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, November 20, 2011

The Fish Wife, MacCurtain Street, Cork

When in Cork, I pretty much always stay at the Gresham Metropole. It's has free wi-fi throughout, clean white bed linen and is very centrally located. Best of all, prices can be quite keen and I love the old style and corridors. As far as I'm concerned, it's a far better offering than some of the newer, more expensive hotels in the city.

Ever since I've moved to Dublin, I've missed Cork chips. Dublin chips are good, but they're a different style and sometimes only chips from Lennox's or Bartie's will fill the void. The fact that the Fish Wife chip shop is located just across the road from the Metropole is just another plus for this hotel. 

The Fish Wife is a relatively new addition to the Cork chipper scene, but it manages to bring a modern twist to this traditional food style. Alongside the old favourite of cod, you can find daily specials, which range from tiger prawns in filo pastry to fresh battered seabass. Even the packaging is novel. Instead of the traditional newspaper, the fish and chips come in a clever cardboard box, which makes a handy plate when opened out.

The daily specials at the Fish Wife, Cork
Chip portions are more than generous and they even carry a personal favourite of mine, the mushy pea fritter. The Fish Wife also sells a range of burgers, which I've been told are good, although I've yet to try them myself. Every time I've eaten at the Fish Wife I've found the batter to be very light and crispy, and a recent piece of seabass showed how any piece of fish can be battered. In a city where chippers are taken very seriously, the Fish Wife is definitely one of the best.

Fresh battered seabass with mushy pea fritter, chips and sauces from the Fish Wife

The Fish Wife, 45a MacCurtain Street, Cork
Tel: +353 (0)87 264 4266
URL: Facebook page
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2 comments

WiseMóna said...

Oh yum. It is never good to wake up and want chips first thing in the morning! I love good chips too - there is only one place in Galway where you can buy real chips and they are fab. Once a year fab if you know what I mean. That little hotel looks well worth adding to the list of nice places to stay when in Cork. Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

Have stayed at the arte deco metropole, have lovely fish at the fish wife, but had the chips of kings next door to the hotel in a traditional cafe called Paddy Torino's. Never had better.

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