We’ll go to town and get some breakfast...
I am not a brunch person. My life does not revolve around brunch, “doing brunch”, brunch-brunch-brunch. However, I do love having breakfast at the time at which brunch usually occurs.
I also have an extreme dislike of crowds. Like many people, I suppose. And my husband is utterly incapable of just wandering around town. He has to have a goal—a reason. Our going into The City ritual would usually be at dawn on a Saturday.
So welcome to our new ritual of having a household bank holiday. We have decided to take a Monday off once now and again, where we go to The City, have breakfast, and wander around. Because of rush hour, we get to town at 10 am, which means: Brunch.
Rush hour in Cork City gets one line on AA Roadwatch Ireland “And in Cork City, the usual traffic.”
Our first Nadd Bank Holiday brought us to The Spitjack in Cork City. It has always been a popular breakfast brunch spot on Washington Street in the City proper, even before The ‘Rona. Like many food places in Cork, everyone was happy to see it come out the other side.
A few modifications have held over, however. The ground floor part of the brasserie used to have one long bench seat for the “table for twos”. Now they have partitioned them with well-built Perspex screens. Which means it had the feel of a booth but was not oppressive. I hope they look at keeping them because the open-plan benches always feel weird as your bags start migrating up and down and elbows clash.
I wanted to get The Veggie Bap. A brioche bun with halloumi, guacamole, roasted red peppers, a fried egg, Ballymaloe relish, and fries. However, I also wanted a good time in town, so I opted for a classic of poached eggs and smoked salmon. I topped off with a black coffee (yes, I know, it’s an Americano, no room).
With a well-strengthened Irish Farmer’s gastrointestinal tract, my husband went for crispy fried, pulled chicken with spicy buffalo sauce on waffles. With a cup of Barry’s tea.
Top-notch food in a beautiful setting. The staff were not pushy, and there was no feeling to hurry up and move on. I’m not a Food Critic. I’m not here to talk about how adding paprika lifted the hollandaise sauce while keeping the tang of the vinegar—bollocks to that. If you want good food in sensible portions, knock yourself out—a great place.
Finally, with no surprise, the toilet review. Stunning. Stunning. It did have the annoying toilet paper dispenser, which only lets out one sheet at a time, but I am a pro with those now. Unfortunately, the door signs were a bit of a choice. Ducks. Fancy hat for women, top hat for men. I want to point out that I am sí/í (she/her) and have been known to wear a top hat.
The Spitjack does get busy, as everyone thinks it’s great. Go early enough on the weekend, or go on a weekday. I couldn’t see any options for reservations on the website. #entrance
Beir bua agus beannacht.
Beir bua agus beannacht.