West Cork's wealth of wonderful places to eat and drink
Dinner and a show: The crowd enjoys the performance of My Fellow Sponges, from Galway, playing at Scannell's Bar during Clonakilty International Guitar Festival. Picture: Larry Cummins
The craic in a pub garden is always mighty. Chuck in a free gig, and that’s you settled for the day.
The beer garden here is so beautiful in summer with flowers in full bloom, fluttering bunting, and at night festoon lighting lends a magical feel. Covered decks for alfresco diners, often serenaded with live music.
When the beer garden is twice the size of the pub inside, you know this is the place to be. During the day, enjoy the space with a perfect pub lunch where local flavours are always on the menu. Come evening time, enjoy the buzz under the heated covers, maybe the barbecue will be going, and probably a free music gig happening too. Order at the outdoor hatch.
Tucked away in behind the town’s historic hotel is a secret haven serving a good menu of casual pub grub and drinks. Think old stone walls, flagstone floors, and an old Telefon booth. Plenty of space for gathering with pals.
Hanging over the waters’ edge, this pretty terrace makes for an idyllic place to enjoy a creamy pint or refreshing spritz over a plate of fresh fish landed into port just steps from the pub door.
Ma Murphy’s Bar, Bantry This iconic music pub is reason enough to pay a visit, but The Forge is a little hideaway where the good times are free to roam. Open air and semi-covered areas mean all aspects of an Irish summer can happen while the fun carries on unfettered.
One of West Cork’s most recognisable pubs, this single room pub has one of the most majestic views of any beer garden in the region with the calm waters of Roaringwater Bay and bobbing boats happy eye candy.
Way out on the Beara Peninsula, the colourful village of Eyeries is home to this unassuming pub with one incredible beer garden view. Perched up on high with an uninterrupted view of the Beara coastline, could this be truly one of the last hidden gems?
Not technically a beer garden, but the rows of picnic tables lining the sea wall at the picturesque harbour of Cape Clear Island is even better. Legendary nights on Cape Clear is a right of passage for many. Gather here during the annual Storytelling Festival.
Home to some of the original craft coffee trailblazers, your morning coffee just got better!
Tony Speight’s coffee dock offers on-the-go or stop-and-chill with seating in the gallery space. Two bean hoppers promises a tailored coffee experience from knowledgeable baristas ready to feed your need.
West Cork’s original nomadic coffee roaster/barista, find Shane Kelleher brewing up some of the best bean to cup coffee at farmers’ markets including Clonakilty (Friday), Skibbereen (Saturday) and Schull (Sunday).
Clonakilty’s duo of musicians-turned-coffee gurus’ bougie grab-n-go coffee bar in town. Just look for the funky shopfront artwork. Pick up a bag of beans, each named after a song or lyric.
Great rocket-fuel to get you through the day and natty wines by the glass on weekend evenings. Grab a seat at the window for a little people watching as the caffeine takes hold.
Housed in The Island Resort, a Californianesque 1960’s-style motel, Swim Club is a brunch café serving perfect coffees and on trend açaí bowls.
Cult coffee shop serving perfect flat whites in a characterful building. At peak times, expect queues way out the door. Worth the wait!
Starting in Clonakilty and the world-famous folk club, host to many a music legend over the decades. The front bar with its little nooks and crannies is perfect for sinking a creamy pint of the black stuff. Across the road, and (which has a notably lovely beer garden as well) is where the locals go for the best pint in town.
was the drinking hole of General Michael Collins. Pretty as a picture with its whitewashed walls, red roof, diminutive front garden and weekend seisúns, a pint here comes with a slice of Irish history. Nearby in the tiny village of Ballygurteen, has stood on the five crossroads here for close to 150 years. Full of character and pouring a decent pint, this is a friendly local’s spot offering an authentic taste of village pub life.
, Connonagh, is just about big enough to swing a cat with a pint worth travelling for. On into the village of Leap and Connolly’s, another iconic music venue. The woodfired kitchen slings fantastic sourdough pizzas topped with the best of West Cork flavours and serves a serious pint of creamy Beamish.
Westward, Ho! , Baltimore, for a great pint and an open crab sambo. On a sunny day, sitting outside on the square with this combo looking out over Baltimore Bay is about as perfect as it gets. In Schull, while gets all the attention for sunshine pints, the best pint around is actually waiting for you across the road in .
At the edge of West Cork, in Castletownbere, made famous by Pete McCarthy’s bestselling book, lives up to the hype by pouring a perfect pint, while the most south-westerly pub in Ireland, , serves a decent pint to thirsty visitors with a bowl of chowder the perfect foil.
Summertime means pop-ups and collabs galore, and with West Cork’s pure love of food, there’s no shortage of exciting things to explore…
will be hosting for a three-week residency at their Glassbox venue beside the brewery. Expect Mexican inspired flavours, local as hell ingredients, funky pickles and rocket-powered cocktails alongside Black’s crafted beers and spirits. Later, Tiger Balm Club and Spice Genie will be hosting pop ups too, with more details to follow! Sunset Sessions make a return every Friday and Saturday during the summer with , , The Pie Guys and Knockout Pizza providing the eats to the beats.
are welcoming a fantastic line up of chefs to their barrel-top event space again this summer. The , James Gabriel Martin aka , and , and are all lined up to feed you well.
is hosting a summer-long programme of pop-up fireside feasts combined with trails, talks and foraging in the 270-acre nature reserve. Epi Rogan and Padraig Nagle will serve up a Mid-Summer Wild Feast 25th July, Tiger Balm Club fire up the grills in August, and Caomhán de Brí of The Salt Project will host a Celebration of Seasonal Greens 26th September.
Sally Barnes of will be hosting a series of Chef Collab Sunday Lunches and Producer Evenings at The Keep during the summer, kicking off with Anthony O’Toole. View details and online www.woodcocksmokery.com.
of Ballydehob summer pop-ups at the Outback! 22nd July to 2nd August, Danny and Doxy host the annual Buena Comida supper club with set menu and DJ. Caitin Ruth commences her three week Mexicanish residency throughout August, and 16-17th August L’Atitude 51 and Le Caveau host Poliphonia X Levis Outback for two nights of Georgian food and wine.
West Cork has some outstanding bakeries and delis; emporiums of delicious temptations.
, Ballinspittle, is the OG bakery that’s 24 years young! Gorgeous laminations, indulgent cakes, bakes, pastries, the best Reuben sambo, and daily baked breads all worth your hard earned pennies.
in Innishannon has created a cult following around its sourdough and breakfast pastries, so much so they have opened a second location in Bantry.
, Clonakilty, makes a deeply flavourful sourdough and can’t go wrong with a house-made focaccia sambo. Fab pasties de nata every morning (be quick) and beautiful maritozzi buns generously filled with fresh cream and seasonal fruit compote (be even quicker!).
, Macroom, is known for their sweet bakes, particularly the unctuously filled cruffins. Hot sambos with melty cheese and meatball subs a total winner.
, Ballylickey, is where many a West Cork artisan producers got their first start. As such, this is an abundantly stocked deli of many truly great things, deli counter, wine shop, and a great little lunch menu. During summertime weekend evenings, they open for West Cork tapas, woodfired pizza and wine.
, Bandon, is home to an actual Irish food champion in Ruth Healy, and her shop continues to shine as a beacon for good food. She makes a mean sandwich, great cheeses are always in stock, and the best dedicated cookbook selection in West Cork.
, Leap, is the new venture due to open very soon from former Pilgrim’s chef Mark Jennings. Billed as a deli, bakery, and daytime uber casual café, this is a much anticipated return to the West Cork food scene for both Mark, and his partner, Sadie.
Michelin is well represented with two-star dining experience one of the very best in the entire country. Its more casual dining sister restaurant around the corner, , holds a Michelin Bib and enjoys a full dining room across all services. In Ballydehob, fans of one-star need to be quick (and flexible) about bagging a table as this season is their final service.
Old world charm is unapologetically served up at West Cork’s romantic , Durrus, celebrating its fortieth season. Famous for its starters and dessert smorgasbords, local fish and meat cooked over live fire in the chandeliered dining room.
The gourmet capital of Kinsale is positively bedazzled with great places to eat. Mediterranean-inspired and the South Indian fine dining flavours both excellent exemplars for why the town still holds its own.
For seafood, a visit to award winning at is a culinary gem combining the best of local food, including ingredients grown in their own 3-acres of organic coastal gardens. The house brown bread is perfection!
In Schull, at , is serving inventive dishes where fresh fish, seafood and coastal ingredients are mainstays of a delectable menu under head chef, Ciaran Tedford.
The Victorian-era , Glengarrif, is where classic hospitality meets contemporary flair. Executive Head Chef, Eddie Attwell, continues to revel in his grá for West Cork food bolstered by his own kitchen garden and local forage. This is technical, intricate food that sings of seasonality.
For a true farm to fork experience, dine at , Ardfield, where head chef, Bob Cairns, is likely to have dug the spuds and picked the veg from the organic gardens himself that morning. Dexter beef is always on the carne menu (veggies are well catered for too) sourced from their own organic herd.
If you haven’t yet experienced the Fresh Crab Sandwich from , Innishannon, you are missing a trick. Choose your bread, but we all know that’s wholemeal…
California dreamin’? Eat your way there with a round of Baja-inspired tacos, brisket burgers, fried chicken and waffles washed down with spicy margs down at in Baltimore.
Bag a seat outside in Glandore for splendid harbour views and order a classic pairing of steamed Roaringwater Bay Mussels and a pint of Beamish. Keep the sea views but change up location with a hearty meal served at the perennially popular , Ahakista.
For globetrotting casual food , Ballydehob practices local food as a true commitment. Eyes peeled for supper club nights where global flavours and recreating historic menus are fun and delicious expeditions. Staying in Ballydehob, and the ever brilliant is now holding court at , Thursday to Saturday 5-9pm for walk ins. Moving beyond his famous sandos, Simon is curating tight menus of seasonal small plates (and some large ones too!) served up with low intervention wines from Le Caveau. Think squid stew, beans with roasted beets, and Cajun-inspired boudin balls. Keep an eye out for guest chef nights, too.
Great to see in Ardfield back in the saddle and turning out some incredible dishes under the hands of new chefs and friends, Joseph Quane and Rob Martin. Lots of good things on the menu here, sure to be a popular haunt of many over the summer.
