• About
    • About Us
    • Assessment Process
    • Contact Us
    • Quotes & Testimonials
    • Award Winners »
      • Awards Presented
      • Awards Received
    • Info for Owners »
      • Info for Owners
      • Industry Register/Login
  • Awards
  • Eat
  • Drink
  • Stay
  • Buy
  • Learn
  • Producers
  • 10 of the Best
    • Eat
    • Drink
    • Stay
    • Buy
    • Learn
    • Producers
  • Articles
  • Blog
  • Recipes
    • By Georgina Campbell
  • Special Offers
  • Competitions
  • Shop
    • Recipe Cards
    • Buy Guidebooks
    • Buy Cookbooks
    • GPS POIs for Garmin
    • « Ireland Apps
      • iPhone App
      • Blackberry App
      • Samsung App
      • Nokia App
      • Ireland for Food Lovers App
    • « Cooking Apps
      • iCook - Recipes & Cooking with Neven
      • APPetiser - Recipes & Cooking with Derry Clarke
      • For the Love of Food – Kevin Dundon
  • More+
    • Gardens
    • Golf
    • Self Catering
    • What's On
    • Tourist Attractions
    • Wedding Venues
Ireland Guide
Ireland Guide

- ireland -

Graphics Version | 
Ireland’s Leading Independent Food & Hospitality Guide
  • LOGIN/SIGNUP
    • My Ireland Guide
    • Industry
Home > Eat > O'Callaghan-Walshe

Eat

Comments(0) Add Comment

O'Callaghan-Walshe

Restaurant

Dislike Like
14 votes (96%)
Print page Send to a friend
Denotes genuine Irish food culture, ie special Irish food products/companies/producers, and highlights the best places to shop for regional and artisan foods; the selection excludes obvious 'non-Irish' elements regardless of quality, eg ethnic restaurants and specialists in coffee, wine and other drinks, unless relevant to local production or history. Eat & Stay establishments are chosen for their commitment to showcasing local produce and Irish hospitality. Serious About Seafood Previous Georgina Campbell Guides Award Winner The "Best of the Best" - Only the very best establishments across various categories have been chosen for this accolade

O'Callaghan-Walshe

Well off the busy main West Cork road, this unique restaurant is on the square of the old village of Rosscarbery and has a previous commercial history that’s almost tangible. The simplicity of Martina O’Donovan’s cooking is a joy - and the superb West Cork Seafood Platter is a particular treat.
Seats 40. D Fri-Sat 6.30pm-11pm, à la carte. May open for longer hours in summer (possibly including lunch in Jul & Aug). A phone call to check hours is advised. MasterCard, Visa. abbreviations
Georgina Campbell

Well off the busy main West Cork road, this unique restaurant is on the square of the old village of Rosscarbery and has a previous commercial history that’s almost tangible.


Exposed stone walls, old fishing nets and glass floats, mismatched furniture, shelves of wine bottles and candlelight all contribute to its unique atmosphere. 


Then there’s the exceptional freshness and quality of the seafood so skilfully cooked by owner-chef Martina (Tina) O’Donovan - steaks theoretically share the billing, but West Cork seafood ‘bought off the boats at auction’ steals the scene and the goodness on the plate is backed up by a reassuring statement: "Seafood is our speciality with an absolute emphasis on only using locally caught and sourced West Cork fish and shellfish. If a particular fish is not available, we will not substitute it with a frozen import, so our customers can rest assured they will only be served with the freshest local fish on any given night."


Tina’s menus change daily but specialities to look out for include the famous Rosscarbery Pacific oysters, of course, also a superb West Cork Seafood Platter, char-grilled prime fish such as turbot, and grilled whole lobster.


Other dishes often enjoyed by the Guide include starters of prawn cocktail and sweet/sour chilli squid and main courses of Roxanne's famous scampi and monkfish in garlic butter, with seasonal vegetables (fried courgettes, sautéed peas) and balls-of-flour new potatoes - all outstanding. The inspired simplicity extends to desserts like hot raspberries with vanilla ice cream and a perfect zabaglione made to order - both are served with homemade biscuits - and Irish cheeses are offered with a glass of port or dessert wine.


The stated ethos of the restaurant is simply " to provide our customers with a stress free, hassle free evening and to enjoy our fish with a nice bottle of wine and to chill out as much as possible".


This is achieved very well thanks to this unusual restaurant's special brand of service. While the partcular quirkiness of the former owner, the late Sean Kearney, is missed, front-of-house manager Roxanne and her lovely local waitresses make the experience very special with their humour and knowledgeable, unassuming attention. (And the caring quirkiness even extends to toilets that are clean and well kept for 'Les Belles Dames' and 'Gentle Men' alike!)


Ultra-freshness, attention to detail in breads and accompaniments - and a huge dose of personality - all add up to make this place an unmitigated delight: ramshackle understatement raised to the level of art.


An interesting wine list includes some wines not seen elsewhere and a good choice of half bottles; while mainly French, the list also features wines from the Fermoy Estate in Australia, in an appropriate show of Cork partisanship that is entirely typical of this delightful place. 


*O’Callaghan-Walshe was the Guide’s Atmospheric Restaurant of the Year for 2004.

Less
Read More
  • Facilities/Features
  • Restaurant/Dining/Pub
  • Location - Town Centre
  • Smoking Area Covered
  • Seafood
  • Informal
  • Organic Produce used (mainly)
  • Sunday Dining
  • Vegetarian Friendly (always at least 1 starter & 1 main course)
2004 Award Winners Athmospheric Restaurant of the Year
Last Updated: 07-07-2023
Author: Georgina Campbell
Click here if you are the owner or marketing manager
array(13) {
  ["numpages"]=>
  float(6)
  ["firstpage"]=>
  int(1)
  ["lastpage"]=>
  float(6)
  ["pages"]=>
  array(6) {
    [1]=>
    int(0)
    [2]=>
    int(6)
    [3]=>
    int(12)
    [4]=>
    int(18)
    [5]=>
    int(24)
    [6]=>
    int(30)
  }
  ["current"]=>
  int(1)
  ["maxpages"]=>
  NULL
  ["prev"]=>
  NULL
  ["next"]=>
  int(6)
  ["remain"]=>
  int(6)
  ["to"]=>
  int(6)
  ["numrows"]=>
  int(33)
  ["from"]=>
  int(1)
  ["limit"]=>
  int(6)
}

Might also like

Eat & Stay

The Castle

Castletownshend, Co. Cork

B&B / Café / Castle / Historic House
Highly Recommended as a Special Place to Stay Outstanding Location, building or atmosphere Previous Georgina Campbell Guides Award Winner

This fascinating and beautifully located property opened for guests as a boutique B&B in 2016, offering a unique opportunity to stay in one of Ireland's most interesting historic houses. Better still, following the opening of the café, you can just to drop in ...

Read more
Drink & Eat

Scannells

Clonakilty, Co. Cork

Pub
Denotes genuine Irish food culture, ie special Irish food products/companies/producers, and highlights the best places to shop for regional and artisan foods; the selection excludes obvious 'non-Irish' elements regardless of quality, eg ethnic restaurants and specialists in coffee, wine and other drinks, unless relevant to local production or history. Eat & Stay establishments are chosen for their commitment to showcasing local produce and Irish hospitality. Pub with good food and atmosphere

Legend has it the original owner of Scannell’s Pub used to open just for maintenance hours to keep the licence, and no-one could get in. In 2002, friends and business partners, Kevin O’Donovan and Shane Lowney took over Scannell’s and quickly turned it ...

Read more
Drink & Eat

Mary Ann's Bar & Restaurant

Castletownshend, Co. Cork

Character Pub / Restaurant
Denotes genuine Irish food culture, ie special Irish food products/companies/producers, and highlights the best places to shop for regional and artisan foods; the selection excludes obvious 'non-Irish' elements regardless of quality, eg ethnic restaurants and specialists in coffee, wine and other drinks, unless relevant to local production or history. Eat & Stay establishments are chosen for their commitment to showcasing local produce and Irish hospitality. Pub with good food and atmosphere Previous Georgina Campbell Guides Award Winner The "Best of the Best" - Only the very best establishments across various categories have been chosen for this accolade

 The pub is as old as it looks, going back to 1846, and has been in the energetic and hospitable ownership of Fergus and Patricia O'Mahony since 1988; they have loved it and maintained it well (it is not unusual to find Fergus up a ladder with a paintbrush in his h ...

Read more
Drink & Eat & Stay

An Sugan

Clonakilty, Co. Cork

Character Pub / Guesthouse / Restaurant
2 euro Denotes genuine Irish food culture, ie special Irish food products/companies/producers, and highlights the best places to shop for regional and artisan foods; the selection excludes obvious 'non-Irish' elements regardless of quality, eg ethnic restaurants and specialists in coffee, wine and other drinks, unless relevant to local production or history. Eat & Stay establishments are chosen for their commitment to showcasing local produce and Irish hospitality. Serious About Seafood

The O’Crowley family has owned this characterful bar and restaurant since 1979: it’s always been a friendly, well-run place and, although it can be very busy at times, their reputation for good food is generally well-deserved. An Sugan is known nationally as ...

Read more
Eat & Stay

Dunmore House Hotel

Clonakilty, Co. Cork

Hotel / Restaurant
Highly Recommended as a Special Place to Stay Outstanding Location, building or atmosphere Previous Georgina Campbell Guides Award Winner The "Best of the Best" - Only the very best establishments across various categories have been chosen for this accolade

Set in one of West Cork's most desirable locations, the O'Donovan and Barrett familes' immaculately maintained hotel is magnificently situated overlooking the Atlantic Ocean just outside the quaint town of Clonakilty. Now in third generation ownership, it has bee ...

Read more
Eat & Stay

Schull Harbour Hotel

Schull, Co. Cork

Hotel / Restaurant

This attractive hotel overlooking Schull harbour was acquired by the Blue Haven Collection in 2022, which makes it a serious asset to the town - and the area. The exterior is traditional - cheerfully painted in true West Cork style and with colourful window boxes on the ...

Read more

Contact details

+353 23 884 8125
EMAIL
PLEASE MENTION IRELANDGUIDE.COM WHEN ENQUIRING

Address

O'Callaghan-Walshe
The Square, Rosscarbery Co Cork
Show me where this establishment is on the map.
Directions About Rosscarbery Trip Planning Tools
Main square in Rosscarbery village.
  • Add to my Favourites +
  • View my Favourites
  • Local Recommendations
  • Hospitality
  • By Distance
    • All
      • Eat
        • Drink
          • Stay
            • Buy
              • Learn
                • Producer
                • By Category
                  • Comments

                  There are currently no comments

                  Leave a comment

                  You must be logged in to leave a comment
                  Not a member? Register for your free membership now!
                  Or leave a comment by logging in with:
                  Sign up with Twitter
                  Georgina Campbell's ireland-guide.com
                  Tweets by IrelandGuide
                  © Copyright Georgina Campbell Guides 2025
                  • Disclaimer
                  • T & C
                  • Privacy Policy
                  • Site Map
                  • Links
                  • Advertise
                  • Ireland Hotels |
                  • Northern Ireland Hotels |
                  • B&B Ireland |
                  • Accommodation Ireland |
                  • Dublin Airport Hotels |
                  • Dublin Hotels |
                  • Dublin Restaurants |
                  • Belfast Hotels |
                  • Belfast Restaurants |
                  • Cork Hotels |
                  • Cork Restaurants |
                  • Galway Hotels |
                  • Galway Restaurants |
                  • Killarney Hotels |
                  • Killarney Restaurants |
                  • Kilkenny Hotels |
                  • Kilkenny Restaurants |
                  • Limerick Hotels |
                  • Limerick Restaurants |
                  • Sligo Hotels |
                  • Waterford Hotels |
                  • Westport Hotels
                  • My Ireland Guide - Log in
                  • My Favourites
                  • My Itineraries
                  • My Comments
                  • Special Offers
                  • Hire Cars
                  • Ferry Tickets
                  • Competition
                  This website uses cookies to help provide you with a better online experience. By continuing to browse this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Cookie Policy