Is someone totally food obsessed when they bring a freezer bag with them on a work trip to Cork City?? I think the answer to that may be yes! Recently work sent me on a flying visit where I had a few hours free. Some of those were spent in the English Market filling my freezer bag with lots of goodies including my favourite Italian sausages from O'Mahony Meats.
The rest of the time was filled with work but I also had to eat and was lucky that my colleague is practically a Corkonian so I let her pick where we should eat that night. Katie decided on ORSO Kitchen and Bar which is located on Pembroke Street in the heart of Cork City. ORSO don't take reservations and they were very busy when we walked in. The restaurant is small so we ended up sitting at the counter which was perfectly fine with us as we were hungry and didn't want to wait for a free table. Also from there we could stare longingly at the desserts. This didn't go unnoticed by the waiter behind the counter either!
To start I ordered the Lebanese stonebread with hummus & smoked aubergine dip. This was a lovely beginning to the meal with the smoked aubergine dip being a standout factor. It had a wonderful depth of flavour and was smokey and sweet at the same time.
Katie went for the hot buttery crispbread with goat’s cheese and chilli dip which was creamy and not overly spicy with the chilli. We didn't have a bad word for our starters except that we probably could have just shared one between us!
Next up were our mains and I went for the Moroccan beef patties with cumin, ginger and cinnamon served with cucumber ribbons and natural yoghurt. Katie decided on the honey glazed chicken quarter with fennel and tomato salad. The Moroccan beef patties were full of flavour and were offset nicely with the cucumber ribbons and yogurt. Katie's chicken came the same way with the chicken arranged around the salad. It is a lovely way to eat meat and it made the dishes feel very fresh and wholesome. The only criticism that was made was that Katie thought her chicken could have come with a bit more sauce.
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| Moroccan Beef Patties |
After all that food we debated about whether or not to have dessert. We had been staring at the mounds of meringues and strawberry tarts for the best part of an hour and a half by this stage only to see the last meringue disappear! We must have looked very disappointed as the eagle eyed waiter told us not to worry as he was getting more sent down especially, so we could hardly refuse after that! The rosewater and pistachio meringue was giant and came laden down with fresh fruit and cream. Unfortunately it was a bit dark for that picture so you will just have to imagine it! And yes we ate it all though we did share one between us.
ORSO Bar and Kitchen is a wonderful restaurant. There is a lively atmosphere, a continuous stream of customers and very friendly staff all topped off by the creative and flavour filled food that they serve. It is also not very expensive and all that food came to a total of €36.50. We loved it so much that I was sent down the next day to get our lunch to takeaway!
ORSO Bar and Kitchen, 8 Pembroke Street, Cork City
Website: www.orso.ie
Ph: 00353 (0) 21 243 8000
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