I’m planning to head to Bandon, West Cork soon to review some of their pubs. Should be a bit of fun!
Monthly Archive for March, 2011
On a recent work night out i ventured to this relatively new pub on the South Mall in Cork. The South Mall would generally be regarded as the financial district of Cork City. This is the only bar located on this street. It enjoys a fantastic location overlooking the river Lee. On a summers evening you would find it hard to pick a nicer place for a pint while sitting outside in the heart of the city centre. I was impressed when i headed in. It is a modern bar with efficient and professional bar staff. There are some very nice seating areas and its quite a big establishment. I liked the decor in this pub which was formerly a bank. It is more expensive for a pint here than other nearby pubs but as myself and Ollie discussed it is a new pub with very glamorous surroundings. I had three pints of Murphys there and they were all top rate. I saw people going upstairs so i don’t know if there is a restaurant there.
The toilets reminded me of those in Sober lane just across the bridge. The sinks are located outside the door of the gents and ladies toilets. A communal hand washing area. The gents toilets are small but to be fair were immaculate and i couldn’t fault them. The city certainly needs a classy pub such as this and i think it’l do well in that niche market.
Toilet rating: 8.5/10
Pint rating: 8/10
Overall rating: 8.5/10
Final comment: Electric is probably the most exciting bar to open in Cork city for a long while in my opinion. I would certainly recommend going there. I personally wouldn’t stay here for the whole night but for a couple of pints its a great find.
I have been here on a number of occassions and have always been impressed by the prices, quality of food and atmosphere. I have to say that this was not the same story on my last visit. I went for the late lunch and ordered a steak sandwich from the lunch menu. I have to say that i was very disappointed with the quality of the meat that was presented. I asked for it to be cooked medium but it came out a bit overdone. Ok thats not a capital offence on a lunch menu at reasonable prices but the meat itself was chewy, stringy and tough. I have to say that i felt i was given the real bottom of the pile meat due to it being reasonably priced lunch menu food. Saying this i have always found Amicus to be excellent value. Their prices are not pretentious and it is simple good quality food that is provided with professional service from the staff. The place is spotless as are the toilets. The toilets are a bit of a drawback in that there are too few of them and this is borne out by the fact that there is a line of chairs to sit on if you’re waiting for the loo. Over all Amicus is a quality, well run restaurant that will facilitate a nice lunch or a romantic meal and they accommodate children well also.
Take aways are also restaurants (Once they have a seating area anyway!!) right thats that clarified….
AJ’s fast food take away also boasts a seating area so qualifies… This is a relatively recently opened take away situated next to the Topaz garage in Riverstick. The place is generally spotless and one can, for the most part see the food being prepared behind the counter. This place comes from the “Lennox’s” stable of catering and the chips are home cut real potatoes and portions are great value. The food overall is excellent for fast food but the winner for me definitely has to be their southern fry wraps.. They are without doubt the best in the area.. prices are reasonable and as stated the food is good quality. The place is very clean as are the toilets. I can definitely recommend a visit to this spot on those sultry evenings returning from Garretstown and Kinsale (or from watching the statue move a bit in Ballinspittle) over the summer.
Cleanliness. 9/10
Value 9/10
Staff 8/10
Food 8.5/10
Family friendly. 7/10
A relatively new bar in Cork City centre. You will find this pub on Oliver Plunkett street. It is a big pub and on the two occasions i was there i encountered two very differing scenes. On the first occasion i was there just before christmas the place was thronged with people. There was barely even standing room and a very loud band. We decided not to stay on this occasion but i called back recently on a Wednesday night. There was very few people here on this visit except some people in to watch a champions league game. It seems to be a decent pub to watch a match in. The bar man was extremely friendly and engaged in pleasant chit chat and pulled a great pint of Murphys too.
The pub has some comfortable seating areas although the area just inside the smoking area appears to not have been furnished to the same standard as the rest of the pub. The smoking area itself looked to be a very nice area to enjoy a drink. My overall view of this pub was good until i checked the toilets. They appeared fine until i saw the seat on the cubicle. It was in need of bad need of attention and i suppose i should have said it to the bar man but i didn’t. I have to say that i enjoyed my pint here and would head back again.
Toilet rating: 6/10
Pint rating: 7.5/10
Overall rating: 7/10
Final comment: The toilet conditions in this pub let it down but saying that maybe the staff were just unaware. It is definately worth checking out for a pint.
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