Girls’ day out hits heights
As I haven’t been to any of the new openings in the city, I listed some options for Sophie like the newly decorated terrace of the River Lee Hotel, the beautiful revamped Harley Street and its street food market next to the Metropole Hotel (only open on weekends), The Address (formerly the Ambassador Hotel) with its terrace and The Dean with Sophie’s Roof Terrace.
When Miss Sophie heard that there was a place named after her, the decision was quickly made. So, Tuesday morning, Miss Sophie and I got chauffeured by Mr T and started our girl’s day.
Working in the food industry has its perks as Head of Sales Colette Walsh took her time to show us around the hotel which Miss Sophie enjoyed (she’s planning already a stay – just needs to convince her dad that she deserves a treat).
Artwork from local artists is displayed throughout the hotel and although the hotel looks huge from the outside, inside it has a cosy atmosphere and the noise from the buzzling city is muted.
Sophie’s has views over Cork and a relaxed yet trendy atmosphere. The roof terrace is spacious, roofed and heated so that we didn’t have to worry about feeling uncomfortable in the weather – Sophie’s also has a smaller roof terrace that can be booked for private events.
The staff was attentive without being intrusive and everyone was wonderfully nice to Miss Sophie.
The menu is short but covers all tastes including pizzas and a good side dish selection.
The drinks list has very good options as well including three mocktails – Miss Sophie chose Amour Francais – Cedar’s Crisp non-alcoholic gin, pineapple juice, blueberry puree and lemon which she loved. I opted for a glass of house wine which was served at a perfect temperature.
Choosing food was more difficult as the dishes all sounded wonderful but I always test a chef on how he/she cooks fish and ordered the white fish tempura while Miss Sophie had her eye on the chilli and lime chicken burger. Both dishes came with fries and the portions were massive.
Neither of us was able to finish but trust me, we tried as the fish was as flaky as the batter was crisp, the tartare sauce was fresh and just tart enough and the chips were skinny with skins on.
Miss Sophie tried her best, looking at the salad with suspicious eyes but apart from the pickled ginger, loved it.
Although we hardly had any room left in our tummies, we collectively decided that there is always room for dessert but decided on a shared option. Now here is where we couldn’t decide but Miss Sophie got the upper hand and we shared a vanilla ice cream sundae which was a treat, I have to admit.
After being fed, we made our way back to town, a short visit to Vibes & Scribes and a stroll around the city centre – weather wasn’t too inviting so we decided to have a ‘drink’ in the Rising Sons while we were waiting for Mr T to pick us up again.
Now, we are planning our next girl’s day out – any suggestions are most welcome!