Smoked fish from renowned local smoker Frank Hederman, relaibly fesh seafood from Ballycotton…read moresisters (nothing to do wth Ballycotton Seafood), locally grown veg from Davy at Ballintubber Farm, handmade chutneys jams and cakes, fresh farm eggs... you may not have oceans of choice but you have top quality essentials and weekend luxuries are to be found in this idyllic seaside setting. Coffees and market breakfasts from Seasalt Cafe...and photography by local artist. Less is more.

COBH FARMERS MARKET The Cobh Farmers Market (held in and…read morearound the Heritage Centre in picture) was a big let-down for me today with just a handful of stalls opening up, about six in all. It is supposed to be very good in the summer - looks like I'll have to wait and see. In any event, won't be in a hurry down again. Got some roughly filleted fish from a basic stall up the town. The harbour town looked very well indeed and the walk along the West Beach area was very enjoyable.

O'DRISCOLL'S FRESH FISH The first thing that always strikes…read moreme in the Mahon Point farmer's market, at least if I come to it via the shopping complex, is the queue at O'Driscoll's Fresh Fish (who today had four on duty, two filleting like mad). The Schull based outfit seem to thrive while nearby Ballycotton Seafood, offering the same fish at the same prices, seem to be much quieter. Location! Location! They sell the fish by the bag, fiver for a bag of whiting, a fiver also for a big bag of hake or haddock. Looks good value but I'd prefer price per kilo written up. Got some hake and John Dory. Next time though, I'll weigh up the queue, maybe head for the rivals. Time is precious.

FISH AT BALLINCOLLIG MARKET Made a quick visit to the…read moreBallincollig Farmer's Market last Wednesday and met the fish selling ladies from West Cork, Mary and Sheila. I had forgotten I called them lively in an earlier post, maybe my spell checker changed it from lovely. We had a chat about fish and how the fashions are changing. You hardly ever see whiting nowadays while the now popular monkfish were once thrown back overboard. Like me, they enjoy their meals out and we all agreed that Over the Moon in Skibbereen is top class and they also had a good word to say for the Wine Cellars restaurant in the town. They were surprised that the gurnard dish, that we enjoyed recently at the Silk Purse, was so expensive (€23.15). While we were chatting, they were filleting some fresh hake for me and the charge was a very reasonable €11.50 for five big fillets that were all thoroughly enjoyed at home that very evening. The girls, by the way, do a lively (that word again) business in the Skibbereen Market very Saturday morning and that was where I first saw them in action. And Swanton Plants, where I bought some herbs on Wednesday in Ballincollig, are also regulars in the West Cork town. On a previous visit to Ballincollig, I had a chat with Joy of Joy's Jams saying I preferred marmalade with peel. She didn't have any at the time but didn't she go away and make a batch for me and the minority that enjoy the peel. Thanks Joy, I'm enjoying that pot now!

Came by on a Monday at around 2:30 AM, excited to try some food. Unfortunately, everything seemed…read morepretty basic and overpriced, and there didn't seem to be too many options. Instead, the stalls mainly sell produce, meat, cheese, and seafood, which would be great if you were a local, but we were just visiting. There are a few stalls selling things like candies/honey/jams, that were reasonably priced, so we bought a few of those to bring home as souvenirs. We spent probably about half an hour walking around and made it through the entire market. It was fun to walk around and see all the local goods/products, but don't expect a lot of options for good food if you're hungry.

I was expecting more from this English Market. The selections were not that big (pretty basic…read morestuff), but everything seemed to be very pricey. Not impressed at all

The best Seafood comes from Helvic,my family originated from here,Paddy,John and Michel Tobin,are…read moremy great uncles,RIP.I am the son of Peggy Boyd,Margaret Tobin's daughter.My favorite cousins Bill & Maggie Brown,live in that beautiful village.Cheers to Helvic Seafood.

(11/12/2017) Great fish merchant in the English Market, def a must visit. They're been around…read moreover 40 years, started by Kay O'Connell in 1962 and now run by her two sons. They're pretty patient, if a little brusque with the tourists, but it's part of the ambiance, I suppose, I mean, you're at the fish market. Besides a dizzying array of fresh fish, you can get specialty Irish items. We got two types of dried seaweed, carrageen moss and kelp, for soups. If you're nice, they might even spark a wry smile.

22 June 2025 : 1) harbour chowder 2) cappuccino 3) cod fish and chips 4) sea bass fish and chips…read more We got here at about 2pm and there was a large group of young people so we had to wait 10 minutes. The sea bass is the best dish and the harbour chowder was full of seafood. Freshly ground peppers helped too.

After arriving in Tralee, we were initially looking for another restaurant to eat at for lunch, but…read moreit was nowhere to be found in the cute, quaint downtown area. So, we decided to pop into Quinlan's Fish for a quick bite. - Fish and (Real) Chips: the fish was perfectly fried, so tender and juicy, and it wasn't overly fried or greasy like many others in the US. - Seafood Chowder: I thoroughly enjoyed the chowder. It was packed full of cubes of different types of fish, so you definitely get a lot for what you pay. Service was great, and it was the perfect spot for a quick lunch stop.