Swell kitchen at The Rendezvous as former Les Gourmandises chef enters the fray following €2m sale

The popular Model Farm Road bar is set to re-open at the end of May with a high quality food offering

Wed, 12 Apr, 2023 - 19:00

Catherine Shanahan

A HIGHLY palatable bar sale involving The Rendezvous gastro pub and the award-winning chef of the now-closed Les Gourmandises restaurant has been completed to the tune of about €2m.

The appetizing pairing of the well-known Model Farm Road bar with chef Pat Kiely, who won several gongs during his 18-year stint at Les Gourmandises on Cook Street in Cork City, will see The Rendezvous re-open at the end of May following a year-long closure.

It’s Mr Kiely’s first independent venture since Les Gourmandises closed in 2019 after 18 years in business. Since then he has worked as head chef in a number of hotels, including Fota Island Resort and more recently, The Imperial Hotel on South Mall.

The purchase of the bar was completed by MC2 Accountants on behalf of MC2’s private clients.

Commenting on the deal, Jim McCarthy, Partner at MC2 said they were delighted to have completed the transaction.

“We are really excited to announce that we will be partnering with renowned chef Pat Kiely, formerly of the hugely popular 'Les Gourmandises' restaurant, to lead this new venture,” he said.

Mr McCarthy said as The Rendezvous had been upgraded by the previous owners (O’Sullivans), it was more or less ready to go, with the exception of moving part of the upstairs kitchen downstairs for preparation of desserts and starters.

Mr Kiely said his involvement in the new venture “represents a wonderful opportunity for us to create something really special from a hospitality, food and beverage point of view and I can't wait to share details of our plans in the very near future”.

It’s understood he is working on recruiting a second high-profile chef to run the operation with him.

While running Les Gourmandises, Mr Kiely and his wife Soizic won 2012 “Best Restaurant in Cork“, “Best Restaurant in Munster” and “Best Chef in Cork” from the Restaurant Association of Ireland.

Their focus was on fine French dining, but it’s understood The Rendezvous will have a less highbrow menu, while focused nonetheless on delivering high quality fare.

Samuel Kingston of Casey & Kingston auctioneers who handled the sale said he was delighted to sell it on behalf of the O’Sullivans.

“The Rendezvous is central to the community in the Model Farm Road area, and it has been sadly missed during its closure over the last twelve months. I look forward to seeing it reopened with a new lease of life, led by experienced operators,” Mr Kingston said.

The pub last sold four years ago when Joe O’Sullivan, with experience in the trade, bought it for c€1.5m. It had gone to market for €1.25m.

Prior to that it was owned by the O’Donovan family, with a background in hospitality and the licensed trade in the Darby Arms and Westpark Hotel, Ballincollig. They bought it in 1999 and it was run by a second generation family member. However it closed unexpectedly after Christmas 2017, before reopening under Mr O’Sullivan.

During the pandemic, the business created more seating outdoors and can now accommodate 200 customers to the front of the building. Inside, the bar area can seat 180. Parking for about 25 cars is out back.

A longstanding fixture of Cork City’s suburban pub trade on 0.4 acres , the two-storey over basement bar is in a well-populated and affluent area, at the city end of Model Farm Rd, across the road from Cork University Hospital campus and near Munster Technological University and University College Cork.

Separately, Casey & Kingston are also handling the leasing of part of The Outpost, another well-known suburban bar, that closed just before the pandemic.

The section up for lease is being pitched for use as a restaurant/café, measuring c2,000 sq ft, with an additional outdoor area of c3,000 sq ft suitable for outdoor dining, subject to planning permission. Samuel Kingston said the property requires some repairs.

It comes with a bar counter, two storage rooms and a cold room as well as male/female WCs. The lease is €60,000 per annum, plus VAT.

The owner of The Outpost is retaining its bar license, and has plans to build a smaller bar on the opposite side of the Curraheen Road premises, as well as retaining the existing off-licence.