CoqBull — Attraction in Cork

Ok, it was a cold wet November afternoon, we walked in and we were welcomed by the warmth of the restaurant; both in temperature and friendliness!

The decor, oh my, I just love it. Distressed wood, exposed brick, sheet metal and industrial lighting, muted grays, popping reds and cool wall art. It is so cool.

The waitress was very nice, immediately engaging the kids in friendly chat about the toys they'd with them and was very quick to bring out kids menus, and crayons.

The menu is great. Burgers, fajitas, pizzas, topped fries, and milkshakes. My husband had the bacon burger. I don't usually like burgers but I could've polished it off myself. Dab of ketchup made it one of the best burgers I've ever had. I ordered boneless pork belly BBQ ribs, delicious, but so strong, I was glad to break up the flavour with chips. I also had chicken Fajitas. These came out in a tower with sizzling platter at the bottom, a pot with two large tortillas and the top layer had lots of different bits to go with it, guacamole, jalapenos, sour cream, salsa, and cheese. The fajitas were too spicy for me. But I am a wimp with spicy food. My husband had one and liked it, but siad the heat did persist a while after eating! Though, I am sure, if I had thought to ask, they could make a milder version of the dish. The kids had pasta (penne quills that looked to be handmade!), sausages and chips. To finish the kids had cookie and ice cream. The chocolate chip cookie was quite hard so I would call it a biscuit, not a cookie. Cookies are meant to be soft and chewy. I had sticky toffee pudding and husband had hazelnut brownie. Both were delicious. Though could have done with a bit more ice cream to balance with the rich flavoursome desserts.

And finally, the music!!!!! 80s classics. We were bopping along all throughout the meal.

Notes:

The toilets are signposted as "Sit and Stand" and consist of 3 unisex stalls and a shared wash basin.

There are a few steps in the venue, I didn't see any disabled toilet or baby changing station but there may be some elsewhere, separate from the...

1st time Visit.

Post Jazz weekend

Very nice welcoming Cork introduction to a nice seated area ( high stools)

This is a lovely gem of an eatery with great musical ambience & decor with views of cuisine preparation especially for those clientele as I was seated on high stools

On my my visit I could see that it was bustling with a mix of young teenagers & pre Opera House theatre clientele or similar. ( it is literally 3 mins walk)

However guys

Menu prices were/are expensive for what I ordered & what I actually get/got.

1/ Starter Creamy Prawns -lovely sweet dish but literally 5 prawns €13.80

2/ Philly Steak €22-00 more bread than actually meat

3/ One annoying feature was/is having a paper type base on your plate & then using a steak knife where invariably it will cut into paper whereby you are actually having to avoid eating same paper

As I explained to my waiter (Mauri, a very nice pleasant guy from Malaga ) I can perfectly understand how this paper is/can be effective with other suitable meals but it is completely counter productive when one is having to use a steak knife to cut through a Philly steak baguette or similar.

Hence why I deemed 3 stars out of 5.

4/ Ordered 2 teas Charged for 2 teas

Sparkling €3-00 — no issues

My Total € 44-30 €50 ( including generous gratuitie). I always try to leave generous gratuities as herein.

I did outline these 4 points to Mauri but I stressed that I was speaking collectively & not towards him specifically or any of his Team

I will definitely return (that’s if you guys will have me) but guys please address the above with a view to encouraging others to be able to have a nice night out amidst a brilliant ambience within a reasonable budget.

Definitely will return soon

Best...

I was really disappointed with my visit to the CoqBull. From the reviews and what I read I was expecting great food and a fantastic experience but the food was a real let down.

I ordered two starters, the pork belly bbq ribs, the nachos with fries and chicken gravy on the side. My girlfriend got the chicken fajitas. Everything looked great and was presented well, apart from ribs. But when it came it the taste, the rolls were reversed. This ribs ended up being the tastiest dish and the nachos and fajitas weren’t up to scratch. The chips tasted like they were reheated and the gravy was just bland.

The nachos were just a bit strange as I was expecting conventional tortilla chips with shredded beef and the works, but it was made up of taco shells cut in half to act as the chips, which was just strange and the texture of them just didn’t work. The shredded beef, salsa and cheese were all one big mix together in the serving pot and it was just tasteless.

The ribs were delicious and tender, but perhaps too much bbq sauce as they were doused in it.

The fajitas again looked fantastic but we weren’t given nearly enough tortilla wraps and chicken mixture was something you would have made better with an El Paso Fajita kit at home honestly.

Overall the food was very poor and easily my worst meal experience in Cork this weekend. The only reason I’m giving it 3 stars instead of 2 is because the staff were so friendly and accommodating, other than that it was a...