Hotel Reviews Ireland Online
THE FARMGATE CAFÉ
For many years now my favourite place for lunch when in Cork has been The Farmgate Café situated upstairs from the English Market. The food is always fabulous, the ambiance unique and the service is both friendly and efficient. The one thing you can always be sure of when visiting The Farmgate Café is that whatever you choose to eat will be as fresh as you would find anywhere. This is because the wonderful English Market is their larder, and each day proprietor Kay Harte always visits the various stalls in the market to select the very freshest fish, meat and vegetables for her lunch-time fare.
However The Farmgate has become so busy that these days you may have to wait for a table if you come during the lunch-time rush. It is always worth the wait though. I generally try to visit outside the 1 – 2 popular time as it is usually quieter then. So what to eat? Well I always choose something with salad, as the leaves are of the highest organic standard and the dressings are divinely sweet. Tripe and Drisheen is a house speciality and as popular as ever with the locals. There is always a quiche or pie, usually with some farmhouse cheese in it; the roast chicken is my daughter's favourite, and I usually go for the fish of the day. But do keep room for dessert, as these are really special, and a fruit crumble is generally my first choice.
With the visit of Queen Elizabeth 11 earlier this year, The English Market in Cork enjoyed something of a make-over and images of this iconic Cork landmark were sent all over the world. It certainly did wonders for Cork tourism. But I am proud to say that I am a long-term fan of both the market and Farmgate as I first visited some fifteen years ago and have returned as often as I can since then. It is great for morning coffee or afternoon tea, and enjoys an ambiance that you will not find anywhere else. You can visit on your own or with friends and you will be equally as welcome and comfortable.
There is a Farmgate in Midleton which is run by Kay's sister Marog, and this wonderful restaurant was the inspiration for the one at the English Market. Both venues are now being taken over by Kay and Marog's respective daughters and it is great to see great cooking, fresh with a flair, is being carried on down the generations. It is families such as Kay and Marog and their daughters who are proof that we have a great food culture and tradition. I expect they will be around for generations to come, and continue to be appreciated by all who eat there.
Restaurants and Food in Cork Online
THE FARMGATE CAFÉ
Back at the English Market today to sample the €15.00 plate and wine from the Farmgate Cafe as part of the Good Food week.
Spotted the Venison as one of the choices. Had tasted that at the official opening on Monday but quite a few had tasted it earlier today (I didn't make it until 2.00pm) and it was no longer available.
But the “disappointment” was short-lived. Ordered the alternative, the Ardsallagh Goats Cheese Salad and a decent glass of Sauvignon. The mild cheese, as many of you already know, is a splendid product (from Carrigtwohill) and came spread generously on three baguette slices.
The three white islands topped a most delicious salad. Baked tomatoes, toasted walnuts, beetroot pieces all mixed in with lively (as distinct from limp) leaves, with an edgy dressing that enhanced the whole plate.
Venison. What venison? (Maybe I’ll try again tomorrow!)
Irish Times
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Tom Doorley's Restaurant List 2009
THE PRINCE of Wales (or Wails as some of his detractors call him) has been credited with a renaissance in mutton across the water. However, Kay Harte, never afraid of the new of the challenging or the frankly hard to see, was serving up cored mutton at the Farmgate in Cork well before HRH was smitten with the idea of mature sheep meat. The Farmgate in the English Market comes in two parts. There's a big self-service café which overlooks the stall below and which does good chunky food at reasonable prices (the soups, the breads and the Irish stew are good, wholesome offerings). And then there's the much smaller, cosier restaurant which specialises in Irish traditional food from oysters in their natural state or, as I say, the likes of corned mutton.
But this is traditional Irish food cooked properly. You will find no tired cabbage here, no boiled-to-buggery meat, no sloppiness at all. People come from far and wide for a taste of the old Ireland, a bite of nostalgia, a revision to childhood pleasures. And it's a huge hit with visiting food enthusiasts who often comment that this is the only place in the country where the Irish version of cuisine grandmere is given proper recognition and respect.
There are rich and comforting puddings too, and some lovely seafood from downstairs in the Market. There is nowhere quite like the Farmgate, which is confusing, because there's another Farmgate in Midleton. But that's another story.
Sunday Tribune Magazine
26 October 2008
Farmgate Café, English Market, Cork
Embedded in the local community, smaller-scale family-run businesses and independent operators like ourselves need continued support, and so we are acutely aware of the importance of paying a fair price for excellent produce and paying promptly! In this way, money spent in local businesses circulates with the strength of the 'multiplier effect', having greater dividends for both economic and social capital in the local community. In this way, restaurants like ourselves and members within Good Food Ireland are endeavouring to support and strengthen local food networks in the face of declining indigenous food production on the island of Ireland. We see our small contribution, however, as having important implications for domestic food security, economic security as well as food culture.
