Golden Elephant — Restaurant in Cork

My partner and I visited on 26/09/24 during our visit to Ireland, from England.

We had eaten our way through many pub restaurants in Kinsale and we wanted comforting dining experience with that homemade Thai feel.

As I was looking online I came across this restaurant and the positive reviews, also the photos of the food looked amazing and not like 'generic' takeaway.

The restaurant is a hidden gem spot in the street. Its small, but beautiful with elephant wallpaper, red velvet seating and magnificent golden ornaments.

We ordered Spring Rolls to start, and were also given Handmade Prawn Crackers with a peanut sauce, both delicious.

I chose the Chicken & Cashew main, beautifully served in a handmade taro type nest. The chicken was moist and the sauce was the perfect mix between sticky, spicy and slightly sweet.

My partner chose the Duck in Ginger Sauce. I personally am not a massive fun of duck - but this changed me, the ginger is tangy but not overwhelming. The Duck was so soft it almost melted in the mouth. Not overly fatty either. Hard to describe but compliments to the chef!! The Duck dish was also a very generous portion- if I ordered this as a takeaway I would be very pleased!

Finally we ordered the Pepper Crab to share. Which was absolutely incredibly delicious. The crab again, very well cooked and the sauce just the perfect balance of everything. Top dish.

The hosts were very kind and accomodating, offering reccomendations and explaining the dishes. Very pleased we came here! The host also kindly put our leftovers in container for us to take away.

Im not often impressed by every dish as I can be quite particular (I hate bland, boring food) every dish here was top tier, full of flavour and perfectly cooked/seasoned.

Positive review + tip. 10/10...

Where should I start? For someone who has been in Thailand a couple of times, I find this restaurant the best Thai restaurant in Ireland by far. First and foremost, the owner and staff are absolutely brilliant, very welcoming, and super nice, and they will definitely help you with great suggestions if you don't know where to start. I am particularly obsessed with their green thai curry with vegetables and tofu, so well cooked, full of flavour, aromatic, and absolutely exquisite. I also love their papaya salad to start with something fresh, but bear in mind it is quite spicy, which, by the way, I absolutely love! Their spring rolls are good, too. Last but not least, if you are a fan of soup, you should definitely give thai soups a go. They are very special and nothing that you would expect. The Tom Yam soup is vibrant, fresh, full of flavour, and again spicy. When it comes to drinks, I really like I can find a truly thai beer, Singha, a pale larger beer, and also enjoy a Lychee drink, similar taste to a strawberry or pear with a hint of citrus and rose. Honestly, it is my favourite restaurant in Cork. I could eat there every single day. Their food is just...

WARNING: THE OWNERS OF THIS RESTAURANT COME TO YOUR HOUSE WHEN YOU LEAVE A NEGATIVE REVIEW. THEY SHOUT AT YOU IN FRONT OF YOUR NEIGHBOURS AND SAY YOU ARE TRYING TO DAMAGE THEIR BUSINESS.

UPDATE: Since posting this review, people claiming to own this business CAME TO OUR HOUSE to question the review. They said that I am trying to damage their business by leaving a negative review. I cannot believe they came to my home to shout at me when my review was purely factual, the delivery took more than 1 hr 45 mins (which they accepted) and I felt I was treated rudely when I rang to ask about the order. Really unprofessional and inappropriate behaviour*

Still waiting for our delivery - 1 hournd 45 minutes since we ordered. When I rang, I got a very sarcastic "yeah, sorry about that." Their food is grand but not worth a 105 minute wait. WILL NEVER ORDER FROM...