"An institution within an institution, a visit to Farm Gate — both its al fresco mezzanine cafe and enclosed restaurant — is a quintessential Cork experience, perched over the iconic English Market’s fountain. The cafe does a wide range of excellent sandwiches, hot dishes, soups, and baked desserts while the restaurant menu is largely traditional Irish farmhouse brought into the heart of the city. This is all about good ingredients, cooked well, including the local delicacy tripe and drisheen (an Irish blood pudding), alongside corned beef and spring cabbage or lamb’s liver and bacon, all with discreet contemporary twists, and a short but sharp wine list demanding proper lunching be extended late into the afternoon. [$ - $$]" - Joe McNamee
Darren McLoughlin