The Rochestown Inn enjoys a prominent roadside location on the Rochestown road in Rochestown, Cork. We headed there the other night to see what it offers. As you walk in there is seating to the right and left. If you walk to the left there is more seating and there is a small bar on the right. There is an area for smokers out a door here. If you continue up a few steps there is another bar on the left and seating all around this area. Overall it is a small pub. It is renouned for it’s summer BBQ’s and has a great selection of different food themes available. It was quite busy on our visit. You will find live music in the Rochestown inn on a regular basis. They have a Jelly bean machine by the bar which is great. The Murphy’s here is fine, a bit bitter but ok.
The toilets are located up the back and out a door to the left. You may get stuck going out one door and in the other. The toilets are small and could probably do with some modernisation but weren’t the worst i’ve seen. This pub has a lot of character and charm and was nice to visit. I’d like to go back again when it is livlier and maybe enjoy a BBQ night.
Toilet rating: 5/10
Pint rating: 7/10
Overall rating 6 and a half/10
Final comment: The Rochestown Inn is a nice spot off point for a bite to eat or a drink sometime.
I have been to this pub a few times since this review. I have to say that the staff were very friendly and Phelan Goodman was playing on one night and he is a very talented musician. There was a very good mix of people there the last time we were in there and the pints i got were far better than the first visit. Can certainly recommend the breakfast here as well which is delicious.
Eoin
how can you rate the mount oval bar higher than the rochestown inn. the inn is a superb bar for live music, sports on 4 big screens, gourmet sandwiches and paninis and boasts what is possibly the best smoking area front and back. the bar also hosts the 2005 Guinness barman of the year in the Cork region and the 2006 runner-up. the friendly and welcoming attitude of the staff and customers makes this bar a welcome haven for regulars and passers by alike.
I totally agree with all Ian had to say. I would also like to add the fact that a pub isn’t always about the toilets, the seating or the pint served. All regulars at the Rochestown Inn will back me up with the statement that “there is the most wonderful sense of community and friendship at this pub and always room for new additions”. This pub is like an extension of the family for its’ clientele. Try it and and you will agree.
Sounds like Garry O’ DOnovan posted those comments!! Not genuine.
I agree with Ian and Niamh. Hot Guitars are the best band in the country right now, only rivaled by Phelan Goodman (pronounced feelin good man… get it?). The “Gourmet” toasted sambos are out of this world (they use real onions grown by real farmers), the paninis are like being in Italy yourself, only not. The Guinness barman of the year competition is surely a benchmark for a great pub, I mean, It has to be! Its a competition by Guinness and they make great ads so there taste in Barmen has to be good, and those barmen are surely a reflection of the pubs atmosphere. Ive actually disowned my family and friend because I think of the Inn as my home now. Gary O’Donovan… Some sort of hero in my eyes!
I think its a dump.
the rocestown inn is a good bar but the bus service they run is terible the driver pat is a disgrace to the service he will put his own friends in front of the q system and he has made myself and others wait almost longer than an hour for the service despite the fact we would be outside waiting before most of the people he takes ahead of us i think the service is a disgrace although i will respect that it is a good idea but not when he is the driver
Hi, Im Ronan O’Gara. For as long as I can remember Ive been chasing silverware on the pitch, but lately I have realised there are more important things in life like…. Drinking in the Rochestown Inn. Whether your your having lash of pints with the lads or travelling from far ad wide to see Hot Guitars, always choose the Rochestown Inn. Im Ronan O’Gara and I endorse this message.
* Can I have my money now Gary?
Hi,
I also agree with Ian. The Rochestown Inn is Irelands premier bar. Ian is being modest when he describes the pannini’s as “Gourmet”. I had been living in a culinary marriage of convenience to ham sandwiches from Centra until that day, a day like any other, I decided to go trekking the upper intestine of Corks picturesque harbour. Having walked for an hour or so, I happened upon a quaint little cottage, situated at the foothills of Rochestowns sierra region.
Hesitant at first, due to my previous endeavors with Irelands culinary establishments, I wandered in. The interior of the bar instantly put me at ease. Subtle shades of yellows and blacks and greys and greens and reds, this plethora of mismatched colours ignited my passion for surrealist interior design, a passion that had long been extinguished by my lifes failings.
After a brief period of refelction, a kind staff member approached my table. She carried a grace not seen since ’61 when Audrey Hepburn brought the character of Holly Golightly to life in Capote’s ‘Breakfast at Tiffanys’. She wore a black t-shirt, though not the type of accoutrement one would expect from a lady of this caliber, it captured my senses all the same. She was my Hepburn and I was her Peppard. This was ‘Lunch at the Inn’.
My senses had been bound by her beauty. She recommended a “Gourmet Pannini”, “Yes” I said with an nervous smile. She had me at “can i recommend”, my fleeting sense of reasoning had been lost in her eyes. Blue velvet. She would always be remembered as blue velvet.
Upon the arrival of my pannini, the enourmous sense of anticipation had almost reached a level equal to that of a child on christmas morning. That first bite, oh that first bite was like heaven. Everything I thought I knew about food vanished from my memory. This was a pannini, this was living, this was the Rochestown Inn. If you have ever been to italy, or spent an evening in the company of people rhapsodizing about the incredible meats and cheeses then you have truly been educated. But who spares a thought for those who have never been? never seen the Coliseum? never sat on the hills of Sorento with a fine 1997 Nipozzanno Chianti while looking over the med? those who have never roamed the quaint markets of Sicilly? The Rochestown Inn. Not just “Goumet”, Its Italy, Bottled.
Speaking of Chianti and Bottles, the Rochestown Inn boasts a wide range of red and white wines, some of which have corks.
Having never seen a rugby match, I would later be exposed to what I can only describe as the Rochestown Inn’s panel of experts. Each house pundit has a close and personal relationship with the Munster Rugby team and has been involved in the sport, either through watching or reading, for at least one year. I have sat there for hours being educated on “what Munster/Ireland should have done” to win and how Declan Kidney is “A close personal friend” who they have met at least once in the Spar in mount oval.
Plain and simple, if you cant afford a holiday this year, visit the Rochestown Inn. This is Italy, this is munster, this is living.
Shameless self promotion from O’Donovan and CO. Good luck with the sale of the Bar. You will need it at that price!
Rochestown Inn was my local when I lived in Ireland. There is no other bar in the world that has the atmosphere you find here. I always make time to have a pint there when I’m in the Cork area.God if I could only Transport you to Connecticut life would be perfect.
Ian and Niamh didnt ye work there, I think Ian you still do. Hahah. The inn is lovely but it should have been left the way it was when it first opened..
I recently called in here for a few pints of Beamish. They weren’t great at all, when I mentioned this to the bar man he said, ” ah sure, its summer time, no one is drinking it” not much of an excuse really. Also this pub has some of the highest prices. Its more expensive than many city or Douglas Pubs, which serve far better pints
Hello Denis you may not remember me we used to know each other from man years ago.
I am with a new Cork band called The Taxmen . We compose original material and also do covers depending on the venue. We have had radio play on 96 FM and C103. Our website is http://www.thetaxmencork.com please take a look. We would like to play at your venue. We have a large following and we would promote the gig to maximize profits for you. It it is not successful for you it won’t be for us!
My email is above , phone no. 086 2738478
Regards,
Con
i am doing a project on the inn and would be grateful for any background history on it.
such as how old it is who built it originally,and any info really that i can use .
thanks
Jo
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Will you be having U2-2 appearing next year? We’ve seen them quite a few times at the Old Oak and we’d love to see them a bit nearer to us all. All the Best – Peter