An East Cork One-Two. Hard to Beat This Walk and Eat! Beaches and lunch at Castlemartyr Carewswood Café

An East Cork One-Two. Hard to Beat

This Walk and Eat!

Lime & Chilli Chicken Salad

Beaches and lunch at Castlemartyr Carewswood Café

Some great sunny days last week and on one of them we headed east to Ballinwilling beach, between Garryvoe and Redbarn. Plan was to have a long walk and then call for lunch to the Carewswood Garden Centre between Ladysbridge and Castlemartyr.

Ballinwilling. Redbarn is around the corner.

It didn’t quite to go plan but did work out very well. The tide was well in at Ballinwilling, leaving very little room for walkers unless you came equipped with wellies. We did a bit but soon retreated and drove the few minutes to Garryvoe. 

Garryvoe

Of course the tide was well in there too but we walked on the beachside path and after that, to the west, there was a long stretch of sand up and beyond the entrance to the next beach (Ardnahinch). The last of the cloud has vanished as well and we and the four-legged friend enjoyed the hour or so, taking in the fresh air, the views (out to the Ballycotton Lighthouse on its island) and the sounds of the birds and the sea.

Island in the sun.

The appetite was well warmed up by the time we got back to the car. A few minutes later we were in Ladysbridge and soon turning right to Carewswood which is just off the R632. Got a bit of a shock to see the large car park more than half full at 12.05pm or thereabouts. “I should have had booked,” I said. But no worries. They had plenty of space in the two room cafe, no problem with social distancing and they took the details.

Getting a deserved drink from his new water dispenser.

They were just changing over from the breakfast to the lunch menu and we opted for the latter and a table in the sunny outer room. Lots of openings to the fresh air here, including a couple of sets of doors. It was warm enough to dispense with the coats as we studied the menu, quite an extensive one as it turned out, featuring soups, salads, sandwiches and hot dishes plus a short wine list.

Chipotle Chicken Burger

I picked Chef Pawel’s daily special: Chipotle Chicken Bap, with smashed avocado and mixed leaves, served with rustic fries (€14.95). CL, also on a spicy kick, went for one of the salads: Lime and Chilli warm chicken salad, fire roasted peppers, smashed ago, vine tomato and jalapeño salsa, Blanco Nino tortilla, lettuce and yogurt (13.95).

The airy outer dining room

Both dishes were excellent and in each case, the main element, the chicken was of a really high standard and delicious. CL’s bowl looked huge but, aside from the fairly hard crisps, made short work of it. I also had quite a feed both in term of quality and quantity but the walks on the beaches had certainly tuned up the appetites and it was two well satisfied customers that walked out into the sunny afternoon. 

Ready for the coming season

Not too many customers around the garden centre itself at the moment but the staff are busily engaged in preparing for the season ahead. They have quite a reputation here and indeed that very evening I was chatting to a gardening enthusiast from Dublin who said: “Glad to hear Carewswood is doing so well, I really like it. Aside from the food, their plants are better than anyone else’s and the prices are reasonable.” So there you are, another reason to visit lovely East Cork! 

* They pride themselves on ‘honest food with no artificial colourings or preservatives and serve a range of delicious freshly baked goods and local artisan and organic foods’. Good to see local producers supported. The salmon is from Ballycotton while Gubbeen, Blanco Niño, and bakers Pana are among the producers mentioned. 

Looking well, as always. The Garryvoe Hotel.

New Kids on the Block. #51 Cornmarket Street. We took a knock. We go again.

New Kids on the Block. #51 Cornmarket Street.

We took a knock. We go again.

David Devereaux and Anne Zagar, the young couple behind #51, are delighted to be back up and running at their new restaurant in Cornmarket Street. The enthusiastic pair and equally enthusiastic small staff had something of a false dawn back in March when Covid19 forced a sudden closure just a couple of weeks into their opening run.

Still, that youthful enthusiasm, backed by the solid experience they have acquired in various kitchens as they learned the ropes, is undimmed after their “second coming” as I found when we visited for lunch last week. We enjoyed it and said so. “Do come by again when we’ve expanded a bit,” I was told as I left! Can’t beat the youth!

While both are chefs, David has the Head Chef title here and “is the brain force behind our kitchen and the driving passion behind our ethos”. From the nearby north side, he began his studies in Cork which led to a scholarship in Johnston & Wales (RI, USA), an apprenticeship under Michael Fleming and a further stage in London’s Mayfair. David has been cooking around Cork for several successful years while always searching for somewhere to call his own and has found it in the Coal Quay, in what was previously The Parlour. 

Fish fingers like never before!

Now at #51, he has a clear vision, using many local suppliers to create a dining experience that is “funky, fresh and professionally thought out. His cooking style is modern Irish with a special focus on seafood while also being a dab hand at a Lemon Tart every once in a while.” 

Those local producers include O’Mahony Butchers, Ballycotton Seafood, Pana Bread, Kilbrack Farm, Annabella Farm, English Market, McCarthy’s Kanturk, O’Brien’s Free Range Eggs. And even more local is the nearby rooftop farm, now with the addition of their own hens!

They do everything in-house including curing their own fish. We got a sample of their rainbow trout as we left and it is superb. Do look out for that House Cured Rainbow Trout (more sustainable than salmon). You’ll see it in their Eggs Royale with Eggs and Hollandaise.

Herbs at hand

Anne herself has quite a distinguished CV as well. She trained at Ballymaloe Cookery School and studied French Patisserie at Le Cordon Bleu London. She was head chef at The Pavilion Garden Centre, owner-operator at Something Sweet, head chef and kitchen manager at Rachel's, and manager/coordinator at Hotel Isaacs Cork. 

She’s well able to take a turn in the kitchen but last week she was out front, keeping an eye on and serving their customers both inside their little terrace and also at the tables now allowed on the wide pavement of the Coal Quay itself. 

And she’s even got the mayoral nod of approval for her baking, particularly her scones which come in quite a few flavours: Blueberry and lime, white chocolate and cranberry, Cinnamon, pecan and toasted oats, and the traditional sultana.

You’ll get a terrific breakfast here but we were in for a spot of lunch, which they start serving about the 12.30pm mark when the menu goes up on the window. No menus handed out at present due to you know what!

Scones galore

The list may be short but is tempting, even includes a few of the egg dishes from the breakfast. We seriously considered the organic Farm Salad (tomato, local feta, potato, mint , cucumber and leaves). Another attraction was the Brisket, Pickled Onion and Celeriac Remoulade and also the Pork Belly with apple and red cabbage.

CL hit the jackpot when she picked the Beetroot, local goat cheese, pesto, pickled onion and organic leaf in a Ciabatta bun. Neatly presented, this is a superb dish, packed with local goodness and that bread is soft and tasty, the dish well priced too. Highly Recommended.

Eggs Royale, with that trout!

And I very much enjoyed another dish that comes into the Highly Recommended category: the crispy trio of fish fingers, superb cod as it turns out, comes with a delicious citrus salsa, and a well-judged amount of sweet curry in a beautiful soft bap. I had sticky fingers and a happy belly by the time I finished this easy-eating beauty, just the job for lunch in the summer-time.

David

Hopefully, David and Anne will be serving many similar platefuls before the summer departs. You’ll enjoy the happy youthful approach at this city centre venue and you know where your food comes from. It’s just a few yards from Patrick Street, so do look out for #51!

51 Cornmarket Street

Cork

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/51cornmarket/

Tel: 083 010 2321

Open Wed to Sun inclusive.