With spring in the air, our critic headed south, eager to check out the new gastropub in Midleton, Co Cork
Roasted plaice, violet potatoes, trout roe butter sauce at Church Lane in Midleton, Co Cork. Photo: Lucinda O’Sullivan
Today at 03:30
Come February I always get itchy feet to be ‘on the road again’ and see what’s happening around the country. So with spring officially sprung, and the grass riz — barely — I hit the road for one of my favourite places, Cork. I particularly wanted to visit the bustling town of Midleton, a centre of great restaurants, boutiques, and a famous Saturday morning market, which was badly hit by floods last year.
While the business community has fought back on all sides, sadly the biggest loss to the town, due to overwhelming damage, has been Maróg and Sally O’Brien’s famous Farmgate Restaurant & Country Store, a bastion of excellence, which, having been opened in a former tyre outlet in 1988 transformed into a stylish arty destination which had been drawing people to the town ever since.