An excellent collection of 18th- and 19th-century landscapes is housed in this fine 1724 building and its large modern extension. And this is also home to the Crawford Gallery Café, one of Cork city's favourite informal eating places. An outpost of Ballymaloe House, Shanagarry, it is currently run with style by Sinead Doran.
Menus in this elegantly lofty blue and white room reflect the Ballymaloe philosophy that food is precious and should be handled carefully, so freshly prepared dishes are made from natural local ingredients and a meal here can be a real treat.
Except for a few specialities too popular to take off (such as their spinach & mushroom pancakes), the menu changes weekly but the style - a balanced mixture of timeless country house fare and contemporary international dishes featuring carefully sourced meats, fish from Ballycotton and the freshest of seasonal vegetables - remains reassuringly constant.
Substantial dishes, such as classic sirloin steak and chips, with béarnaise sauce - or a big vegetarian option like Mediterranean bean stew with coriander & basmati rice - are generally reliable and make a real meal, while the home-made pickles, relishes, chutneys and preserves are delicious details.
For a lighter bite, the home baking is always irresistible - and, while lunch is the big date for many Corkonians, the Crawford Gallery Café Breakfast, especially on Saturdays, has also become an institution in itself.
The number one item is the Crawford Full Irish (served with freshly squeezed orange juice and toast) and number two is the Mini-Irish, but there are healthy vegetarian options - a bowl of creamy porridge wth muscavado sugar, for example, and a whole range of egg dishes. Eggs Benedict, Eggs Royale, Eggs Florentine all feature or you can have just a couple of eggs poached, fried or scrambled on sourdough toast, perhaps with a base of magnificent Ballyhoura mushrooms.
The cooking and service are terrific and impeccably sourced local ingredients listed on the menu include Kanturk Bacon (McCarthy's butchers), Rosscarbery Sausages & Puddings, O'Brien's Free-Range Eggs, Pana Bread and - a rare treat - Frank Hederman's Smoked Salmon. Tea is by Barry’s, of course, coffees by Golden Bean roastery at Ballymaloe and there's a good choice of other drinks too, including homemade lemonade and elderflower cordial, and Crinnaghtaun apple juice - and a short well-balanced wine list.
Conference/banqueting: available for private parties, corporate entertaining, lectures etc in evenings; details on application.
