I recently worked with the very fine film composer Kim Carroll (kimcarrollmusic.com) who happens to be from Ireland and before we went to Ireland I gave him a call for suggestions of places to see (or not). One of the places he recommend was the Farmgate Cafe and it so happens that this was the first good restaurant we went to while in Ireland. The food was fairly traditional, but with good portions and some artfulness that we did not always experience while dining in Ireland. Our waitstaff was great as was usual in Ireland (particularly Mirco Fondrini who closed his eyes while Lynn took an impromptu shot of him-when we go back we'll get a shot with your eyes open Mirco...)
Farmgate Cafe and Restaurant
The English Market Cork
T: 021.4278134