THE GOOD FOOD SHOP The Good Food Shop is a regular call when…read moreI'm in the English Market. The stock and variety here is huge, everything from organic chocolate to smoked duck. Today I was on the lookout for coffee and found a selection, both of type and sizes. In the end , I settled for an organic Italian Roast and Ground with a promise of "dark, rich and gorgeous". Cost of 227 gms of this Fairtrade (Equal Exchange) product was €4.94. I've always found the staff here helpful and courteous and indeed knowledgeable, as one often has to request the location of a product in the narrow aisles of the shop. Today I found the coffee myself and the till service was friendly. Funnily enough, I've never been able to find the Good Food Shop on the list of stalls on the market website at http://www.corkenglishmarket.ie/ Checked again today, no change. Mystery! THE GOOD FOOD SHOP The Good Food Shop in the English Market has a huge stock but I was on the hunt for one of the first batches of Ummera Smoked Duck, recently trialled at various food events. Didn't really expect it to be available as the producers hadn't flagged its availability in the city on their site or on twitter. But lo and behold. There were two little packages at €5.99 each. Grabbed them quickly. The helpful lady at the till had been previously mightily impressed by Ummera's smoked chicken and salmon but was wondering about the duck. Assured her it was absolutely gorgeous and it is!

Just the most helpful wonderful store and staff. The Good Food shop is my one stop shop for…read moreanything, and a great resource for knowledge. The staff is so helpful and have several times sought out answers on my behalf. I don't really shop anywhere else!

Delicious baklava, Turkish delight, Turkish coffee! Comfy sitting area with pillows, but the best…read morepart of Sultan Delight is the service. Our waiter gave us advice without upsell, made our coffees carefully &custom, and generously threw in bags of different middle eastern candies for the kids (mostly adults) to try! 10/10. Sad it wasn't on yelp before this.

JOHN MARTIN'S HONEY The Bee Knees…read moreI like the occasional jar of honey. Picked one up recently made by John Martin of Dunmanway. It has a very enjoyable caramel like taste and a modest pleasing aroma; it is clear and full bodied, with a thick consistency. It tastes great on its own (as a treat or maybe to ease a sore throat, any excuse really) but obviously may be used as a spread or drizzle. Someone has suggested using it on porridge, so we'll try that. It doesn't come cheap, costing well over a fiver for a 340gm jar and I bought mine at the Nash 19 Food Shop (attached to the well known restaurant in Prince's Street)

In a place like The English Market, shoppers expect top quality as a matter of fact. Hmm, that must…read morebe why On The Pigs Back has done so well. Anchoring the centre of Cork's busy English Market for over ten years, this outstanding fine foods specialist offers an incredible international selection of beautiful cheeses, meats and homemade pates and terrines (oooh, and lovely crusty bread to pile it all onto). The cheese case is almost a tourist attraction in itself -don't be afraid to ask your cheesemonger for a taste before buying, and do ask what her favourites are if you're stumped. Add a few slices of saucisson or cured jambon and you're bound to even impress yourself when laying it out on the table later. Prices are reasonable here with a round of good Camembert around €5. Fresh, organic sausages are also available for a real breakfast treat -the lamb and rosemary is divine.

(11/12/2017) Delicious, interesting, and a voluminous array of local farmstead cheeses and some…read moreimports at this vendor in the English Market. The staff are very knowledgeable, friendly, and patient, and will even let you have a little taste of a cheese or two so you know what you're getting into. Perfect for snacking or to take to a fancy party. Wander around the market for the perfect accompaniments, like fresh baked bread, fruits, olives, pate, cured meats. Definitely high quality.

Healthy organic vegetarian/vegan food in Cork Hidden gem!…read more Food **** Absolutely delicious. We got the special which was a Malaysian vegetable curry with spicy apple chutney. We also ordered the Nut loaf which was an absolute must - one of the best dishes we've had in a while - comes with roasted potatoes and roasted root vegetables. SO GOOD! Atmosphere **** Very cute restaurant located on the second floor of a health food store but has an upscale feel. Parking can be tricky but we got a spot on the street near the restaurant and then you can purchase a parking pass for 2 euro at the food shop on the first floor. Service **** Great service and relaxed. Also bathrooms available. Price $$ Dishes were around 15 euro each.

3.5 stars** Came…read morehere for dinner with some lads and we split the gourmet nut burger and Shepherd's pie. As for the sides, we had chick peas, beets, and pasta salad. I couldn't help but to notice the portion differences for the sides. Ours was much less..but anyways, I loved the burger. The coolest thing about veggie burgers is that it is always different. No veggie burger will ever taste the same unless it's not homemade. The choice of toppings and bun was grand too. It seemed like a multi-grain bun. The patty was so rich in flavor. I was not impressed with the Shepherd's pie. It was just a mush of grains. I was expecting something similar to a veggie pot pie. It was good but it was a dish I usually make at home minus the top. The sides were quite natural - quick toss to cook them with minimal seasoning. If you are feeling healthy and not up for extreme flavor, this is a safe choice. Portions are filling and staff are friendly. The restrooms are located upstairs.

I have a ridiculous sweet tooth -- which makes for fabulous food adventures amid terrifying dentist…read moreappointments -- and O'Connaill immediately piqued my interest while exploring Cork. We ordered a dark chocolate hot chocolate, a dark chocolate hot chocolate espresso, and a white chocolate cookie. Now say that three times fast. Everything was wonderfully chocolate-y, though my friend mentioned she probably would have preferred the milk chocolate hot chocolate. All in all, a solid spot for a quick break during the day.

Like Jaws II, O'Connaill's is back and this time it's bigger. Unlike Jaws II, O'Connaill's is…read moreactually good. I was freaked out on a recent trip home to see my favourite chocolate shop closed up and the interior gutted. It wasn't dead though, just waiting to be resurrected. They've expanded into the unit next door, and now it's a far nicer place to sit and sip your hot chocolate or pick up some sugar-filled nibbles. The main change is an increase in seating, and the splitting of the store in chocolate and coffee sections.Hopefully this will mean service will get quicker, especially when the Christmas rush kicks in and those chocolates start jumping off the shelves. As for a recommendation, if you can handle the sugar, get a milk and white. If you want something a bit different, the dark praline is a real treat.

GUBBEEN SMOKEHOUSE SAUSAGES 22.12.09 Many of you will be…read morefamiliar with Gubbeen cheese products. But how about the sausages from their smokehouse? Bought a couple of packs from their stall in the Mahon Point Farmer's Market today and tried out the ones with Sun Dried Tomato, Basil and Garlic. Absolutely lovely. Great texture, great flavour, all preceded by a lovely smell while cooking. Looking forward to the second pack - tomorrow! GUBBEEN CHEESE 07.12.09 Gubbeen farmhouse cheese is one of the best known in Ireland and marketed internationally by the small family company from West Cork. Picked some up recently at the Farmers Market in Mahon Point and it is really really good, up there with the best of them. They also do a smoked version and, more recently, have produced other smoked items such as rashers, sausages and salami. Will be calling again!

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!

Super cramped. Super slow. Sat for 15 minutes and no one stopped by. It was like 1 waiter for 10…read moretables. The food itself was pretty good. I had the pad Thai with shrimp. It came with really thin noodles which is a bit odd for pad time. The shrimp were large and plentiful and overall had a great flavor.

All I can say is we ate it so quickly and simply delicious. So sorry I didn't take pics but was…read morestarving after long day thru Ring of Kerry. Strongly recommend, we had the chicken curry and excellent calamari perfectly fried.

Absolutely an amazing experience we had! The food was very delicious and staff were very kind. We…read moreespecially enjoyed the Pad Thai and Tom Yum. Definitely come here if you are in or are going to Cork.

Lovely food very polite staff. if they had bigger premises would they be able to meet demand for…read moretables and keep up the quality of service/Food etc!?