Enjoyable Lunch At Friendly
Café Vega In Sunny Cobh
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| Chicken, cheese, chorizo |
No shortage of eating choices when we arrived in Cobh for lunch and a midweek walk in the sun. The Arch Café and Wine Bar is one of several newcomers in the town but, on this occasion, we opted for the well-established and very popular Café Vega just across Casement Square from the wine bar.
And here, in this neighbourhood restaurant, we found no shortage of choice. The paper menu contains a variety of main dishes (including fish and steak offerings), about five burgers (including El Chapo!), Panninis and Ciabattas with different fillings, and more.
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| Mural inside Vega |
Don't forget the specials. The board may be hanging on a pillar or they may well bring it to the table for a close-up read. Service here is really excellent, efficient and friendly all through.
After doing quite a lot of “reading”, we settled on two dishes from that specials board. We had arrived at about 12.30 and now the place was really filling up, just as well they had a good number of tables outside in the sunny square.
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| Duo of salmon |
Our specials:
1 - Crispy salt and pepper chicken, goat cheese, roasted pops, confit tomatoes, chorizo, warm salad (13.95)
2 - Open duo of smoked and fresh salmon, two salads and fried potatoes (12.95)
Two excellent lunch plates arrived soon after ordering. Quantities were generous yet each was neatly presented and both looked very appetising indeed. That crispy chicken was a delight, especially with a little sweet chilli sauce on the plate. In addition to the items mentioned, there were also pieces of avocado and the filling dish scored highly in terms of both quality and quantity.
And it was much the same story with CL’s salmon, plenty of the fish on brown bread, a little bowl of coleslaw, with a combined excellent salad that included leaves, tomato and corn. Very satisfactory indeed and no need to cook a dinner later on!
A few months back, I enjoyed a similar vibe in The Shamrock in Dungarvan where I was reminded of the bar atmosphere in the TV series Cheers. Like the Shamrock, Vega is another neighbourhood restaurant where customers and staff know one another. They didn't know my name. I was a blow-in but, now, could well blow in again.
Where everybody knows your name
And they're always glad you came
You wanna go where people know
People are all the same
You wanna go where everybody knows your name
You'll find the Vega on Facebook here
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The Cobh Walk in Pictures
There was no cruise liner docked in the town on this occasion but still plenty to see on our walk, a gentle stroll really, from the Five Foot Way Car Park. We reached this unique building (1860), once the home of the Cobh Urban District Council before turning back. In an eye-catching waterside location, it now houses an Asian restaurant with an inviting outdoor covered dining area (check it out in the photo) but it is looking the worst for wear, just seems to be dying a slow death.
Table with a view by the Water’s Edge Hotel.
The Commodore Hotel looking very well in its blue colours. Haven’t dined there in over a year!
The Navigator, in a contemplative mood, with the cathedral in the background. The work is by Irish sculptor Mary Gregoriy.
I hadn't noticed this before. These are a set of steps by which you can enter and or exit the promenade at its western end. Best viewed before and certainly not while you walk up.
