Punters line-up at Pam's Perry Street Cafe

Perry Street Market Cafe

Good news gets around Cork City quickly if the lunch-time line of customers at the recently opened Perry Street Market Cafe is anything to go by. But Chef Pam Kelly and her team are well prepared for the rush and the line moves quickly and soon you are at your table with your food.

And there is much to choose from. You’ll see the big daily board as you enter the light airy and spacious place and, as you progress up the line, you’ll be further tempted by the well presented food in the display cabinets. And, if you just want a sandwich, well they have a big list of those as well. And they look massive and tempting.

But we were in for a big lunch and boy did we get it and what made it even more satisfying was the fact that the local input is huge here. Names like Ummera, O’Connell’s Fish, Jack McCarthy, G’s Jams and so on feature either on the menu or in the food shop or in both!

I do like my chowder so I picked the O’Connell Seafood Chowder, chock full of chunky bits of fish enhanced by a lovely creamy soup and a gorgeous brown bread. CL was also delighted with her starter: the Creamy Celeriac Soup with Crispy Sage.

She changed her mind in the queue and picked the Quiche for here mains once she saw that it was packed with that fabulous Ummera Smoked Chicken with lots of other good things. It was a great choice. Not that I was disappointed with mine. On the contrary, I was delighted with the Fillet Beef Stroganoff and red rice. The beef was absolutely top notch and besides I also got a brilliant side-salad (that wasn't listed on the board).

Prices are pretty good here, €12.95 for the Stroganoff, €12.50 for the quiche. Service is friendly and excellent. They’ll help you find a seat and indeed it all works very well indeed.

There is a lot of space in the former furniture store and there are a few pop-up shops around the margins (including a Best of Buds outlet) and more to come. Perry Street may be a strange name to many but it’s just at the back of the Savoy so is really city centre. The location is not a problem as the numbers of customers there for lunch on Tuesday underlined.