IN PARTNERSHIP WITH FAILTE IRELAND
A trip to Kinsale is always a good idea …
Finding good food on an Irish holiday is no longer a luck-of-the-draw situation. So many restaurants dotted around the country offer reason alone to visit a destination. None more so than Cork right now, whether you visit the city, West Cork, or the harbour town of Kinsale. From fine dining at Michelin-star restaurant Bastion or the Indian-inspired Rare right through to casual small plates at innovative restaurants like The Black Pig and St Francis Provisions, there’s more than enough to fill a weekend visit. Find the spots we would return to again and again below …
DO: Book dinner at The Black Pig. Make sure to reserve in advance, as spots fill up quickly for the two dinner slots each night (closed Monday and Tuesday). Expect small plates focused on local produce at this family-run wine bar. The restaurant is set in an 18th-century coach house, with an outdoor garden that backs onto the old town walls of Kinsale. The wine list is extensive, with a special focus on natural, organic and biodynamic wines – there are over 100 to choose from by the glass (many offered by Coravin) and 200 by the bottle. At the time of our most recent visit, the menu included dishes like hen of the woods mushrooms on toast, jamon and manchego croquettes, and Dublin Bay prawns in garlic and chilli butter – plus a special acorn-fed Spanish black pig ham, which must be pre-ordered before you arrive. Don’t miss the PX Sherry over vanilla ice cream for dessert.
PLAN: To take a walking tour with Kinsale Food Tours, an interesting way to familiarise yourself with the town. Our guide, Kerry, was extremely informative about the history of Kinsale when it was a working harbour town. The food walking tour focused on local and artisanal producers, with stop-offs at artisan shops like chocolate makers Koko, charcuterie and local cheeses from The Supper Club, and homemade ice cream from The Good Dairy, with dairy from the family’s farm in Nohoval, just outside Kinsale. Another activity worth booking for those who want to learn more about local produce is the tour of Kinsale Mead Co, the only mead producers in Ireland. Husband and wife team Kate and Denis Dempsey have perfected the ancient art of mead-making in their small factory in the city. Visitors will learn about the history, production process, sample the honeys used, and taste the most recent bottles – the Atlantic Dry Mead was a firm favourite on our visit. After visiting, you’ll notice Kinsale Mead Co pops up on a lot of menus around the town, including at Rare, where it was used in a palate cleanser between courses.
DON’T MISS: A special dinner at Rare, where the tasting menu designed by Executive Chef Meeran Manzoor?is inspired by south Indian flavours with modern French cooking, using hyper local produce. The Michelin-recommended restaurant changes its menu by the season, ensuring no two visits are the same. During our visit, innovative dishes (all beautifully presented) included turbot with “meen kuzhambu” curry, local Dexter beef with courgette blossom, and the standout, lobster with sambar spiced lentil broth. Book the chef’s table for an extra special experience, where a floor-to-ceiling window allows you to see directly into the kitchen and watch the chefs finish dishes with painstakingly careful detail at they pass. Whether you opt for the signature wine pairing alongside the tasting menu or choose from the extensive list, the knowledgeable sommelier is on hand to help. Rare is the restaurant to book for an elevated, unhurried celebratory dinner in Kinsale.
STOP OFF: For a nightcap at Prim’s Bookshop. The second-hand bookstore turns into a wine bar at night, offering sherry and wine by the glass in a candlelight setting as you peruse the selection of well-loved books.
STAY: At the Trident Hotel on Pier Road. Our sea view room overlooked the boats coming and going in the marina. Breakfast is served in Pier One restaurant with views over the harbour. A comfortable and well-located hotel option for a weekend stay in Kinsale. Guests also have access to the swimming pool, steam room and sauna at Actons Hotel, a sister property just a few minutes’ walk along the promenade.
PLAN: An hour in the morning to browse the shops. Fuelled by an iced coffee from the newly opened Dána on Market Street, and a pastry from Seeds bakery, stroll around the town centre and visit the independent boutiques. Our favourite was Granny’s Bottom Drawer, a destination shop that has been on our list for years to visit, which stocks everything from Magee outerwear to Fisherman Out of Ireland knitwear and Molloy & Sons Donegal tweed throws, expertly curated in this cosy store on Main Street that you’ll find impossible to leave empty-handed. A few doors up is Kinsale Leather, where you’ll find Dee Mangan’s handmade leather bags. Further along sits photographer Giles Norman’s gallery.
DO: Follow the Scilly Walk from the town on a clear day, which loops around the hill with views over the harbour town (pitstop at The Spaniard for a glass of Beamish or Murphys) and walk to Charles Fort before finishing up down at The Bulman pub and restaurant. (Directly across from the Bulman, there’s also a sauna positioned overlooking the sea.)
BOOK AHEAD: For lunch at St Francis Provisions, which holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand. It’s one of those restaurants that stays with you long after you’ve visited. Run by Barbara Nealon and her friendly, welcoming team, the space is small (just 15 seats) but bright and has a number of outdoor seats too. We sat in the window and saw lots of hungry customers get turned away as the restaurant was fully booked, so make a reservation in advance. An all-natural and low-intervention wine list includes a good selection by the glass and bottle. Chef Rebeca Recarey Sanchez is from Madrid, so the daily-changing small plates menu is heavily Spanish influenced but features lots of Irish produce. We had gildas, focaccia with romesco, fried hake “buñuelos”, burrata with courgette, almond and mint, and West Kerry coppa. The perfect ending to a food-filled weekend tour of Kinsale.
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