Meet some of the people making Cork the best city for outdoor dining
Aishling Moore, head chef at Goldie, proprietor Conrad Howard, Market Lane and Harrison Sharpe, head chef at Elbow on Oliver Plunkett Street, Cork. Picture: Larry Cummins
I’ve never been one for all that parochial – even tedious –“Real Capital” guff, reasoning that Cork’s unique charms and attractions and the wonderfully skewed world view of its citizenry more than speaks for itself, transcending a need for any self-promoting peacockery.
But there was no need at all to boast about the incredible fashion in which the city’s hospitality sector embraced outdoor dining in response to the challenges of the pandemic. That’s because the rest of the country was hogging all the hymn sheets to sing the praises of this new alfresco version of Cork and the energy and innovation that made it happen.
There had been limited outdoor dining in the old Huguenot Quarter for over 15 years, but in June 2020, as the country was finally released from the first lockdown, hospitality traders of Prince’s St took it a step further, colonising an entire street, filling the road space with tables and chairs, leaving the narrow footpaths for foot traffic.
The following summer, in June 2021, Princes St again led the way, unveiling their glorious red canopies. Dining furniture was upgraded, tarmacadam lined with a carpet of artificial grass, planters with olive trees, the finishing touch. Cork City Council announced the pedestrianisation of 17 streets and other venues around the city joined in.
During the balmy days of 2021’s high summer heatwave, Leesiders and visitors alike wandered around town in a state of disbelief, the city seemingly transmogrified into some Mediterranean alfresco hotspot.
After generations of being crammed together, gullet to gizzard, in dark, poky shebeens, sculling pints, here was the Gael, out on the street, breathing in fresh air, eating, rather than drinking and the air was charged with the static of human joy. (OK, there was a bit of drinking too; we’re still working on that side of ourselves.)
Many simply opted to “promenade” in southern European fashion, entire families strolling wide-eyed, feasting eyes on this sun-kissed street life, like children at Christmas; too nervous to actually touch new toys in case it was a dream, blink for a second and it would all vanish.
By the end of 2021, parasols and awnings were being set up in five other locations around the city, including Caroline St, Pembroke St, Beasley St, Princes St, and Union Quay; what had started as a temporary response to pandemic restrictions, was becoming a permanent sea change.
The primary reason for Princes St’s success in showing the nation how outdoor dining could work is that conception began ever before the arrival of Covid-19, the street’s hospitality practitioners commissioned a feasibility study which they then presented to City Hall, who rowed in behind in support.
The first year’s outing, billed as “Eat in the Street”, was a huge success; when the parasols arrived in June 2021, Princes St was the epicentre of Leeside hospitality.
“It’s still a work in progress,” says Claire Nash, proprietor of Nash 19, and one of the driving forces behind the transformation. “There are always tricky questions and obstacles. When we began there was no [official] clarity around how [outdoor dining] should work and there are seven or eight operators on the street, so we formed a management company and agreed a lot of rules.
“We kind of ran with the hound for a while, but it soon became obvious that it was going to work, that it was here to stay. People just loved it.”
It was so successful, in fact, that it inspired Nash to make a move she’d long dreamed of and pivot her daytime cafe operation to also open as a night-time restaurant.
“There was I, locking up my place at 5pm to head home,” says Nash, “and all the other traders would be setting up for the evening and I thought, ‘Why am I leaving all this behind?’ It was something I’ve always wanted to do; that buzz of a night time restaurant. I get all my meat and fish from the [English] Market so my menus change daily and it’s an evening version of what we always did during the day, the best of Cork produce.”
Another street dining hub began to truly emerge in 2021, at the east end of Oliver Plunkett St, centred around a cluster of Market Lane group restaurants (Goldie, Elbow Lane and Market Lane).
“We were very uneasy at the start of last summer,” says co-owner Conrad Howard, “at the prospect of outdoor dining only and all of the thrills and spills that necessitated, but we resolved to be expansive and ask for forgiveness from the staff and public if need be. The customers rolled with it and were incredibly supportive and understanding; there was a wave of positivity and relief at getting any measure of a social life back and people embraced it. Our neighbours were so supportive, we were inundated with offers of help and best wishes. It really solidified the neighbourhood dynamic on our block.
“The real heroes though were the [staff]. It is an amazing thing to watch a group of people unite towards a common cause and through, thick and thin, the guys turned up and put on the show. We humped furniture out twice a day, it took an hour or more in the early days. The physicality of the work increased substantially, but there was the determination and belief were a sight to see. People turned up early, brought donuts and cookies in for each other, made coffees and cocktails for those finishing and gave out mugs of sympathy and late-night ciggie breaks to keep the show on the road. It was humbling.”
With dramatically improved infrastructure in place in various locations around the city, street dining now appeared to be a viable prospect beyond summer. It happens elsewhere in Europe: I’ve eaten outdoors in the dark, damp cold of November in Paris and done likewise in March snow in Amsterdam. Yet, there is something uniquely invasive about Irish rain and, in addition, there is the environmental cost of outdoor heating, an increasingly contentious issue.
For the moment, the solution appears to maximise shelter and reduce heating requirements to a minimum. Princes St traders are examining the possibility of siting a sustainable energy power source on their rooftops to supply the street’s outdoor needs.
There are also various global initiatives to design bus shelters with solar panels on the roof to provide light and heat for those sheltering underneath and there are moves to employ this technology for other outdoor applications, including hospitality. Ultimately, though, you are at the mercy of the weather gods.
“At present,” says Nash, “we have an outdoor solution already needing upgrading for next winter and we are engaging with the council on this, but the reality we find is, if the weather is poor, the customer wants to eat indoors – it seems that’s across the sector. But on a bright winter’s day, we always have outdoor diners; on a real sunny day business can bounce up by 30%.”
“We were pleasantly surprised at how resilient the trend proved over the winter,” says Howard. “The support of the council has meant the new awnings, festoon lighting and parasols on Beasley St have really winter-proofed the option. It is hard work setting it up every day but it is apparent to all that we have to offer it year round.” While the move outdoors was initially about providing a precious lifeline for hospitality, it is becoming increasingly obvious it has now morphed into profound and fundamental change for the city centre.
“The dining activity on Oliver Plunkett St engendered a ‘softer’ atmosphere than otherwise would be the case,” says Howard. “The dynamic of crowds in a pedestrianised space can be frenetic, but by populating the space with diners, I think the character of the street changed. The hard landscaping was broken up by planters, parasols and seated diners and this is the epitome of a living city from my point of view. Antisocial behaviour was reduced because we introduced positive activity up and down the street.”
What has been essential to Cork’s ongoing transformation has been the unwavering support of a very enlightened city council, an indisputable commitment, sometimes used by others elsewhere in the country as a yardstick to measure and often criticise laggardly responses from their own municipal authorities.
Fearghal Reidy is Cork City Council’s director of strategic and economic development: “We plan to continue with pedestrianisation, we recognise that city centres are the beating heart of a city and region. Next year, we’ll be building on Cork’s long-established reputation as a food destination, as part of a bigger picture of improving the city as a place to live and visit, with additional investment from FI (Fáilte Ireland), including further investment in public realm, improving the streetscape, pedestrianisation and access.
“Ultimately cities and city centres are for people, so the more appealing it is for people to live in or visit city centres, the better the quality of life, with better outcomes in terms of health and wellbeing and sense of place. We are a UNESCO Learning City and WHO Healthy City and we need to keep progressing that.”
“The council played a blinder from our perspective ,” says Howard, “they were pro-active, solutions-focused and ambitious, which is everything we know they should be. Fergus Gleeson and Ann Doherty in particular really pushed the barrel up the hill, but the guards and street cleaning teams as well all seemed to show up and adopt a ‘no-problem’ attitude. You’d hope that this will continue, as this just engenders confidence and creates a positive momentum.
“I think people will visit cities for experiences and will live in cities if they are comfortable, dynamic and versatile for people of all ages.
Final word goes to another of the city’s restaurateurs who wishes to remain anonymous.
“As hospitality operators,” they say, “we need to cater to everyone that walks along our street and not make the mistakes that have been made in Dublin, Galway and Killarney by focusing on the quick tourist buck. I know without tourists and office workers, large swathes of our industry in these cities became unviable, but that’s because they’ve geared their offering to those constituencies, often to the detriment of quality and authenticity.
“Much as it might suit some people, I don’t think our end goal should be to produce another Temple Bar, Covent Garden or Shop Street. Cork has a real prospect of presenting a sustainable vision for a city that can be lived in and appreciated as a resident or a visitor, but we can’t skew it towards day-trippers and weekenders.
“The English Market can be appreciated, but not by a tour group of 20, buying nothing and elbowing out those who are. It isn’t a tourism attraction, it is a working market. A city should be used and loved by its residents.”
