cafe mexicano part deux

submitted by guest blogger Jaimie

As a first time guest to Ireland, I quite obviously had to go out for some traditional Irish fare; and where better than a mexican restaurant?

The atmosphere was warm and upbeat in the tiny restaurant, definitely trying for a Mexican flavour. The menu accuratel reflected the theme, and I was sad to see there were no Irish ale choices to accompany my tacos. Instead I took a Dos Equis, which I was quite happy to see was on the menu.

I ordered the Dos plate, which allowed me a taste of both the taco and the enchillada, both beef. I was pleasantly surprised to see the beef was not ground up, but came in large, filling pieces. The cheese and salsa melted on the enchillada tasted great and fresh, and small salad on the side was appealing.

Typical Mexican food overall; something I certainly had not expected to find in Cork. Recommended; three solid stars.

cafe mexicano

careys street

cork, ireland

this little restaurant is located just south of french church street, between patrick street and paul street.

luckily one of the girls i was meeting got there before the throngs that i had to pass when i got there, so we got a table.

the food was great. but our waitress was a bit bitchy, possibly just a long HOT day (it was really hot upstairs) but still, not that fun. the next one we got was much nicer.

i had yummy bean tacos, i think everyone else had burritos which were a big hit. dessert was okay, not a must-have at all.

good atmosphere, you take your chances with the waitresses. food has consistently been good.

3 stars. i would go back, partly because there's not much choice for mexican food in cork and because the food is good there. for the price, the service should be better.

SoHo

Washington Street at Grand Parade
Cork, Ireland

this is a trendy bar restaurant. the food was great (real parmasan on the caesar salad) and the service was friendly and prompt as well. kevin was attentive and funny, and possibly thought that i was hitting on him, but whatever.

i wish i hadn't been driving because the martinis looked awesome. sharon had fajitas, which i was very very tempted to order, the price was a bit high, but the amount of food you get is clearly in relation to that. i had caesar salad and nachos, both were great... but i am still looking for great salsa in ireland. and we shared some garlic bread. not so garlicy but still quite nice.

presentation was great, and that restaurant itself, possibly because it's so new was also nice.

3.5 stars. i'd definitely go back, especially to try the fajitas, and to test some drinks.

casanova

north main street
cork city

rumours of freshly made pasta seduced elaine and me to this restaurant. we decided to give it a go on saturday, and were so impressed with lunch that we splurged on dessert too!

the lunch menu is great "value for money" as they say in ireland. it was 7.90€ for a large portion of pasta. you get a stamp for each main you eat there, and after collecting 5 or 6 stamps you get a free main.

we did our duty as panelists and asked about the fresh pasta; the news is, dinner (which is more expensive) offers homemade gnocci and ravioli. the lunch pastas did taste fresh, but they were not made there.

funny coincidence: our work lunch on monday was at casanovas (i had nothing to do with it) but everyone was saying the same thing: great value for money, and great food. we asked for bread with our pasta, and they baked a couple loaves fresh for us. obviously that was great.

i would definitely go again, and can't wait to try a tomato based sauce.

the decor is kinda italian cafe not crazy, not trying to be too posh. service was friendly and prompt.

for what it is, a cheap (lunch) place to get good food, it gets 4.5. depending on how much the price goes up for dinner, and how tasty that gnocci is, that's where my rating will stay.