THERE’S PLENTY OF fish in the sea, and at Goldie Fish & Ale you’ll be guaranteed to find the perfect catch for you and your taste buds.
Opened in September 2019 by Aishling Moore, and located on Oliver Plunkett Street in the heart of Cork City, Goldie has fast become a firm favourite amongst locals and esteemed food writers, such as Tom Doorley. In the midst of the Pandemic, it was awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand and since then – and with dining experiences returning to normal in the post-Lockdown world – the business has gone from strength to strength.
At Goldie Fish & Ale, an integral ethos of the restaurant is to embrace local enterprises whilst developing dynamic and innovative combinations of flavour and textures across their sophisticated menu. Since its inception, it was Moore’s intention to highlight the excellence of Cork’s locally sourced produce, particularly it’s fishing heritage, and to help recontextualise people’s perceptions of fish as the core element of a dish, as she told The Journal.
“We wanted to open a seafood restaurant that made the most of the natural marine resources around Cork. Buying from day boats in Ballycotton, oysters from Rossmore, working with growers around the county. With that, we wanted to offer a menu that reflected the availability of the seasons in a casual, informal setting that made fish accessible and, dare I say, even cool.”
Operating a restaurant on a “whole catch approach” that determines the direction of the menu for the day’s service offers a space to get creative and experiment with dishes. Moore details how this unpredictability and variable nature of her work as the head chef at Goldie thrives on having the restaurant staff come together.
“There are many challenges with the whole catch approach; building a cohesive menu with such limitations has encouraged us to be very creative with how we write our menu and manage the fantastic produce that we are so lucky to work with. We adopt a collaborative approach in our kitchen developing our menu as a team. This has been imperative to building a larder of techniques and recipes for each species of fish we receive that day.”
That enthusiasm for food, especially fish, is abundantly clear scrolling through the restaurant’s vibrant social media profile. The plates are artfully composed and jump off the plate (not literally, thankfully!) with the beautiful array of colours present across the fresh ingredients. For the average home chef, there is often a misconception that fish can be slightly challenging to prepare and cook.
However, Moore refutes that misunderstanding. “Fish is the ultimate fast food! It cooks in a matter of moments; this is one of the main reasons I think fish works so well for cooking at home. The one thing that is absolutely necessary for cooking fish at home is being organised enough to get to a fishmonger and plan your meal based on what looks good. We are spoiled in Cork City with the English Market.”
As for her favourite fish-based dishes when cooking at home? “My go-to meal at home is a smoked haddock risotto, so comforting and easy. Smoked haddock freezes really well so this can be an off-the-cuff dinner.”
Furthermore, with such a wide variety of seafood available, what is Moore’s preferred catch? “This changes regularly and always with the seasons. In Summer, it’s always turbot. Later in the year, I really enjoy mackerel. I love how versatile a fish it is. In the restaurant, especially, it offers us so many options for our menu; smoked, soused, pan-fried, and cured. It’s a little cheaper than most fish and allows us to offer our customers something really special at a good price.”
Now 3 years in business and bringing joy to the patrons who enter Goldie’s doors to enjoy its mouth-watering cuisine, Moore describes how rewarding this experience has been.
“When we were opening Goldie, the ultimate goal was to make it both a great place to eat and a great place to work. We’re proud of the progress we’ve made in both these areas in 3 years and acknowledge that we are only getting started here, really. Working every day with an excellent team of professionals, in the city where I am from, makes me super proud. We are so lucky to have gained so many regular customers in the last 3 years, seeing those people every day is really something special.”
When Aishling Moore isn’t serving innovative and inviting dishes at Goldie Fish & Ale, we found out how she likes to spend her time away from the restaurant; her perfect Night Off, Night Out.
Down the Local: “My favourite pub for a quiet solo pint or weekend gatherings with friends would have to be The Oval on South Main Street in Cork City. It’s one of the oldest pubs in Cork. There’s always a great atmosphere, it’s dark and cosy with the best pints of Beamish.”
Dream Night Out: “A great night out in Cork city would start with a couple of glasses of wine at L’Atitude 51, a trip to Ichigo Ichie for dinner and then to Coughlan’s on Douglas street for some live music and a couple of pints.”
Morning off Ritual: “A walk along the Marina just outside of the city early in the morning fills me with enormous hope and excitement. It’s an area that continues to develop as our city grows.”
Hidden Gem: ”Castleblagh Woods in Ballyhooly. It has gorgeous scenic walks and is always super quiet. It’s also a great spot for wild garlic in the spring!”
Weekend Getaway: “My ideal weekend getaway is a stay at Ballymaloe House. It’s a quick 20-minute drive from the city with amazing food and some of the best hospitality Ireland has to offer!”
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