the ivory tower

corner of oliver plunkett and princes st.
The Exchange Building
Cork City
Tel: +353 (0)21 4274665


i was concerned about going here because i'd heard they serve hedgehog which totally didn't sound vegetarian friendly. turns out they do serve hedgehog, but they also have a couple of vegetarian starters and mains.

i thought the food was fantastic. the set menu is 65€ each, you'll begin with hors d'oeuvres (vegetarian or non, but be careful, if you don't like fish, you might want to mention that as the meat-eating option was fish for gerry), then your appetiser, palette cleanser (mine was a very light and fresh watermelon and tequila sorbet) main course and then dessert and tea/coffee.

the setting is pretty casual funky with a hint of eccentricity. it's basically in one room about the size of a large living room, so i'd suggest reservations. the service was a bit weak, but that could be because one of the two waitrons was in training.

the feeling is that the chef is the manager and he's always in the back cooking, so it can feel a bit disorganised. but it's made up for with the yummy food.

i would definitely go back, because there are dishes yet to be tried!!

my food:
artichoke heart
watermelon and tequila sorbet
frittata
aubergine and couscous bake
creme broulee
peppermint tea

gerry's:
fish (since neither of us eat fish, we don't know much about it, but it was little)
duck and orange soup
wood pigeon
chocolate cake
coffee

3.5 stars