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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Check our ever expanding list of this year's Irish restaurants here. 

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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!

Thompsons: A New Steakhouse Sensation in Cork City

 Thompsons: 

A New Steakhouse Emerges in Cork City

Head chef Cormac cutting it down to size!

Thompsons
founded 2020

Thompsons Restaurant in Cork City has undergone a thrilling transformation, emerging as a premier steakhouse that celebrates the best of local produce. With a commitment to quality and exceptional service, Thompsons is quickly making a name for itself as a must-visit destination for steak lovers.

A Passion for Local Ingredients

At the heart of Thompsons' ethos is a

Thompsons Do The Walk All Right

Thompsons Do The Walk All Right 

Peruvian style chicken from Clonakilty!

Fresh pint and those 1826 tiles

When you walk in the door at Thompson’s you’re walking on the original steel tiles from 1826. You’re also walking towards a delicious meal and some excellent beer brewed in the onsite micro-brewery.

And there’s more in this former bakery. Very comfortable seating for one. It’s a huge venue (seats 120, even with Covid19 rules) yet well divided into nooks and snugs and booths, even some intimate little hideaways. And the staff are welcoming and friendly.

Those steel tiles are not the only mementoes from the bakery’s past. There’s an ancient cash register by the front door, what looks like a mechanical dough mixer in the middle and, back by the bar, is where you’ll see their latest discovery: suitcases for wedding cakes!

With the micro-brewery on site, run by the Cotton Ball, there’s no surprise that the food is designed to match. Pizzas and burgers appear prominently on the menu. But this is a step-up on the usual tap-room fare.

Hot wings

Take our shared large starter for instance: Buffalo style wings are slathered in their 2-week house fermented Chilli sauce which is blended with vinegar, butter, honey, and spices served with blue cheese and celery. Hot and also packed with flavour, great texture in that sauce, there’s also a super dip, and that big piece of celery comes in handy! I’ve tasted quite a few wing offerings recently, in and out of town and also at home, and these are most impressive.

They also do a Sweet and Sticky version, with house made sweet chilli sauce with soya and sugar glaze, topped with sesame seeds and scallions and served with sweet soya sauce. Nachos, large or small, are also on offer, a couple of salads (including a Caesar) and also a Grilled Halloumi, Chickpea and Lentil salad.

Brewery tanks

Irish beef features in a few of the burgers and there’s also a chicken burger as well as a vegan version (with a spicy Chickpea patty). And some main-course salads, bigger versions of the Caesar, the vegan Beetroot, Carrot, Quinoa and Spinach and the vegetarian Grilled Halloumi with chickpea and Lentil.

We went to the rotisserie for one of our mains and the Peruvian style chicken was excellent. This Marinated Free Range Clonakilty Chicken is served with roasted jalapeno, a Red onion sauce, Salad and Fries. Quite a plateful and top quality (15.50).

There’s a terrific selection of pizzas, all on their 3-day proofed dough made from caputo flour. My pick was the Nduja Spicy Sausage and Honey Pizza (14.50). This one was slightly spicy, slightly sweet but very very satisfactory indeed.  There’s a vegetarian version and even a Ham and Pineapple. The other ones that appealed to me were the Chorizo, red onion and chilli and also the Chicken, red peppers and onions.

Must say we were pretty well fed at this point but there was no way we were going to leave a certain dessert behind. Considering the history of where we were sat, it had to be, for old times sake, the Thompsons Raspberry Swiss Roll, even if it was a shared one (5.95). But we did get two decent slices and lots of cream and enjoyed every little moist crumb.

Swiss Roll

We didn’t have any drink. Only kidding! Just had to sample a couple from the tap. CL sipped a glass of Thompsons Lite Lager (3.75) and pronounced herself happy with it. My choice was the superb Cotton Ball Indian Summer, produced first as a seasonal but now very much a core beer. And I could see why as I sipped my delicious pint (5.95).

Total bill came to €65.05 - would have been 56.40 without the tax!

Thompsons Restaurant and Brewery https://www.thompsonscork.ie/home-thompsons 

5-11 MacCurtain Street

Cork

Tel: (021) 603 1111

Thompsons, up and running since 6th of August

New microbrewery in Cork + Wines Direct + SuperValu cheers #15

New microbrewery in Cork + Wines Direct + SuperValu, and more on wine, spirits and beer in Cheers #15 South of France! with Wines Direct

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New Microbrewery and Restaurant Open in Cork

Thompsons Restaurant & Microbrewery in MacCurtain Street, Cork!! 😁 Have a sneak peek inside through the tallest chimney in Cork while we prepare to open our doors on Thursday 6th August! More details here!❤

Bookings are now open at thompsonscork.ie 🥳🥳

Mo

Did you know that McConnell’s Irish Whisky was the first ever recorded Irish Whisky Brand in Northern Ireland. From 1776 to today, it’s had its ups and downs, but who doesn’t love a good comeback story. More here.

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Class Cuisine at The Glass Curtain. New Kid on the Thompsons Block

Class Cuisine at The Glass Curtain

New Kid on the Thompsons Block

The Glass Curtain has made an impressive debut on MacCurtain Street, the latest food outlet in the bustling area of Cork city, with something for every palate and wallet. And the buzz goes on - lots more to come. Much of it in the old Thompsons Building, once a key bakery for the city. 

Brian Murray’s Glass Curtain is one of the smaller developments in the cavern of a building. There is much more space being filled between the street back as far as Wellington Road. Another restaurant, a bar and a micro-brewery are coming soon as the Lynch family (who own the Cotton Ball brewery) continue the exciting development.

"Low Fashioned" on the right

But back to Brian and the Glass Curtain. He is very much  supporting local and indeed the craft beers on offer are from the Cotton Ball. They also have about a dozen tempting cocktails including one that I enjoyed on my recent visit. The “Low Fashioned” is a very tasty combination of Kinsale “Wild Red” Mead, Angostura, Demerara and Orange. 

Other local drinks featuring in the cocktail list include Longueville Apple Brandy, Blacks Gin and Kalak Peated Vodka. And one cocktail that you may well fancy, some of you for nostalgic reasons, is the Turkish Delight (Lychee liqueur, rose, orange blossom and soda). Those of you who remember Thompsons in its prime probably know that Hadji Bey Turkish Delight was made across the road. Quite an extensive wine list also and spirits too. So that’s the drinks. What of the food? 

Pic courtesy of The Glass Curtain.

Those of you on social media will have seen the Glass Curtain publish their first food pic (above) in mid January. In the comments, chef/owner Brian said “the menu has been a living restless thing since we opened last month. Changing daily, still defining our style and still a lot of work to be done. Here’s one our guests and ourselves have taken a real liking to: the tandoori monkfish, chargrilled, with roast cauliflower, mussels, saffron and baby leeks.” 

As it happened we were in the evening the photo was taken and one of our mains was that very dish and we gave it a big thumbs up. Don’t think there’s too much work to be done on this one, aside from seasonal variations of course!

Pork and cabbage and "gravy", but not like Granny's

My mains that evening was based on a collar of pork. You don’t see this very often on local menus. More’s the pity as it’s absolutely delicious. And the Glass Curtain version was even more so. Pork collars are a familiar item in Europe and because of their intense marbling are used to make traditional sausages such as coppa. 

The collar is cut from the shoulder portion that runs from the neck to the tip of the loin. Bord Bia have a recipe on their site here and say that the cut is very good value and that leftovers can be used in pulled pork sandwiches.

Brian, who cooks with “a lot of love and a little fire”, declares on their website that “flavour is our holy grail” and he certainly got that spot on with this dish, the umami of sauce an outstanding factor. The menu description is: Pork collar, miso, grilled winter cabbage and peanut rayu. Tender and delicious. Go for it!

Hake starter

Starters here are called Small Plates. CL enjoyed her Confit Hake, house XO sauce, and grilled broccoli, while my Cured red gurnard in roast onion dashi also went down well. That dashi was probably the star and I asked for a spoon to make sure I didn’t leave one delicious drop behind.

Gurnard and dashi. Should have had a sake with this!

Just three desserts on offer and, while our shared Honey Custard Tart (with nutmeg and fresh cream) was not quite on a par with the earlier courses, it was nonetheless polished off. Perhaps you may prefer the cheese offering: a selection of Irish cheese, Peter’s Yard crackers and honey.

The place itself is comfortable, seats about 35, and the service is excellent. Some seats will give you a good view of the open kitchen. We were absorbed when they started cooking their Beef Chop. This “monster” is about three  inches thick, I guess, and is for sharing. It is 35-day aged and they grill it on the bone. You may need one of the side dishes here, perhaps the  Smoked Heritage Potatoes with Beef Dripping! 

The Glass Curtain 

Thompson House

MacCurtain Street

Cork

Tel: (021) 451 8659