The Gingerbread house, Cork

In a large old warehouse-type building right in the centre of Paul Street, The Gingerbread House is a central place for coffe /snacks and other food right throughout the day. Usually crowded there's always a bit of a buzz here. On the window you will see 'Full Irish Breakfast 'advertised and it is essential that you try this Irish speciality at least once. It is a glorious cholesterel-rising concoction of sausage, egg, bacon, black and white pudding, tomato and sometimes fried bread. Accompanied by toast and washed down with gallons of tea this will keep you satisfied until mid-afternoon.

Favorite Dish: If you want an alternative to the Full Irish, try the Eggs Benedict.

This is a kind of bar/restaurant place. It serves nice breakfasts, light lunches and dinners.It is open until late.
It has 2 floors and its decoration is very homy. It looks very countryside like.
Wether you need to study or meet friends, this is a nice place for that.

Favorite Dish: Breakfasts are great. Specially on Sunday mornings when they serve Branches with the famous black pudding, sausages and beans.
You can also ask for cakes, scones and nice big capuccinos.
For lunch or Dinner there is pizza, quiche eith salad, sandwiches or soups. Nothing fancy!

As a skinflint backpacker I always try and find good value places to eat. And, being a tourist it is nice to be able to sit outside, or to people-watch in a pleasant area.

The Gingerbread House fits the bill perfectly. It is on the corner of two busy streets in the Hugenot Quarter of Cork. In front is a popular Square and the Paul Street Shopping Centre. There are seats outside (mainly for Cork's remaining nicotine addicts, I presume) and big wooden benches and chairs inside - lots of room for lots of people. I visited on a sunny Saturday and the crowd was very mixed, young people and some older shoppers.

If you are really on a budget there is a massive supermarket in the Shopping Centre.

Favorite Dish: Bargain plates of luke warm pizza with a generous portion of salad for 4.20 Euros. And a MASSIVE pot of tea for about 2 Euros.

There was also a big choice of cakes, slurp!

Outside on Paul Street there is a take-away hatch which had a long queue. It looks like they are building another one next to it!!

I spotted this on the reviews and thought I should share the sorry news, The Ginger Bread House is no more. Sometime in 2006 (I think) they closed for renovations - and never re-opened - and well is it missed.

It was a ramshackle place with odd chairs and tables. You could sit for house over one pot of tea and write your memoirs. Emo kids sat next to little old dears and all got on well.

It had the cheapest breakfast since the 80s in Ireland. €3.50 for their mini-breakfast which had enough grease to cure a hangover, and a big pot of tea to rehydrate you :) It finished at some un-godly hour like 12.30 so it was always the challenge to revive yourself and get in before their breakfast finished.

Anyway it is gone and with its passing we lost one of the coolest places in Cork...

Gone but not forgotten...