more... is the Golden Elephant worth a visit?

I love Thai food, but nothing available in the city centre :/

SleetAndSnow

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121615617#Comment_121615617

Got it for takeaway recently, waiting almost an hour for a collection for food that to be honest was similar to the royal palace by the Lough, which itself is a lovely Chinese but waits are usually 10-20 mins max for collection (ignoring their long delivery times usually).

I do also rate Khor in grange fairly highly. Think their food is fresh enough and flavours are brilliant imo.

igCorcaigh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121615683#Comment_121615683

Thanks!

From what I can make out from their bizarre website, they don't seem to deliver to city centre? Would probably prefer to visit it anyway. I hope the sit in prices are reasonable.

Khor is a new one to me, must look into it. Thanks! 👍️