Goldie

I know this place is a favourite for many, including several of our friends, and I can see why; the food was beautifully presented, and the service was excellent. However, for a restaurant that usually requires quite a wait to get a reservation, I expected a bit more from the overall experience. While the seafood was fresh, both our main dishes featured white fish and ended up tasting quite similar, which made the meal feel a little less special. The dessert, unfortunately, was slightly burnt and not as enjoyable as we’d hoped. Overall, it was a decent experience with great service, but the flavours and variety could be improved to match the restaurant’s strong reputation and high expectations.

Located on Plunkett Street which is one of the many lively bar streets but on the good side (the other side of Plunkett is filled with vagrants and beggars) I canceled my other dinner once I was able to book a table here. Enter into a young woman chef who made her bones at Elbow Lane, her modern take a fish (seafood) forward restaurant that's ever changing based on the contents of the freshest catch. Not fussy but luxe. I requested bar seating so had front row view of the efficiency and attention to detail the kitchen staff took to everything from expedite to managing the front of house staff. Word to the wise their small plates showcase the immense talent of Aishling and her chef de cuisines: For my order : Taiwan fish nuggets; beautiful rendition on my childhood favorite Taiwanese popcorn chicken, which uses white pepper for nostalgia feel that always sparks joy. Goldie's take has more Indian spices which was lovely and the fish was fried to perfection, not greasy whatsoever. How Chef Anna didn't get the famous basil pop in the oil, I'll never figure out....perhaps that's why she gets paid the big bucks! Incredible technique. Cod schnitzel; gherkin and celeriac combo is one of my favorites with a twist by adding more Dijon mustard reminded me of my last trip to Lyon. Soy sauce cured egg yolk will add the additional saltiness the dish craves on anything fried. Pibil cod head & cheek sope; the sope was one of the best executions I've seen since Pujol's (MXC) version. How this dish doesn't become soggy and gross speaks to their talent. Main: pan roasted to perfection monkfish with beetroot achar, apple katkut - look my pictures. un fing real. Monkfish is seldomly seen in the states and when I do make it it's usually chopped up in congee with tons of ginger and scallions. Love this French? take of this ugly ass fish lol Fish tends to be a lighter option for dinner, so with any luck you’ll have room for dessert; i was completely stuffed by made the right decision in ordering caramelized white chocolate with the Achill Island sea salt and milk sorbet and the bucket wheat cracker. Unbelievable touch that was light air and not cloying. Whilst sitting at dinner I found out Chef Aishling was recently awarded Ireland's Best Chef 2024 and Goldie is listed as the #2 restaurant in Ireland's Top 100 restaurants. The Bib Gourmand rating is what brought us here, and they were absolutely correct. Chef Rob - expedition was exceptional. His command of the job came second nature to him, being able to manage several chefs and front of staff. Giving meaningful instruction without being overly dominant yet letting his young staff express their creativity is what talented Chefs do. Really appreciate him coming by to check up on me after the service. Chef Anna - plating was gorgeous and really appreciated her time expanding on each dish to me in person, such a lovely hospitality touch. This is totally an aside, but she was the most beautiful woman I've ever seen on my trip to Ireland. she's an absolute beauty. Front of staff was excellent - I showed up 30 mins early to my reservation but suggested I grab a drink over at Brennan's. Really enjoyed it!

Amazing food, amazing service. Just great. The fish was all fresh and cooked to perfection, the staff were so welcoming and helpful. I recommend getting a seat at the counter to watch the chefs at work.

Goldie came highly recommended on social media and online and we were absolutely delighted to say it lives up to the hype. Everything was delicious and the chef has a masterful touch with flavors and textures and honors the local ingredients beautifully. Our server was helpful with recommendations and happy to answer any of our questions. Make sure to get a reservation as we noticed many people try to walk in and they had to be turned away. Prices were reasonable—particularly considering the quality of the ingredients and beautiful presentation. Everything was delicious (including the dessert) and this was the best food we’ve be had in Ireland so far. We also love the commitment of the chef to sustainability and minimizing food waste. 11/10 would recommend to anyone visiting cork who is looking for an excellent meal!

Absolutely outstanding 👏 One of the best meals of my life. This had been on my list to book for ages. Very warm welcome on arrival. Always great to see an open kitchen and watch chefs work in front of you. The food was stellar. Every dish perfect. I felt the prices were very good. The restaurant is priced similar to most bistros or restaurants in the city but is offering a quality that is on par with any high end restaurant in the country. Don't pass up the opportunity to book here. You will not be disappointed

The food here is absolutely amazing. The fish was cooked perfectly and the sauce was superb too. Although I enjoyed every single dish, I particularly loved the cod fish! Service was also excellent, the staff were friendly and also put in the effort to explain almost every dish on the menu. Appreciate it! I would highly recommend this place if you are in Cork!

Really thoughtful food, delicious and carefully prepared with style. We enjoyed the snacks and shared mains as well as the two desserts. It was all delicious, perfectly cooked fish, interesting influences and a lovely atmosphere. Highly recommend, and definitely worth booking.

Outstanding! Innovative and inviting, the menu makes the most of local produce and puts seafood front and centre. Coupled with exceptional service (an appretation for Allen!) this is a must for the Cork dining scene.

Fantastic seafood bistro right in the heart of Cork! Small menu is mostly focused around seafood, but you other options available too, both for veggies and meat-esters. By the time we arrived (8pm in the evening)some of the dishes were already sold out. The stuff is very friendly and helpful, very happy to explain the dishes to you and answer your questions. I was very pleasantly surprised by all of the dishes we tried, but seaweed potato crisps snack that they make themselves. The bistro is mentioned in Michelin guide.

A fantastic seafood focused restaurant. While it has won accolades from Michelin, it has much more of a feel and friendly service as a neighborhood restaurant. The food, however, is incredible. We ordered almost everything on the menu and there were no disappointments. A few that stand out, though, were the fish bites on the snacks menu. A monkfish small plate that tasted like pulled pork in a pastry cup (forgot the name) was incredible and unique. I also really enjoyed the hake but there was nothing I would be worried about recommending. The cost was also incredible, for what amounted to be a self made tasting menu, the bill was less than I would expect at a typical restaurant. Highly recommended.

A bartender at The Shelbourne recommended this place saying they had just won a "Best Casual Restaurant" award. So we changed our plans, walked over, and were lucky enough to snag a table for two. There certainly was nothing casual about the food -- as EVERYTHING we tried was amazing! We decided to only get one Main and lots of sides and small plates so we could try more dishes. Here they are: 1. Mushy Pea Fritter - crunchy goodness with an Indian Twist. 10/10 2. Masala Roast Cauliflower - crunchy, again with an Indian flair. 10/10 3. Frog Swede - can't describe how different this veggie is was. Get it. 10/10 4. Baby Potatoes - well everything can't be a perfect "10" -- so a 9. 5. Pan Fried Hake - tender, buttery, goodness 10/10 6. White Chocolate Sorbet - several layers to this, melts in your mouth. 10/10 Also, their beer is brewed locally from their sister restaurant Elbow Lane across the street so you know it's fresh. This was one of the best meals we had during our entire 2 week UK trip -- and amoung the best we've ever had anywhere. From the service, to the plating, to the taste of the food -- all spot on. I've never has a waiter spend 7 minutes explaining each and every dish on the menu -- but we loved it as alot of the food was new to us. Well deserved award Chef -- keep up the great work and THANK YOU!

By the way Goldie is named after the little gold fish windvane located at the top of St Ann's Church tower. Goldie is a wonderful little place. While casual, this could easily be a special occasion option. The small menu is seafood-centric and everything is extremely well executed with an eye to flavor and visual appeal. The pan-fried cod and monkfish were both on point and fresh. The Rossmore Oysters were amazing. The servers were very enthusiastic and knowledgeable about all of menu options.

One of the best restaurants I have ever been to. Top service. Amazing food flavors served in a quiet elegant atmosphere. Server completely knowledgeable about each food selection. If you're ever in Cork you have to go here !

Goldie has been awarded Micheline's Bib Gourmand award and, for the second year in a row, Goldie was named Ireland's Best Casual Dining restaurant at the Food Oscars. That is a lot of expectation to live up to, but Goldie delivers and then some! The wait staff is exceptional. And so approachable. Our waiter spent ages explaining all the dishes to us and making recommendations based on our tastes. When we sent compliments to the chef, we were told to stop by and chat with her! Their exceptional beer is brewed just across the street at their sister restaurant, Elbow Lane, to high standards of German Purity Law. It is a fish restaurant, but oh so much more than that. Unique takes on food you have seen before but never experienced what it could be until now! I recommend getting a lot of smaller dishes so you can share and taste a lot. I highly recommend the - Cured Cod (€ 8.50) - Mushy Pea Fritter (€ 8.50) - this is NOT your fish and chips shop mushy peas! - Pan Fried Hake (€ 22.50) - tender with tomatillos - Crushed Baby Potatoes (€ 4.50) with scallions and seaweed butter - the butter is quite a surprise, delicious and so Irish - Sambhar Masala Roast Cauliflower (€ 13.70) with tamarind and chutney - Confit Swede (€ 5.90) with garlic scape - so different from any veg we have ever had

Natalie the waitress was exceptionally nice, the hostess, not so much. This place is all the rage BUT it's very arrogant/pretentious. Tiny so it fills up easily so we're supposed to be extremely grateful to be customers? They like to make mention of the menu being new each day--based upon the catch--but that's the norm in many hundreds of other places, heck Fisherman's Warf in Lyttelton, NZ changes their menu as the boats come in and they've done that forever--well, decades. That said the sautéed cod was delicious, I've had better and much better, but this was good. Their potato and cabbage (Colcannon) was really good, where the heck has that been all my life? I'm making that at home! Make a reservation, set your expectations low and then be surprised.

Amazing. Simply amazing. I've been meaning to come here for a while and am so so glad I did. The food is PHENOMENAL, the ambience fantastic, and the service excellent. They serve mostly seafood, which is precisely what I was craving, and they make a point to reduce waste by using as much of the fish as possible. I sampled a little bit of everything but my favorites were the spiced cod small plate and my hake main. The cod was insnanely fresh and the pickled veggies went so so well with it. The hake was delicious as well as was the rice that came with it. I also tried the oysters (okay what didn't I eat) which had a delightful ginger sobert on top of them. Unfortunately the sorbet was lost under the oyster flavor, but definitely would have been amazing on its own. An excellent experience, but a word of caution. If you are extremely hungry this may not be the place for you. All of the plates are small in my opinion, well worth it, but definitely won't be sticking to your ribs! Perfect for if you're in a snacky adventurous mood though!

We are on vacation and had to book this new place Goldie. It just opened a few months ago and we are so glad we ate here. The whole setup is fantastic. Great location, well designed and atmosphere. The staff was very welcoming and the food was amazing. The food presentation and drink selection was right up our ally. All of the dishes are unique. The oysters were by far our favorite. They had a granitas, with notes of elderflower. Amazing, we ordered a second plate of them. Another dish was mushy pea frittata and Cesar gem salad with dried capers and chicken skin. Sounds weird, but so good. The concept of the menu is to take what fish is sent to them from the fisherman they work with. They use as much of the meat, fruit or vegetable as possible to not be wasteful. We love the concept. So the menu might be different. The staff were very accommodating. We can't recommend it enough. Go here!!!!

What a gem. We enjoyed a fabulous midweek dinner and came away thoroughly impressed with the warm, knowledgeable staff and the quality of the food. We tried all the "snacks" (small plates), the buttermilk hake as well as the beetroot to start, and the sole and hake for our main courses alongside the colcannon. The white chocolate dessert was a great end to the meal. I felt the price was very fair for the meal, and would be thrilled to dine at Goldie again.

Natalia and Sean were the most hospitable servers! The food was creative genius. We love ye!