Get Yourself Naturally Nourished at North Point. Also in City Gate and Penrose Dock!

Get Yourself Naturally Nourished at North Point. 

Also in City Gate and Penrose Dock!

For two years now, Naturally Nourished have been keeping customers happy in their third daytime restaurant in the North Point Business Park, just off the Commons Road. It is a spacious venue, bright and airy (lots of glass), comfortable too and well worth a visit (11:30 to 14:30 Monday to Saturday). They also have outlets in City Gate at Mahon and Penrose Dock.

At North Point, in one of the brightest and airiest interiors of any restaurant in Cork, you can expect enticing warm bowls, different special hot sandwich options daily and salads galore, There are listed above the saving area and do watch out also for the daily specials on the dedicated blackboard standing just inside the entrance.

Korean Bowl

A blackboard on the ground just inside the door is dedicated to the specials and got my attention straight away. By the way, a few dishes are not available before 12.30pm. No need to wait though for the Roasted Vegetable Soup or the Korma curry with Coriander, almond flakes and basmati rice.

The 12.30pm specials included a Mexican Chipotle Beef Bowl (beef and mixed bean chip with cos lettuce, charred corn, Jalapeño salsa, tortilla chips and warm spicy rice. Quite a bowl for just €11.90 - prices are fair here!  

My choice though was the Korean Bowl and that was well worth the extra euro. It came loaded with sticky Gochujang chicken, white rice, marinated cucumber, chilli crispy mayo, radish, and toasted sesame street. Looked very appetising as it came to the table and didn’t disappoint in any aspect. CL meanwhile enjoyed here Korma curry with Coriander, almond flakes and basmati rice.

Korma

You line up to order here and while doing so I was tempted by the line-up of sandwiches, And on exit, I bought one thinking it would come in handy at suppertime! So I treated myself to the Peri Peri Chicken with rocket and a harissa mayo. The spice was quite mild overall, adding to the flavour rather then the heat, and the amount of chicken was very generous for €7.90 overall.

With all the exotic dishes, especially those with an Asian influence, you might be thinking that Naturally Nourished don’t do much with Irish suppliers. But they do! Indeed, they support a long list of local producers and suppliers as you can see from the list below.

Sandwich

This was a deli errata policy from Yvonne Whitley and Kevin Madden, founders of Naturally Nourished .”We are a health food cafe specialising in breakfast, lunch, salads, wholesome hot dishes and house baked healthy treats.” The business, billed as“health food cafes” has been operating for ten years now. Their first bricks and mortar cafe was at City Gate in Mahon  and their second venue was in Penrose Dock in 2020 followed by North Point in 2024..

So for sustainable sourcing, excellent health food, friendly and efficient service, why not give Naturally Nourished a try. No matter which part of the city you live, you’ll find one not too far away!

More on the cafés here.

Suppliers

Meat - all Irish sourced from various suppliers in The English Market

Cheese - Toonsbridge dairy, Cashel Blue and Cooleeney

Yoghurt - Killowen ard Compsey Creamery

Breads & pastries - Arbutus Bakery and Seeds Bakery Kinsale

Olives - The Real Olive Co.

Balsamic vinegars and oils - The Real Olive Co.

Chorizo and cured meats - The Real Olive Co.

Free range eggs - The Chicken Inn

Coffee - Roasted in Cork from Three Fools

Nuts, seeds & quinoa - Organic from Independent Irish health foods

Super food powders - Organic Independent Irish

health foods

Drinks - Whole Earth and Synerchi Organics - Independent Irish health

Fruit and veg - All fresh

Tea - Pukkah and Clipper organic premium tea bags

Spices, coconut oil, organic tahini - Mr Bells Spices

Packaging - all compostable from Vegware & Down to Earth material

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Naturally Nourished settling in well at North Point

 Naturally Nourished settling in well at North Point

Called out to North Point on the Mallow Road for lunch last week. This is the third outlet for Naturally Nourished who are already well-established in Mahon at City Gate and also in Penrose Dock. They were open for about a week when I dropped in and there was a steady stream of customers coming and going. Aside from sit-down meals, they also offer a takeout service and I managed to draw from both before the day was out.

Like their other premises, this one is bright and airy (after a ten-day revamp), lots of white paint used inside, to complement the light already coming through the existing "walls" of glass here. The menu boards (also white) are large and easily seen above the counters though the menu is not (yet) as expansive as that in Penrose Dock. If you know the place, you'll know that Lemon Pepper were the most recent occupiers and that Perry Street were also based here.

A blackboard on the ground just inside the door was dedicated to the specials and the main feature was a Katsu Curry; free-range breaded chicken, house Katsu Sauce, white basmati rice, Spring onion, sesame seeds, pickled onion, pickled Carrot (veggie option also available). The Soup of the Day was Leek and Potato with their own (excellent) stout bread.

Naturally Nourished are noted for their Warm Bowls and they were also tempting but we went for two dishes from the salad selection, each at €10.50. CL had missed out on their Goats Cheese in Penrose recently so she made up for it here with slightly "flamed" Chevre, mixed leaves, chopped beetroot, chopped dates, pink lady apple, lemon and bulgar wheat, roasted hazelnuts, honey and balsamic dressing. It was top-class!

My pick in North Point was the Buffalo Chicken Salad. This is made with free-range crispy breaded chicken, cos lettuce, spiced chickpeas, red onion, hot sauce and Cashel Blue cheese ranch. Another superb salad, every element playing a tasty part and I loved every bit from the crispy lettuce to the delicious chicken, not to mention the hot bits! I'm not surprised that it is the most popular salad on the menu! See more (a short in-house video) on it here.

Depending on your branch, you may get slightly different versions of a particular dish. Besides, since variety is the spice of life, they regularly make little or big changes.

I was looking at the display of sandwiches as we made our way out and said to myself that one would come in handy later in the day! I must have been inspired as it was one of the best sandwiches ever. My baguette (well, a half) was rammed with amazing spiced beef, mature cheddar, a delicious crunchy coleslaw, fresh leaves and a marvellous mustard mayo. What a flavoursome feed for €7.50 approximately (can't remember the exact price!).

The North Point café is open Monday to Friday 8am-3:30pm, serving breakfast till 11am and lunch till 2.30pm. Free on-site parking. Service here is excellent, friendly and helpful, just as we found it in Penrose a few weeks back.

Good Food and Superb Service at Naturally Nourished Lunch. And they open in North Point in March!

Good Food and Superb Service 

at Naturally Nourished Lunch.

And they open in North Point in March!*

The first thing we noticed when we walked in the front door of Naturally Nourished in Penrose Dock was the queue. They come for lunch early here. It was noon. But no worries. The line moves quickly. There are menu boards, one black (standing on the floor as you enter), and the others (over the counter) are white.  Quite a few of the customers know exactly what they want and order accordingly. You pay, get a numbered block (small) and find a table.

We had chosen a few dishes from the online offering but what we didn't realise until we visited last week was that some (the Goats Cheese Salad, the Buffalo Chicken Salad, and the Beef Fillet Stiryfry, for example) would not be available until 12.30. Regulars will of course know that! So we gave in our (rethought) order and paid the cheerful person at the til.

We were hardly seated when our food arrived. Thanks to a whole lot of preparation and an efficient system and staff, there is no delay worth talking about and so that line you see on arrival moves along quickly. It is a spacious restaurant, bright and airy, comfortable too and well worth a visit. They also have an outlet in City Gate at Mahon and a third is due to open in March*.

There is quite a choice here including soups, salad bowls, curries, specials and sandwiches. Grab a sandwich if you are in a rush or maybe a bag of crisps and a bottle of Kombucha from their mini-deli. Cutlery is already on the table, and if you want water, just get yourself a jug from a central stand.

One of us decided to go for the Roast Root Vegetable soup but needed help from the other - a second spoon was called for and arrived in no time at all. It was a generous serving (€5.00) and came with a slice of toothsome brown bread.

In addition to the salads already mentioned, you can pick from Asian Noodle, Budda Bowl and Protein Punch Salad. Sandwich choices include Reuben Spiced Baguette, Chicken Tikka Baguette, Ham, Slaw and Cheese, and a Chimichurri Ciabatta.

Curries, salads and sandwiches can all vary a little from day to day (email for details). My main dish was the Satay Bowl of warm roast chicken, roast broccoli, the peanut Satay sauce, and spinach, a top-quality dish and excellent value at €10.50.

Satay

CL also went Asian and enjoyed her Mild Indian Curry with onion, chickpeas and basmati rice served with warm marinated chicken (also €10.50). Soon two very contented customers headed out, well fed on a cold day!

There are also some very tempting dishes on the breakfast menu. For more info, be sure to check their website here. Reservations are taken for tables over 6 only;  for smaller tables, it is walk-in only and as the tables turn quickly you should have no problem getting a seat. To make a reservation please call Penrose Dock 0214551173 or City Gate, Mahon 0858564641.

Could do better? Dishes are not designated as vegetarian or vegan or gluten-free - I know some are self-evident. Also, there is no fish/seafood option.

You'll find Naturally Nourished here from March. Perry Street operated here for quite a while and, more recently, Lemon Pepper were the occupants

* Their third restaurant will be in the North Point Business Park, just off the Commons Road. They made the announcement on social media last Saturday: "It features the brightest airiest interior and we can joyfully say the biggest kitchen we've had to date 🥹🤩 🙌 so expect a lot more exciting new warm bowls, different special hot sandwich options daily and salads that are absolutely bussin'!! 😏 See you March 11th North Side!"