The Alternative Bread Company is a sourdough restaurant in English Market Quarter, Cork.
Sheila Fitzpatrick's 1997 bread counter claims the largest handmade bread range in Ireland. Syrian flatbread alongside organic sourdough and certified.
Why locals love it: Inside the English Market, which visitors treat as a building rather than a destination for individual stalls; the bread counter is often missed by those heading to Tom Durcan's meat stall
Address: The English Market, Princes Street, Cork
The last remaining retailer of tripe and drisheen in Ireland, trading in the English Market. Drisheen is a blood sausage unique to Cork - a peppery, crumbly.
Why locals love it: The product (tripe and drisheen) is so distinctively Cork that most non-Cork visitors walk past assuming it is not for them; a critical piece of Irish food heritage disappearing nationally
Cork's most celebrated natural wine destination - a cave-a-manger with a 400-bottle organic list and the most expert natural wine staff in Munster.
Why locals love it: Union Quay is east of the tourist corridor; the frontage is understated; walk-in only most evenings means no advance publicity; the wine-only format means it doesn't appear in standard dining guides
The last remaining retailer of tripe and drisheen in Ireland, trading in the English Market. Drisheen is a blood sausage unique to Cork - a peppery, crumbly.
Why locals love it: The product (tripe and drisheen) is so distinctively Cork that most non-Cork visitors walk past assuming it is not for them; a critical piece of Irish food heritage disappearing nationally
The corner of Barrack Street and Evergreen Street holds two of Cork's most cherished hidden gems - Alchemy on one corner, Miyazaki on the other.
Why locals love it: Barrack Street is off the standard tourist map; the bookshop-coffee hybrid format is underrepresented in food guides that categorise venues as either cafes or bookshops, not both
A Korean specialty cafe, microroastery and barista academy brought to Cork by Daniel and Sunmi in 2020. The in-house roasting on a small-batch machine.
Why locals love it: Douglas Street is off the standard visitor routes; the Korean specialty method and the in-house roasting operation are not visible from the street; the barista academy element is largely invisible to casual visitors
Ireland's Supreme Champion cider, produced by Daniel and Geraldine Emerson from Cork apples since 2010. A wine-standard craft cider found on Cork menus.
Why locals love it: Available in bottles across Cork but the farm itself is not open for regular visits; the Supreme Champion designation is Ireland's highest cider award but is unknown outside the cider community
Cork's most photogenic traditional pub, reached down a laneway off Patrick Street that the English Market guidebooks barely mention. The dark, fire-warmed.
Why locals love it: Mutton Lane is a narrow passage off Patrick Street that leads into the English Market complex; the pub is invisible from the street and only found by those who turn down the right alley
