Comments on: SOHO Cork-nil points

By: Captain America’s the balloon guy rocked

Captain America’s the balloon guy rocked — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 15:53:37 +0000

[...] Scampi out of a bag deep fried Mrs Phelan’s tea again came with mains, at least the cup was clean. all mains were left there as you can see from below, waiter asked did you enjoy your food whilst [...]

By: McDonalds hire a real chef

McDonalds hire a real chef — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 09:58:45 +0000

[...] be raised, I am sure this is Mr Faer’s brief. Hopefully his brief will be global as the way things are going with the Phelan family Sunday lunches in Cork McDonalds will be on the menu soon. Share [...]

By: Donal

Donal — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 23:02:58 +0000

I’ve eaten there a few times and was always relatively happy with the service and food. Your Sunday lunch service, or lack thereof, was a joke. I have had bad experiences in other places in Cork and if they fuck up again a second time they’re off the list. Greene’s and Fenn’s Quay are ones I avoid now.

By: Pat Phelan

Pat Phelan — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 22:58:34 +0000

@samkidd
got to agree on Market Lane
excellent quality and service

By: Sam Kidd

Sam Kidd — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 22:51:28 +0000

For the price of meals in Cork the service is shocking. One place I go to alot because of the speed they serve is Market Lane.
when I was there before a waitress that had just started working there brought out soy sauce instead of balsamic vinegar and even though only a tiny bit was poured on the salad, one of the managers noticed she had brought out the wrong thing and insisted on giving us a new salad without us asking.
I think a lot of retail shops and almost every cafe now is forgetting about basic human interaction. When it comes to serving people, a friendy hello and a bit of chat goes a long way and it’s just not there anymore.

By: Calvin Jones

Calvin Jones — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 21:41:01 +0000

Haven’t eaten in SOHO, but it doesn’t surprise me in the slightest. Eating out in Ireland is routinely disappointing, so much so that getting something mediocre makes for a pleasant change.

Practically every time I eat out I end up wishing I’d used the money to buy some decent produce and cooked it myself at home.

Off to France next week with the family, and looking forward to some decent, great value meals.

By: Gordon

Gordon — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 21:09:13 +0000

I haven’t eaten in Soho, but I’ve heard a few bad things about it.

My girlfriend recently ate lunch there with a couple of friends. They were on lunch break from work so they just had the hour or so to eat but their food was 45 minutes late. They finally got the food, had to rush to eat it and leave.

Luckily, one of them complained and they all got their meals for free.

By: Yoostin

Yoostin — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 17:47:33 +0000

Did the cup of tea come before anything else? If an eatery gets something small wrong like making sure the crockery is clean and then make out it’s a chore to put it right it’s usually best to leave right then. In general I’ve noticed that the sort of staff that will get those basics wrong will go out of their way to make your visit a bad experience.

I had a cafe bar a while back and noticed my good staff were more miffed than the customers if the messed up, the poor staff were prone to deliberately messing an order or being slow to answer service when a customer had been brought something up. I also found my poor staff were a 100% more likely to get their P45 (sacked) sooner rather than later.

It may be hard work but it isn’t a difficult job and putting mistakes right and excelling actually makes it a more enjoyable way to earn a wage.

Go for it, Pat Phelan, entrepreneur, blogger, scourge of bad restaurants everywhere

By: Deborah

Deborah — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 17:44:16 +0000

Sounds dreadful Pat.

Moved back to Ireland 3.5 years ago and quickly learned to avoid Sunday lunch at all costs! Talk about the dregs of the already painfully mediocre!