Restaurant Review: Greenwich has become a sterling spot in the heart of Cork City
Artwork by Tony O’Connor graces the walls inside the tastefully refurbished Greenwich Cafe & Restaurant on Caroline Street, Cork City. Pic: Chani Anderson
- Greenwich
- 19 Caroline Street, Cork, T12Y208
- Tel (021) 427 6376
- greenwichcafe.ie
- Opening Hours: Tues-Thurs, 9am-4pm; Fri-Sat, 9am-5pm; Sun, 10am-4pm
- Tab: €76 (including drinks, coffees, excluding tip)
Idaho Cafe, on the junction of Caroline St and Maylor, in Cork city, was a very special little restaurant that became an iconic institution on Leeside until its eventual closure in early 2022 after 21 years in business, multiple lifetimes in an industry where 60% of restaurants fail within the first year and 80% are gone by the five year mark.
That the interior was so minuscule only added further to its marvel, so small its toilet was out the front door and around the corner in a separate building and ignoring the usual prescription of light and bright to maximise the sense of whatever space was there, Idaho opted for dark wood panelling to further enhance its cosy intimacy and on a good day it thrummed with boisterous energy, what I once described as akin to a ‘Fellini film set in an Irish telephone booth’.
It certainly grabbed the attention of Greenwich proprietor Dermot O’Sullivan and he took it over as a going concern in 2022, initially only changing the name over the door as he found his feet and set about putting his own stamp on the venue and operation.
A former Ballymaloe Cookery School graduate with a Masters in Food Business from UCC, O’Sullivan was no callow dreamer with experience in a number of restaurants before launching Greenwich.
However Idaho Café proprietors Richard and Mairead Jacob were seasoned hospitality veterans of the old school ever before they opened Idaho and after 21 years their personalities were writ large over everything — O’Sullivan had substantial work to remake it as his own original interpretation, confirmed by my early ‘scouting mission’ last year.
The food offering was still somewhat tangled up in the vines of the previous operation, yet to establish its own clear personality on the menu and dishes were pleasant if uninspiring.
Back then, The Covid had lessened as a health crisis but was still a huge existential challenge to the restaurant sector and food and energy inflation were beginning to kick in with venom.
As a fledgling first-time owner, O’Sullivan was learning much about the myriad and ever-changing daily challenges of actually being the boss of a restaurant rather than just an employee and, in an industry that has been haemorrhaging bodies in recent times, he was being dragged in all directions, one minute trying to prop up the kitchen, the next trying to oversee front of house and a flailing service team.
But he hung in there, always open to advice and gradually began to make the right changes.
Taking advantage of the pandemic-triggered pedestrianisation of much of the city, O’Sullivan has carved out his own delightful little ‘terrace’ on Caroline St, to create one of the most pleasing al fresco dining spaces in the heart of the city centre, a real treat on a sunny day when silver birch trees in the planters now lining the street rustle up a bucolic sensibility in this urban oasis.
O’Sullivan has brought in sterling new additions for sipping on the new ‘terrace’, upgrading the coffee substantially by choosing Marc Kingston’s Golden Bean and introducing a small but perfectly formed drinks list, including prosecco, Mimosa, Kir Royale, a single beer, Black’s Pale Ale, and three sublimely selected wines and the Greenwich menu is now clearly and unambiguously presented as an all-day brunch.
True, there is no rhyme nor reason to weather patterns any more but on this particular sunny Sunday morning in October I am the only one with an inclination for sitting out on the terrace so familial tyranny sees me immediately overruled and we fetch up at the ‘big table’ to the rear of Greenwich which, to be fair, is equally appealing and certainly warmer.
A Mimosa sounds like a splendid proposition, but Spousegirl is a tad shabby after her girls' night out, so I opt for one of Con Traas’ delicious still apple juices, from The Apple Farm, in Cahir, Co Tipperary, while the Progeny have freshly squeezed orange juice.
The normally Spartan-living SG ditches her more usual epicurean asceticism for the louche charms of some real hangover fare, Chicken Shawarma Toasted Sandwich.
Moynihan’s chicken is marinated in lemon and shawarma spices and then shrouded in lush melted brie, on crunchy toasted Pana sourdough, a rich, savoury wallop screams more from the very first bite, with pickled red onion and salad leaves to add fresh, zinging contrast, and she wolfs it all down with primal vigour.
No 2 Son is not a morning person and his preferred antidote invariably involves a sugar rush. Challah Bread French Toast does the trick, soft bread dipped in a batter of egg and cream, fried until golden in butter, and served with bacon and maple syrup.
La Daughter, more sunshine than sour lemon drop, opts for a variation on this theme, All Day Buttermilk Pancakes, also with bacon and maple syrup.
It may surprise, considering my rather ‘comfortable’ midriff, but, since childhood, I have always struggled to put away much more than water and coffee for the first three or four hours of the morning so the notion of brunch might well have been conceived just for me, especially if it allows me to have a full Irish breakfast in the middle of the day.
Scrambled eggs are buttery, rich and creamy as custard, just the way I like them, on sourdough toast with rashers and sausages alongside, topped with roasted vine tomatoes. There are no high-falutin’ cheffy tricks employed in its delivery — it is, like all our other dishes, sublimely well-sourced premium local produce, cooked properly and with pleasing attention to detail.
Coffees are excellent and pair well with superb flourless orange and almond cake and dense, fudgy brownies, a very decent selection of home-baked cakes being a hallmark of the Greenwich daily menu.
The evolution from last year is obvious, both on the plate and on the floor, where a new service team are much more up to speed, and Greenwich is emerging from the long shadows of its illustrious forebear.
O’Sullivan’s own evolution as a restaurateur has come on leaps and bounds and I’d imagine we haven’t seen the definitive version of Greenwich just yet but, as of now, it is turning into a cracking little café with its own personality finally beginning to shine through.
- Food: 8
- Service: 8
- Value: 9
- Atmosphere: 8
