Restaurant Recommendation Thread - Anyone for seconds?

Very true.

I worked in a few bars over the years and learned a lot about who was running them and how they were run.

I applaud entrepreneurialism and also the people who keep these places ticking over (the staff).

I think the general level of service in Cork is decent, but I think the costs have soared and there’s very little if anything being offered to the customer to mitigate the increase. I don’t want free food, but if you’re charging nearly seven euro for a pint (which many places do) then get you’d better have the fundamentals absolutely locked down.

When I enter a restaurant or a bar, and I pay for the food/beer the staff are not doing me a favour by serving it to me, I’m paying for it, the food and the service and the lights over my head and the music and the clean floors etc etc.

The scales must be balanced. If you need to increase the price of something from €12 to €15, fair enough, I have cost increases in my business too, but what do I get out of it if I pay more and get the same or less? How is that an attractive proposition for me (the customer)?

I thought it was just me.

My partner loved it I enjoyed the food. But I just couldn't connect with the place itself.

Depends on how high the minimum wage gets I guess. An increase of €1.70 an hour as mentioned in the post would be €68 a day, for 20 staff that's €1360 a week, so just over €70,000 a year of a price increase. Now I'm not in the industry so I don't know how much turnover a business like that would have a year - €1m? One of the people I spoke with in Athlone was saying he'd have to charge €20 for a breakfast to make it worth his while, and nobody was going to pay that. I suppose things will find balance as time goes on but I do hate to see these local restaurants closing.

Seeing places closing is not nice.

But I imagine it's a combination of many different components and not just an increase in minimum wage.

Or Good Day Deli. People will pay a lot money if you have the right customer base and the location and food are considered worthy.

I had lunch in the Opera House cafe this week, very small menu but the food was nice. Soup, sandwiches, (very big) sausage rolls & salad. There were five of us there & everyone was happy with the venue.

Yes but you said if an increase in min wage is the problem a business has no long term future. Its more the tipping point/the straw that breaks the camels back. You can only increase your prices so much before your not filling seats.

I always have a bit of a problem with people on moderate to high incomes (or any wage above minimum wage) complaining that minimum wage is too high.

A bit like when the lower tax band is widened or the threshold to enter taxation is increased, you hear the usual, "nothing for the middle income earner", which ignores the fact that everyone benifits from the lower rate reductions. That reads to me, that not only do I want more in my paycheck, I want extra that poorer people don't get! It's like it doesn't count if everyone gets it!

Think ye might need a new thread for this lads 😉

With labour costings in a business, one has to multiply the wage by 1.5 to look after PRSI, holidays etc. So €13.60 is about €20/hr when doing the calculations. That being said I believe everyone should be on the living wage a minimum.

Price point may be an issue in the city where there is a lot of close competition, definitely much less a factor outside of it.

Thirded

Had a takeout from Haveli in Douglas. The place is just a takeaway now, tables pushed aside a bit, pretty much the same as always but no punters sitting down eating. .

Got our usual few dinners, for the family, and I thought it was a mistake before, but confirmed it's not...(this is the second time they've done it) got tikka masala sauce for one of my younger ones) Was charged the full price as if there was meat in it. So €12+ for a tub of sauce. No denying it was nice, but still. If there's a next time, I'll be asking for meat on the side if they're charging me full whack.

The amount of chicken has reduced in the mains, and was a bit stringy, obviously not their usual quality anymore.

Tbh I won't be going again, I couldn't afford it for a family takeout, unless it was a special occasion. Indian restaurants charging for rice on top of a fairly expensive main is something I could never fathom.

Has anyone been to Ballyvolane House near Castlelyons? Got a voucher as a gift and going next week. Looking forward to it but don’t know what to expect as I think it’s a set menu with no choice?

...ate in this (new?) restaurant the other day - Thindi - in Bishopstown, just across from the Bishopstown Pub fork... menu had Indian and Thai dishes (might be mistaken, but I think that it was a Thai restaurant earleir). We only had Indian food as the folks we were with wanted Indian and not much else was open. Now the food was not top notch authentic Indian fare, but not bad I must say, not like the usual - so it wasnt the ususal disappointing experience

Have you tried "new Iyer's" yet? From my limited experience, it's no Iyer's, but it is pretty good.