Thursday, June 29, 2006

Donatello's, Maynooth

Well, I was expecting cheap and cheerful and that's exactly what I got, with a healthy mix of yummy food thrown in.
The restaurant was full, the atmosphere relaxed and cosy and the service was friendly and helpful.
Three women on a night off stuffed themselves silly with starters (stuffed peppers and 2 x garlic mushrooms), main courses (pork something, chicken something and chicken something else) and desserts (banoffi pie, chocolate fudge cake and 3 flavours of home-made icecream). There was only one glass of wine ordered and several soft drinks and bottles of sparkling water.
All in, the bill came to €120, which isn't bad at all...

I'll see you guys again soon!

Monday, June 19, 2006

restaurante rossini

Princes St. Cork City

wow. the saving grace of this place, is that the food is great. unfortunately it's also so understaffed it's a trial in patience to even sit there.

our first tip-off should have been how long it took to be noticed and get seated. it was painful waiting for any kind of service, to be asked our order, for our plates to be cleared, for the bill to arrive.

would i go back? ummm... if i wanted really good pesto, and i knew that there was a better ratio of customers to servers. 2 stars because when there was service, it wasn't bad, and the food was great. but i might be being a bit generous.

il padrino

21 Cook Street, Cork, Ireland
Tel.: +353 - (0)21 - 4271 544

thursday night we were a larger group, and there to celebrate a friend's birthday. reservations were made that day, and they were able to accomodate us.

the service was great, our waiter, Dan (who we had nicknamed Don) was attentive enough and handled the large group of loud and mostly drunk girls with humour.

the white house wine was inexpensive and tasty. the food was nice, and there was a good variety of options, pastas, pizzas, meat and veg.

we brought a cake with us, and they happily put the candles on and brought it to the table. we had a good time, and that's partly because the restaurant was so accomodating. because of that, the restaurant gets a 4.

i'd go back, as long as my friend doesn't break the heart (or vice versa) of the waiter we picked up for her.

Il Padrino
On to the food for those who don't want to hit on the waiter. Il Padrino is very good. I was along for the night and since Damien never showed, thanks alot Damien, I was the only guy on an otherwise girls night out. And sober, since I was driving.
The food though made up for it. The Penne Italiana, penne with artichokes, italian sausage, pesto and a white wine cream sauce was delicous. I sampled a few other dishes and they all came up to the same standard. At about €15 a main it's very reasonable.
On the waiter side, yes, service was excellent.
Would I go back? Yes, just not on a girls night out.

Monday, June 12, 2006

The Brehon

The Brehon Hotel
Muckross Rd
Killarney

I was here for two days and got to try out the restaurant. It was all you would expect from a 4 star hotel and more. The service was excellent and the food followed suit.
Lunch day 1 was corn fed chicken which was cooked perfectly. Full of flavour and really melt in the mouth. Dessert was a toffee cheesecake, which was also up to the same standard.
Lunch day 2 was more interesting. Pork with chirozo stuffing and a mushroom and spring onion cafe au lait. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's coffee. With milk? Anyway, I ordered it, and wasn't to be disappointed. The pork was perfect, the stuffing up there with Ma Gainford's famous christmas stuffing and the coffee with milk was really suited to the whole dish. No taste of coffee, a really good sauce for the pork though. I'd recommend it if you're ever there.
The veg that accompanied the main courses were also well though out. Not just the usual few potatoes, carrots etc, they varied on both days, included was squash, aubergine and a few I didn't recognise, but none the less enjoyed.
For the price was it good value? No idea, work picked up the tab.
Would I go back again. Yes, I am planning to.

The Stone Haven, Maynooth

"Award winning restaurant", we were promised.
The question we were asking by the end of the night was "What award and when?"

With an evening of unexpected (and free) babysitting thrust upon us, Con and I were only too delighted to head out for a drink and dinner. We'd been meaning to sample the delights of the Stone Haven since we'd moved to the area. Anyone who ventured an opinion was highly complimentary. We got off to a promising start: the service was friendly; the atmosphere, relaxed and informal. The first downer of the evening was an early trip to the loo. Grim does not begin to cover it. Ugh. Say no more.

Con decided to go with the evening's specials and ordered a salmon and crab thingie for his starter. It tasted a little off, apparently. Not rotten-fish-off, just over-oily-not-nice-off. I was a little less adventurous and had the duck spring rolls, which to be fair were fairly tasty.

Con's dinner stepped up a gear with his ostrich (thumbs up), while mine ratcheted down a notch with overcooked monkfish. Both were served with fries and a side salad. And an incredibly elaborate garnish of knotted chives.

To finish, Con took a chance and ordered the cheeseboard - this was alright. There was a decent selection of cheese and quantity of crackers and grapes and even a glass of port. I had spotted the profiteroles going to someone else's table earlier and decided to grab me a bit of that action. Good job too. Delicious.

All in all, the grotty toilets had soured the experience for us. Poor standards of hygiene in an eatery are not acceptable. Con's fishy starter was blamed for a feeling of general malaise the following day and while I didn't feel ill, I don't think there's much excuse for serving up overcooked fish at an "award winning" restaurant.

We won't be heading back in a hurry. Or at all.

Saturday, June 10, 2006

the quay co-op

cork city... i don't know the address, but it's just across from the walking bridge and upstairs from the store of the same name.

wholesome vegetarian food with gluten free, dairy free, sugar free, etc. options. i've been meaning to try this place for quite some time now (i've had it checked off in my guide to ireland since before i got here.

i met up with elaine and gerry and we each had different food. it is a serve yourself-hippy kind of place, but the atmosphere is good and casual. oh!!! and the service is quite friendly. there was a big jug of water waiting on the table for us, and because none of us picked up any of the bottled organic, sugar free drinks they automatically gave us glasses so we could help ourselves! yay to jugs of water!

i tried everyone's food... the mains and the sides (you pick a main and get two sides of veg/salad to go with it) and they all tasted yummy!

portions? huge. if you want less they will charge you less... i had one burger instead of two and i got a discount. there was no rushing us out, and plenty of seating. i paid less than €8 for my meal. i think elaine and gerry were around €10.

4 high stars

i can't wait to go back.

Friday, June 09, 2006

i'm so good

i managed to get reservations at Annie's for when danielle and her mom come in August.

YAY!

i'm excited to see if it maintains its previously high level of service and food.

the review will follow.

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

ruby jones

it's a regular kind of restaurant... it offers a variety of pizzas, pastas, hamburgers, and other middle-of-the-road foods.

we've been there a few times, and except for once, it's been good. it's not amazing, it's generally consistent and tasty... and sometimes that's what i want. also, you can usually get good parking. before the last two times we went there, we were usually alone at the restaurant. recently, things have really picked up there... even at lunch it was busy.

the decor is modern and open. the drinks are fun, and you can get pitchers at a decent price. in fact, the food's decently priced as well.

i like the pizza and the pavlova.

3.5 stars... middle-of-the-road, for middle-of-the-road. i'll go back, and i'll probably still like it. when we go, it's cause we want middle-of-the-road. ruby jones does that well, better than most.


ruby jones

douglas village
cork

Friday, June 02, 2006

wild ways

a french-style cafe that's perfect for lunch.

i had a focaccia with goat's cheese, red peppers, and pesto with a baked potato on the side with this lovely garlic butter and chili jelly. surprisingly they also had the french pink lemonade that i fell in love with at orchard. yay!

the price is right, about €10 for lunch.

what made the focaccia so perfect was that there wasn't an overload of cheese on it, (a common problem with focaccia and goat's cheese).

wild ways is not trying to be a fancy place with over-priced food; it is a clean-lined cafe with a busy atmosphere, rows of tables, and great food.

4.5 stars- it's a good place for lunch

Cafe Paradiso

a vegetarian paradise, indeed!

this is one of my favourite restaurants in cork. i have never had a disappointing meal there... the wine has always been one that we've said: mmm, this is nice, let's remember this one!

last night i started with beetroot mousse and my main was risotto. both were fantastic. the wine was a new zealand sauvignon blanc, and delicious, kind of sharp, but not bitter... very fresh. the mousse was light and sweet and savoury in only the way veggies can. having tried everyone else's dishes, hearing the satisfied yum's, and my canadian guests buying a cookbook, cafe paradiso was a hit.

my only issue, and the only thing preventing me from giving this place a full five stars is the cost. lunch is less expensive, so it's a good idea to keep that in mind if you're being budget-conscious.

basically, the food is gorgeous, and being someone who hates mushrooms there are thankfully lots of choices that are free of the fungus. the decor is hippy-funk, definitely not frou-frou, and the casual atmosphere doesn't have you worrying about which fork to use, or dressing up.

it's a fun place. great food. great wines.

solid four.