Ballycotton's Salty Dog coming to Cork, with plans for Dublin and Galway restaurants

Construction is set to begin on the new restaurant on MacCurtain Street in Cork

Salty Dog Ballycotton. Salty Dog is coming to Cork city with a new restaurant on MacCurtain Street, with plans for openings in Dublin and Galway.

East Cork seafood restaurant Salty Dog Ballycotton is opening a new establishment in Cork city, the first step in a planned nationwide expansion for the brand.

Salty Dog will open on 45 MacCurtain Street, after owners the Flynn Cush Group secured the lease of the building which previously traded as Tara's Tea Rooms. Tara's Tea Rooms closed in January after a decade of trading in the city.

"We are all very excited about expanding the Salty Dog Ballycotton brand from our Flynn Cush portfolio. Cork will be the first step, with the new location at 45 MacCurtain Street," said Oliver Falter, managing director and general manager of the Flynn Cush Group.

"It wasn’t easy to secure such a strong address in Cork City, so we’re particularly pleased that this opportunity came together. and our goal is to bring a modern restaurant concept to Cork while maintaining the quality and atmosphere people already know from Salty Dog in Ballycotton."

Establishing Salty Dog in Cork is viewed as a first step for the brand. "Following Cork, our plan over the next two years is to expand the Salty Dog Ballycotton brand further, with locations planned for Galway city and Dublin," said Mr Falter.

Construction works in transforming the new restaurant in Cork city will begin in the coming weeks, with the opening planned before the summer. The Cork restaurant will follow the same menu style and philosophy of Salty Dog Ballycotton, which opened in East Cork last June. 

Sea Church in Ballycotton, the venue which is also part of the Flynn Cush Group.

Renowned chef Fred Desormeaux is responsible for the culinary direction of all current and future Salty Dog restaurants. Mr Desormeaux and Dan Guerin of Cush won the Best Seafood Chef of the Year at the 2025 Georgina Campbell Irish Food & Hospitality Awards.

The Flynn Cush Group is spearheaded by Ballycotton native and technology and energy entrepreneur Pearse Flynn. In 2018, Mr Flynn purchased the former St Colman's Church of Ireland church from US vendors. A multi-million euro revamp saw it transformed into Sea Church, a dining and live music venue. Sea Church has hosted artists like Donovan, The Coronas, and Damien Dempsey, and is also the venue for the TV programme The Ballycotton Sessions .

The Flynn Cush Group portfolio now also includes award-winning Midleton restaurant Cush - which opened in 2025 on the site of the former Sage restaurant - as well as Ballycotton Sea Adventures which operates sea tours including to the iconic Ballycotton Lighthouse. Salty Dog Ballycotton opened in June 2025.