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food-drink · Wednesday 12 August 2026 · 7:00pm 
Farmgate Cafe Summer Evening Supper - Cork on a Fork Fest 2026
At Farmgate Cafe · The English Market, Princes Street, Cork City, Co. Cork
At Farmgate Cafe · The English Market, Princes Street, Cork City, Co. Cork
The Farmgate Cafe has been feeding Cork from a balcony above the English Market for over 25 years. By day it is one of the city’s best lunches - a Michelin Guide listing, traditional dishes like tripe and drisheen, and a view straight down over the market traders. The Summer Evening Supper turns the room into something else entirely. The market closes, the city quiets, and a small group of diners sit down to a proper meal in a space that feels genuinely historic after dark. It suits anyone who loves good Irish food without fuss, or who wants a memorable Cork evening that is not a hotel dining room.
Dishes are built around produce sourced directly from the stalls below - the same traders who supply the cafe’s daytime menu. Previous Farmgate evening events have run to four courses, starting with drinks on the balcony while evening light filters through the market’s Victorian glass roof, followed by a meal anchored in seasonal Irish cooking: things like mackerel with soused beets, lamb with barley and colcannon, and local-berry desserts. The kitchen is led by head chef Pamela Kelly, whose food has been described as “ageless” - rooted in Irish tradition without being backwards-looking. This evening is part of Cork on a Fork Fest 2026, a five-day city-wide food festival (12 to 16 August) with more than 150 events, so the wider programme is worth browsing for cooking demos, market trails, and collaboration dinners happening across the same week.
The English Market sits in the centre of Cork City, accessible from Grand Parade or Princes Street - a five-minute walk from Patrick Street, the city’s main shopping spine. If coming by car, the nearest multi-storey car parks are at Lavitts Quay and the Grand Parade area; on-street parking in the city centre is metered and fills quickly on summer evenings, so public transport is the easier option. Bus Eireann and City Link serve Cork from Dublin, Limerick, Galway, and Waterford, with Cork Kent train station about a 20-minute walk or short taxi from the market. The cafe entrance is on the upper floor of the market building.
Cork City rewards an overnight or a long afternoon - the Butter Museum, Shandon Bells, and the Lee-side riverside walks are all within easy reach of the English Market. There is more to see in Cork and across Co. Cork.
Heading to Farmgate Cafe in Cork? Cork has plenty more to see. Read the Cork area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.