I really can't see what the previous reviewers see in this place. All dishes were executed with the minimum of affection or care, and seemed to be working off a template rather than any sort of passion. The menu is a large single printed sheet, with no specials added, so any attempt at seasonality or daily offerings are instantly out - it's the same old, day in, day out. The bread was foamy, semi-stale and obviously out of a packet, perhaps from the local Tesco, My starter of courgette soup was cup-a-soup blended with some courgette, and some undercooked chunks of said vegetable thrown in just in case you forgot what you were eating. My pancetta wrapped monkfish came stuffed with an unannounced filling of something spicy and heavily seasoned with black pepper, taking away from the fish. The crab 'soufflé' on the side was lost in a mess of mediocre diced peppers. The included sides of vegetables were thrown on a side plate and left to roll around. Everything was careless, tired and over seasoned; the sauces were obviously from packets. Everything seemed to be simply assembled in the kitchen using pre-made or pre-prepared ingredients. The wine list is risibly small and pathetic, and I had to refuse two different white wines because they were too old, and the 'sommelier' couldn't honestly tell me which wine on the list was the most recent vintage. Desserts were OK but I thought the waitress serving us was going to hit us with the ice cream scoop, given her scowling demeanour. Apparently this place is a local favourite which has been open for decades - it's time for it to allow something of quality to take its place.

We had a wonderful mid-week meal in the Barn recently. We were made to feel welcome the second we walked in - seated in a booth in the lounge, given menus and offered a drink from the bar. The menu is a little odd, more like a trendy than classic restaurant in its layout, but the dishes all sound fantastic. I selected the crab spring roll starter and duckling. My companion had pate and sirloin steak (they were out of T-bones!). We were seated promptly in the back of the restaurant, in a large, airy room and to our relief there were other diners, as we thought it would be very quiet. The atmosphere was relaxed and comfortable and not at all stuffy or stiff. The food and service were excellent, my only complaint being that an extra 5-10 minutes between courses would have been welcome. The desert trolley was comprehensive with about half a dozen traditional type deserts - profiteroles, ice-cream, apple-pie, cheesecakes, pavlovas - of which you could select a few tastes! Overall I thought the cost was extremely reasonable for such good service and high quality food.

Was yesterday with my husband for our anniversary.The food taste is excellent,service is very friendly and good value for money.Definetely will come back again!!!! P.S. The dessert was heavenly tasty...

My friends and i went to the Barn on a very busy night. There was 4 of us, 3 of us had the A-la carte Menu and 1 had the Early Bird. I had the Duck Mielle Feuile as a Starter and the Rack of Lamb as a Main. My god!! I was blown away....Never have i tasted Duck as good as this....lovely combination of flavours with the Wasabi and the pickled salad just made the whole experience even better. The Lamb was cooked to PERFECTION..Medium. And again, the combination was beautiful. My partner had the Smoked salmon with Orange & Truffle drizzle and she said that it was good. And she had the Crispy Roast Duckling as a Main. It was presented beatifully and i just had to have a taste and again, the combination was just marvelous! The friend that had the Early Bird had a Soup which she said was just Ok. And the Pork steak as a main and she just loved it saying that it was so juicy ( not dry like in many other places) and that the Main-course made up for the soup. We loved the Dessert trolly with all the variety....it was a nice end to such a wonderful meal. To our surprise, we saw the Chef walk through the Restaurant as we thought that the Chef would have been French..LOL!! I would recommend this restaurant to all my friends and will visit it again!

I live in Dublin and a group of us were down south for a Wedding on the Friday so we treated ourselves to a night out at the Barn. Well want a treat. We arrived a little late but we had a ball. The food was five star. There is such a selection of quality food I was delighted to see everyone was ordering different choices so I got to sample a few other dishes. The best wine was left until the end with the deserts trolley was so hard to say no to. I will be back but I will be recommending it to anyone venturing to Cork. There was a large group of us so they offered us a fixed price per person. Bring me back to Cork.

I was here on a Saturday night with a group of ten for a birthday celebration. It is nicely decorated, warm, great smoking area but there the compliments end. The atmosphere is stuffy & you sort of feel you should speak in hushed tones. I was very disappointed with the service & the food. As I said, it was a celebration dinner but it was very difficult to order drinks & when you did find someone to order from, they took a long time bringing them. The starter portions were very small, the vegetable soup was virtually tasteless, apart from the sweet tang of celery. I didn't like the way the bread was doled out by the waitress so you only had one piece. A basket of bread should be left on the table so people can choose as they wish. All of the steaks ordered were totally overdone. The only consolation being that the vegetables were nicely cooked & tasty but none of us are vegetarians. We like meat & like it served as requested. I've had better steaks as pub-grub. Any expensive restaurant with a reputation for good food should not be handing out dishes of this low standard. I would not go back.

I was here with a group of 8. We were there quite early and therefore it wasnt busy and there wasnt a great atmosphere, but it wasnt bad either. It is a lovely set up there. Very classy. The food was great. I had soup which was lovely. i ate every bite. The steak was lovely as well with a nice peppercorn sauce, and the potatoes that came with it were nice. They were very attentive with their service. The only bad thing about the food was that i didnt enjoy the cheesecake as much as i thought. it was a butterscotch cheesecake with toffee sauce, and i just didnt think it had much taste of either. It was nice, but just not what i thought it would be. Others had it and thought it was lovely, so maybe it was just my taste. All in all, everyone loved their meal. Serivce was great. And they even accomodated a younger boy who was with us, who only wanted some chicken and chips.

Have been here for Dinner regularly and have found it great value at the €50 a head + a great wine list. Today we called here for sunday lunch at €30 a head anf €15 for kids 4 course again excellent choice and value. Very child friendly and would highly recomend a visit

I had a meal here with a group of friends during at the end of October. The atmosphere is very relaxed and the service on arrival was first class. The decor is best described as "old school", somewhat similar to what I would imagine a dining room on the Titanic to be like, this is not meant as a criticism as the dining room is very well presented just the decor is from a time gone by! The menu contained a varied choice within each course and there was something there to satisfy all tastes. The highlights of my meal were 1) the starter - seafood chowder. It was salty and not poisioned with cream, as is the preference of many chefs these days 2) the desert, which came on a trolley, which allowed you to take a sneak preview of all deserts and mix n match the desert you wanted. The only criticism I would have of the restaurant would be when we were leaving. Granted we were the last group in the restaurant, however we we leaving before 11 o clock (and left a decent tip) and a senior staff member, who was on a phone to a friend noted loudly that we were "finally leaving, thank god!". Slightly inappropriate.... All in all tho, I would recommend to a friend however not for a "wild night out" Probably best suited to a 40 year old ++ couple who would like a quite meal.

Had a lovely visit here with a friend. We both ordered the bar menu, 25Euro for 3 courses. Very good value for the wonderful food. The nice bit was we dined in the restaurant which has a wonderful atmosphere. It was a really nice dining experience. The staff were second to none & I'm now thinking of booking for a birthday celebration. Will definately be back.

This “well kept Cork secret” was imparted to me by a loyal Corkonian friend, with the words keep this to yourself...Well I was blown away. Food AMAZING, service as it used to be in times gone by. I loved it, loved it, and loved it! 50 Euros is a real bargain for what you get five courses of pure perfection! I was delighted to hear that they will be starting an A La Carte menu soon, and a Bistro menu. Don’t look in the guide books, they pride themselves on being low profile. If that what it takes to be this good; so be it. Like all great classics it’s a little old fashioned but all the better for it. THOSE CORKONIANS KNOW HOW TO KEEP A SECRET. I don’t, so have the lamb chops, they are to die for.

My wife brought me here for my birthday and I have to say that it was a superb experience. The food, service and value are excellent. Its nice to be able to drive to a place and to park right outside the door. It really takes the hassle out of it. The decor is a little old fashioned but it didn't bother me one bit. They do a 5 course meal for €50 and really is great value considering the quality of their food. I had the chowder, duck salad at the fillet steak all of which were utterly flawless. The dessert trolly has to be seen to be believed. All in all one of the best dining experiences in Cork.

Food is fab. Decor a bit dated but I like it as its like sitting in a sitting room having your dinner......very comfortable. Highly Recommend it!

The decor is a bit dated, but that is exactly what I loved about the place! The service was excellent and it was nice having dinner just like the old days. I am sick of ultra trendy restaurants,(pretentious). Dessert cart is great.

The decor is a bit dated.. but that's all I can find wrong with it.. and my friends loved it (personal choice really).. the piano player set a nice mood, the food was beautifully presented and tasted as nice.. and the desert trolley had all the women at the table drooling :) I'd recommend it highly

Food is excellent, service is good. Can't wait to go back

Have been to this restaurant twice. First time was very disappointing but in an effort to be fair and thinking that they were having a bad night, I went back again. My mistake - it was every bit as bad as the first time! Food was only fair so I can't recommend it at all.

I love the choice you get here, their steaks are always a safe option, great! in fact I've never heard a bad comment from anyone that eaten here. But the thing I really love is their dessert trolley, it is to die for - I can never decide on just one...!