The restaurant is conveniently located in the heart of the city; not far from the Courthouse and Cork’s main shopping areas. As I arrived I was greeted warmly and shown to my table in the simply decorated but nonetheless comfortable dining room. Colourful paintings by Debbie Chapman provide attractive bursts of colour on the walls and add to the overall welcoming feel of the restaurant which was busy on the Saturday evening that I dined there.
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| Bread Selection |
The menu, jauntily named Cork
on a Fork @ Fenn’s Quay, includes a good selection of dishes with broad
appeal, many of which are coeliac friendly. Where possible, ingredients have
been sourced locally from the nearby English Market and from food producers in
Cork. This is not a menu that is overly influenced by current food fads or
fashions but instead confidently promotes foods that have the nostalgia factor.
A no-nonsense selection
of bread was first to arrive and included a moist Brown Soda and a
particularly tasty White Bread. The latter was sliced thickly and reminded
me of a far superior version of the mass-produced batch loaf I used to love
when I was a child. Generously spread with salty butter both the breads were
delicious.
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| Spiced Beef Croquettes |
Although intrigued by the
Chicken Liver Brûlée with Crozier Blue Cheese Ice-Cream, I decided to go for
the starter of Spiced Beef Croquettes with Celeriac Remoulade (€9.00).
Spiced Beef is synonymous with Christmas in Cork and is something that I am
rather partial to at any time of the year. Fenn’s Quay sources the salt beef
from local craft butcher Tom Durcan and uses it in shredded form to make these
moreish bread-crumbed and deep-fried croquettes. This was a filling starter,
packed full of flavoursome and succulent meat and was comforting to eat. The
accompanying celeriac remoulade was a successful pairing and had enough
piquancy to cut through the overall richness of the dish.
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| Spiced Walnuts |
In the mood for spoiling
myself, I also ordered the Spiced Walnuts & Yoghurt Dip (€3.00). I’m
a huge fan of walnuts and think that they are much underused so it was
wonderful to see them showcased here. Walnuts can easily go rancid if stored
for too long but these were perfect. I loved how the slightly sweet but hot
spices mitigated the underlying tannic flavour of the nuts whilst the cooling
properties of the yoghurt dip lessened their fiery heat. This was a simple but
clever idea that was well executed.
As soon as I saw that O’Mahony’s
Collar of Bacon with Savoy Cabbage, Parsnip Purée & Spiced Walnuts
(€17.00) was offered as a main course on the menu, I knew that I would have to
choose it. Many an Irish family was reared on bacon and cabbage and as it is a
dish rarely seen on restaurant menus I felt compelled to order it. I was dying
to see how it would be presented and was not disappointed when it arrived. At
first glance this appeared to be a ‘rustic’ dish but it was far more nuanced
than that would suggest. Presented in a large bowl with shredded savoy cabbage,
peas and chunks of swede along with some parsnip purée, I loved the tenderness
of the melt-in-the-mouth meat. As it sat on its serving plate, the meat
released some of the juices from the cooking water/stock it had been prepared
in which created a faintly salty broth that took on some of the spicy flavour
of the nuts that the dish had been garnished with. Each mouthful was a joy to
eat. To accompany it, I also ordered a side of Smoked Gubbeen Mash
(€3.50). If nothing else persuades you to get yourself down to Fenn’s Quay,
this potato dish should do so because it was sinfully good and with its smoked
flavour it provided a further flavour dimension when eaten with the bacon and
cabbage.
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| Collar of Bacon |
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| Gubbeen Mash |
I also decided to try
some of the Fenn’s Quay Luxury Dark Chocolates (€4.00) which were
fabulous ganache truffles that were rich and appropriately indulgent. Each bite
made me feel as if I was doing something a little forbidden and naughty as they
were so incredibly delicious. Despite my best attempts I was only able to eat
one immediately after my meal so my waitress packed the others up for me to
bring when leaving.
Throughout my meal, service
was friendly and attentive without being stifling which can make one feel very
self-conscious especially when dining alone as I happened to be. Sometimes, you
almost feel as if the staff pay you extra attention because they feel sorry for
you. This was not the case here; service was perfectly pitched and complemented
the general ambience of Fenn’s Quay.
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| Mimi's Cork Dry Gin & Tonic |
There was something so
honest and unpretentious about the food in Fenn’s Quay which I found
irresistible. This is food that proudly displays its Irish heritage and
celebrates the quality and variety of ingredients available in this country and
specifically in Cork. For me, this was Irish soul-food; food that nourishes and
pleases and makes you feel that all is right with the world.
Fenn’s Quay Restaurant
No. 5 Fenn’s Quay
Sheare’s Street
Cork
Telephone: 021-4279527
This review first appeared in
TheTaste.ie
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| Chocolate Truffles |
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