The English Market, Cork
Wow! Look at all this food. Why don’t we have anything like this in Dublin?
Corkonians need no introduction to The English Market, but the rest of us might. Last Saturday, I was amazed and enchanted by an extraordinary feast for all five senses.
This huge indoor market has been around since 1788 and is jammed with greengrocers, butchers, fishmongers, cheesemongers, cafes, ethnic foods, olives, chocolate shops, and more. They’re all competing with each other for business, the food is great quality, and the choice is infinitely superior to much of the mass-produced brands you find in supermarkets.
Fishmongers at The English Market
People wrongly assume that modern markets, especially “organic farmer’s markets”, are expensive. The English Market gives lie to that belief. I found some great value here. Superfruit’s vegetables and fruits were as competitive as any of the supermarkets, with mangoes at €1.19 (they were €1.27 at Lidl a few weeks ago), avacados at 79c, or five Golden Delicious apples for €1.99.
O’Sulivan’s Meats has some excellent offers on meats. Their student pack, costing €9.99, contains 4 burgers, 1 lb of minced beef, 1 pack of rashers, and 4 pork chops. “Pack 2” at O’Sullivans 6 steak burgers and 4 marinaded chicken fillets. Over at the Chicken Inn, shoppers could pick up 10 BBQ chicken wings for €1.90.
Sweet treats included a buy one get one free offer on Green and Black’s Organic Easter Eggs at The Good Food Shop, while Heaven Cakes looked great: a Vanilla and Chocolate Mousse to feed five people (although it looked more like a cake for 4 to my greedy eyes!) cost €9.60.
Sadly, it didn’t make much sense for me to buy a lot, as I knew I’d be hanging around the city’s pubs for the day and didn’t fancy lugging it all around.
The English Market is good enough reason to live in Cork. If you’ve spotted any bargains you think our readers would appreciate, please share them here.
Lastly: to all our Cork-based readers, it took us a while, but we’ll have LOTS of Cork restaurant reviews on CheapEats over the coming weeks and months, so stay tuned!
Wednesday 13 May, 2009 at 12:29 pm
There is a big old market hall in Francis St in Dublin (D8). I believe it’s called the Iveagh Hall or sth similar. It would be perfect for a 7 days a week market – with enough money invested of course as it’s kind of ruined but still impressive.
Wednesday 13 May, 2009 at 12:51 pm
I’m still dreaming about the chocolate shot I had from a stall there in the English Market. So delicious. I was also amazed at the great value for money there.
Thursday 14 May, 2009 at 12:30 pm
The English Market is a proper one; it does not open on Sundays or holidays and you’ll get great offers if youre buying late on a Saturday evening.
Friday 15 May, 2009 at 2:49 pm
There’s a Gourmet Sausage Stall down there where I bulk bought some of the most amazing sausages I’ve ever had (phfnar). They all could be put in the freezer so lasted about three months, yet still on defrosting and subsequent grilling turned out delicious. Adverturous recipes for different types of sausage with at least 80% meat content in each. If I remember correctly they were really good value too.
Wish there was something similar in Dublin!
Friday 14 August, 2009 at 1:10 pm
Tralee, Co. Kerry could be gettin one soon. Indoor and outdoor area. Yipee!!!