Where to Eat

As any good chef will tell you, the secret of good cooking is top-quality ingredients – and Cork has quality produce in spades.

The county’s rich pastures are famous for their beef, pork, lamb and dairy products. The rivers and lakes are stocked with some of the world’s finest salmon and trout. And fishing villages from Ballycotton in the east to Castletownbere in the west teem everyday with hauls of fresh fish and shellfish, from blue shark and black sole to mussels and oysters.

In Cork city, the historic English Market shows local food at its very best, with traditional delicacies such as spiced beef and drisheen rubbing delicious shoulders with dozens of varieties of farmhouse cheeses, artisanal breads and preserves. The market’s gallery restaurant, The Farmgate Café, has daily menus chosen from the freshest ingredients available on the stalls.

Ballymaloe House in Shanagarry near Midleton is probably one of Ireland’s best-known restaurants, serving the best of traditional local food for 45 years – much of it produced on its own 100-acre organic farm. Ballymaloe has always been a family affair, started by Myrtle Allen in the Sixties and expanded by her daughter-in-law, Darina, who opened Ballymaloe Cookery School in 1983. Another generation, Darina’s daughter-in-law, Rachel, is now upholding the family tradition. She has written four bestselling cookery books and has her own TV series.

Across the harbour in West Cork, Kinsale Gourmet Festival each October attracts “foodies” from all over the world to the restaurants in its Good Food Circle.

So whether you’re in the city centre, the east of the county or the west, producing food in Cork means striving for excellence – and usually achieving it.

To find Cork restaurants by Cuisine, Maps, Price, Special Offers, Menus, Competitions, and Ratings & Reviews, please click here.