Saturday, July 16, 2011
Tom Doorley Irish Daily Mail

The Irish pub, they say, is dying on its feet. And I’m not at all surprised, given what most of them are like. Some publicans blame the smoking ban, most of them will tell you that discounted booze from the supermarkets is at the root of the problem, but I’ve yet to hear anyone advance one of the key issues. We Irish are finally growing  up.
We have been forced into a form of moral adulthood by relentless Church candals, and we are starting to put alcohol in its place: With food, consumed with friends around a dining table, in each other’s homes. Starting to do so, I stress. There is a long way to go.
For far too long, the Irish pub has been dedicated to drinking, pure and simple, for the consumption of ‘rakes of pints’, for the numbing of the spirit and thje senses.
Pubs provided alcohol, but generally nothing too fancy, and tables and chairs. Latterly they have added Sky Sports to this heady mix. Is it any wonder that we have been deserting the pub in droves?
Publicans’ sense of entitlement is even more deep-rooted than that of politicians (some of whom are publicans in the first place). But thankfully publicans of this sort are confined to Ireland; if they were more widespread throughout Europe, the EU would have to subsidise the empty pubs and provide ‘headage’ payments for the customers who have got sense.
Last week I spent a few days in England and marvelled at what has happened to the pubs.
Virtually every one of them seems to serve food, some of it very good. And proper beer, with  selection of local brews in addition to the big brands.
I ate and drank well in Deptford (not the most fashionable part of Sarf-East London), in a Sussex village and in redbrick suburb.

Arriving in every one of these pubs, I was greeted with a bright smile and made to feel that my presence and my custom was more than welcome. The contrast with our Irish complacency could not have been more stark.
London saw the start of the gastropub more than ten years ago. It was the likes of The Eagle in Farringdon Street which kick-started the revolution.
Now, the idea of pubs serving a good simple menu and a few proper wines by the glass is commonplace. The word ‘gastropub’ is no longer much used. Annie’s in Sunday’s Well, however, proudly proclaims itself to be a gastropub and, as a licensed premises in the wilderness, this is not without justification. They have to say what they do.
And what they do is rather good. There’s a funky menu on a chalkboard, an eclectic wine list on another chalkboard and, admittedly, a fairly pedestrian selection of beers (which is odd, as the  Franciscan Well brewery is not far away). The service is friendly.
We had tender squid served with mayonnaise enriched with smoked paprika, which is something we don’t see enough of. It was only a few years ago that smoked paprika was unknown in this country. And a bowl of nicely spiced carrot soup,  thick and wholesome, with decent bread (which came with peppery olive oil and a splash of balsamic).
Merguez sausages (made with spiced lamb) came with a little beetroot salad and some aubergine puree, both presented as little towers. And there was a vast dish of
three tumescent Toulouse sausages with buttery mashed spud and a kind of red onion gravy.
These dishes were good if not outstanding. But wait a minute! This was in a pub! In that context, in this unfortunate country of ours, they were exceptional. And a shared
tiramisu was great by any standards, as were the pine-nut biscuits.
Annie’s is showing the way forward for Irish pubs. But we all know what they say about a prophet in his own land.
With a bottle of San Pellegrino mineral water and three glasses of wine, the bill came to €70.

wine choice
The chalkboard wine list
doesn’t specify any producers
but we had a delicious
Albarinho for €7.50 a glass or
€27 a bottle, and a very ripe
and intense Corbieres for the
same price. Prices start at
€4.95/€19.95 for Chilean
Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot.

smart money
Many dishes here cost €9. With a
glass of wine and a coffee there
should be change out of €20.

25 April 2011

YUM-!!!!...loved the choice of food, variety and combination of ingredients from start to finish and good selection of wine to match. If you love food like i do you'll so appreciate the obvious thought, creativity and soul put into designing and creating the dishes. The staff were great and enthusiastic, describing how the chef likes to prepare and cook the food, overall a very relaxed atmosphere, everyone seemed at one with the ambient surroundings, super value also - was surprised at how reasonable it was for such top notch food. Defo one of my fav restaurants in Cork. Sticky toffee pudding was savage!. I know its been around a while but its still like Corks best kept little gem but definately worth shouting about. Looking forward to bringing some friends and 'outsiders' along next time...well done to the 'artists' in the kitchen

07 January 2011

ANNIE’S BAR & RESTAURANT They have a big blackboard in Annie’s Gastro-pub in Sunday’s Well. They need it. The menu, which changes daily and is drawn from Munster, the Midi and the Maghreb, is extensive, inviting and imaginative. But it takes time to take in all the dishes. There are about 12 each of starters, mains and dessert, plus close to ten red wines and ten whites sold by the glass or bottle. As it happened, our table overlooked the main blackboard but I would really prefer a typed, even photo-copied, menu at the table, just to linger a little longer in anticipation of the fruits of the work of Head Chef Zico Ali, who has a French-Moroccan background. The venue is on two levels, one slightly higher than the other, has an oval bar in the middle and is comfortable. Service is friendly, considerate and efficient. Some delicious breads and oil were delivered to the table while we waited. My starter was: Chargrilled squid marinated in Lime and Chilli, served with Chargrilled vegetables and slow roast tomato €8.00. A very promising start indeed and a clean plate went back. The promise continued to be fulfilled in the mains: Pan Roast Snapper served with Celeriac and Fennell and a saffron sauce €22.00. The Snapper was done to perfection, the veg were perfectly tasty (not too hard, not too soft) and the sauce was probably one of the best I’ve ever come across. Fantastic stuff. The desserts are squeezed onto the board. I spotted the Blueberry Cheesecake and dispatched a generous slice with pleasure. Wine was Heart of Stone Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough New Zealand, €5.50 a glass, €22.00 bottle, tangly and fresh and worth the money. Highly recommended.

09 June 2010

Now this is a real gastro bar and any one who says other wise does not know much about food, Ive been here many a time and have allways had a good time. Love the menu on the blackboard up there in black & white, no messing around with paper, kind of easy going, friendly place, chatty locals have there daily few drinks, nice mix of people. Even when very busy they have always found us a space to sit, great service and great food, sundays well is so lucky to have this on there door step.

October 2009
WizzAir (Inflight Magazine)

The atmosphere is as relaxed as the food is spectacular in this celebrated gastropub, which includes turbot with white crab guacamole among its signature dishes. Mains from €18.

23 August 2008
Tom Doorley, Irish Times

‘Annie's Gastropub is an important addition to the Cork dining out scene

 My polenta cake with peppers and Parmesan shavings, served on top of a salad of tender young rocket leaves, was quite simply delicious. I think it was Alistair Little who said that polenta must be the most unhealthy dish in the world if it tastes good, by which he meant that it needs prodigious quantities of butter and cheese. This polenta had it all, and the peppers - yellow and green - had been softened in olive oil. It was good stuff, a small main course or a large starter, and just right for my lunchtime.

A thick steak of tuna, grilled to impeccable pinkness within, was served on a kind of Niçoise salad of baby spuds, French beans, olives, sad leaves.’