Steak may be the speciality at Thompsons' Restaurant, but the MacCurtain Street venue offers much more.

Steak may be the speciality at Thompsons' Restaurant these days, but the MacCurtain Street venue offers much more on its menu.

Cod

Thompsons Restaurant in Cork City is fast emerging as a classy steakhouse that celebrates the best of local produce. With a continuing commitment to quality and exceptional service, the large and comfortable MacCurtain Street venue is quickly making a name for itself as a must-visit destination for food lovers.

And they have much more to offer than steak! We ate there last week to see what else the kitchen was up to. The current menu includes Chicken, Fish and Chips, Goan Curry, Poached Cod, and Seafood Linguine. Starters include Frank Hederman’s Smoked Mackerel and a Ballycotton Chowder. There is no shortage of choices in this MacCurtain Street venue.

Tartare

Having attended the Steak launch recently and sampled the range, we deliberately didn't pick steak for the main dish, but we couldn’t resist the Steak Tartare: 28-day dry-aged fillet steak, charcoal emulsion, cress, and Parmesan on toasted ABC sourdough. It is a delicious starter and another excellent example of the skills of young Head Chef Cormac Lynch and his team.

Lynch has been at Thompson’s Restaurant since November 2023. His culinary journey began with volunteering at Cork Penny Dinners. Trained at CIT, Cormac has honed his skills in various establishments, including the two-Michelin-starred Terre in the Castlemartyr Resort Hotel.

Wagyu burger

One fish dish worth watching out for—my colleague was well pleased with it—is the Poached Ballycotton Cod, served with Valentia Island Vermouth beurre blanc, cucumber, trout roe, rose petal, lemon, and parsley baby potatoes.

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McCarthy’s Wagyu is not among the steak offerings but has a starring role in the Burger, along with shredded lettuce, homemade pickles, Coolea Cheddar, and roasted garlic aioli. Not to mention chunky house fries. The flavour from the Wagyu certainly lived up to its reputation.

Pear in Mead

A wee drop of Sexton!

When Thompsons' bakery was here in the good old days, its Swiss Roll cake was a city-wide favourite among many generations of local customers. The restaurant’s current delicious version is rolled in a Victoria Sponge with fresh berries, vanilla ice cream, and chocolate crumbs. Add a glass of Valentia Island Vermouth for an even better finalé.

The Swiss Roll dessert has been a favourite here since day one (in 2020) but do also look out for the Caramelised Poached Pear (Shortbread crumb, homemade honeycomb, strawberry and pineapple sorbet, Kinsale Wild Mead, shaved chocolate). It is well worth trying this Kinsale Mead-soaked delight, which I enjoyed immensely.

Steak galore!

As you can see from the two drinks mentioned in the previous paragraphs, Thompsons are very much supporters of local produce. Their whiskey list is dominated by Irish drams (check out the Sexton Single Malt), and they have many Irish gins in their offering. If you want a refreshing beer, from stout to lager, then it will be among the freshest ever as it comes from their Cotton Ball micro-brewery that you can see in action at the back of the restaurant!

The spacious restaurant is well-designed, with cosy nooks and booths catering to different group sizes. Whether dining as a couple or a larger party, Thompson’s Restaurant provides an inviting and enjoyable experience for all.

* The steak comes from McCarthy’s butchers of Kanturk, who hand-select the top-quality beef. Farmer David O'Brien raises the Angus/Hereford cattle on the lush grass of the Golden Vale, resulting in tender and flavourful meat. The whole cuts of beef are dry-aged here with Himalayan salt. You can see it in the cabinets as you enter. We enjoyed the steak launch a few weeks ago but returned on a recent evening to check out what else they had on the menu. And as you can see above, there is no shortage of variety.

** Three things to look for.

1 - The ageing cabinets, on your left as you enter.

2 - The microbrewery at the back.

3 - The sheer variety of the light fittings, everything from chandeliers to tiny tulip

Tartare group!