Stitch and Bear

A long-running Irish blog with reviews of the best restaurants in Dublin and throughout Ireland. Some wine and cocktails thrown in for good measure!

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Boqueria Tapas Restaurant - Cork


We were back in Cork recently and looking for food. As we walked the streets, it was clear to us that restaurants were far quieter, with fewer customers than the same time a year ago. The Boqueria tapas restaurant opened several years ago on Bridge Street, a short hop from Patrick Street. Back then, it was moderately pricey - now maybe I remember it way because I was a poor PhD student at the time. It always had good wines, and used good quality local ingredients to make their tapas, so I had no hesitation about heading there again.

The one thing that struck me as we took some seats at the bar was how quiet the place was. Two years ago, it would have been packed out the door. But hey, it meant that we were going to be able to get some food. The menu is divided according to tapas type and we went for prawns fried in garlic and chilli, serrano ham with machego cheese, chicken liver pate, boquerones and patas bravas. Additionally we went for a glass of house rose (well there was only one rose wine in total - come on restaurants, serve more rose!) and house red.

In fairness to Boqueria, the wines can reach 10 euro a glass, but you get a generous 250 ml for the price. The food arrived quickly and in much more generous portions than I remembered in previous visits. All our plates of food were excellent and we were more than satisified by the time we finished. I particularly liked the boquerones, served on toast, and the chicken liver pate, which came with an excellent spiced relish.

In total, 5 glasses of wine, along with the plates listed cost in the region of 90 euro. As the wine and food portions are generous, and of the best quality, I felt that this really represented excellent value for money. I'm already planning a return visit to the Boqueria the next time I'm back in Cork.
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