Kinsale, haven of finest food
Jim Moore and Aidan Duke from Kinsale at the Mad Hatter's Taste of Kinsale, part of Kinsale Gourmet Festival.
Kinsale’s diverse culinary scene is a major draw for returning visitors. With close to forty independent cafes, bars, bistros and restaurants alone to dine in, any intrepid foodie will find much to sate even the most voracious of appetites.
It’s on this bedrock of culinary curios the town also offers an exceptional array of food adventures. Food and drink tours of the town are a great way to get a quick overview of the food culture of Kinsale. From the historic to the contemporary, for the restaurant lover or the forager, there is no shortage of creative ways to engage with Kinsale’s incredible food scene.
What Suzanne Burns and her team of 'appetitious' tour guides don’t know about Kinsale food can be noted on the back of a postage stamp!
“With new venues opening around town and a real buzz in the air, Kinsale Food Tours have expanded our collection of tours to include new tasting experiences, including a globetrotting coffee tasting experience, pirate-inspired caramel delights including miso, Bailey's and chilli confections for the sweet-toothed,” says Burns, whose tour business is now in its seventh year.
The Walking Town Food Tours take in an ever-changing selection of favourite foodie haunts arranged around the concept of a travelling meal. Expect drinks, snacks, main course and dessert, and along the way learn about the town's historical and culinary heritage with an engaging guide.
For a gentle, and pet-friendly, tour, try a Coastal Foraging Tour — perfect for when the weather is at its best. Seashore foraging adventures abound, and a scrumptious gourmet picnic awaits as your reward.
If the water is calling you, Kinsale Food Tours luxury tour offering takes to the bays and beaches with a Private Yacht Picnic Charter in conjunction with Sovereign Sailing. A great choice for a group of friends, family, or a corporate away day with a difference.
During Kinsale Arts Week, visitors can book in for a one-off special foraging tour, inspired by Irish folklore and marine mythology on 7th July.
Visit Ireland’s only commercial meadery right in the heart of Kinsale! Kate and Denis Dempsey are the makers of Ireland’s oldest drink using fermented honey and Irish fruits. The resultant honeyed elixir can be enjoyed as a wine, aperitif, digestif or even mixed into cocktails, so make time to check out this delicious drink on a unique tour.
“The tour of our meadery is a fun mix of the history of mead, a tasting of three of our honeys used in our mead making, a tour of the production space, how we make it and finish with a tasting of at least four of our different styles,” says head mead maker, Kate. You can also learn about the meadery’s efforts to protect and enhance biodiversity for the Irish honeybee — no bees, no honey, no mead.
The meadery is a short stroll from the Tourist Information Office. The space is mobility friendly, and there is ample parking for cars, coaches and bikes too, so tour groups can arrive right at the door.
Tours cost €16 per person, and pre-booking is recommended. Tours run Tuesday to Sunday at noon, 2pm and 4pm.
Later this summer, Blacks of Kinsale, Ireland’s first-ever co-located brewery and distillery, will open a new bar and roof terrace opening at their new state-of-the-art site in Kinsale.
“This year we are celebrating our 10-year anniversary brewing and distilling in the town with the opening of our new facility at Cappagh. It’s been three years in the making, and we’re over the moon to be opening the doors,” says co-founder Maudeline Black.
Phase 1 of this project, due to complete at the end of July, includes the brewery and distillery production hall for beer, gin, rum and whiskey, product packaging, offices and a bar and roof terrace overlooking a beautiful waterside vista.
2024 will see the opening of a new visitors’ centre and tasting room, and a recommencement of tours where visitors can sample their unique beers and sprits and learn about the journey of Blacks.
In addition, next year will see a Gin School, Whiskey Experience Masterclasses, and a golf simulator for small groups to hire. “With our fantastic golfing culture in Kinsale at The Old Head and Farrangalway, we think this will be a great addition for groups,” says Maudeline.
“Our experience will give visitors to Kinsale a dry day and rainy-day activity, and our different tour offerings will have something that intrigues every visitor.”
Kinsale-based Bonner Travel offer twice-daily culinary tours of Kinsale and Cork city — the perfect add-on for those looking to enhance their visit to county Cork. With extensive experience in the international and domestic travel market, owner Frances Bonner has capitalised on Kinsale’s reputation as Ireland’s premier gourmet destination and paired it with Bonner Travel’s premium expert service.
County Cork is the epicentre of Ireland’s Famers’ Market movement, and Kinsale’s weekly Wednesday market is one of the best-attended and most bustling markets in the county. Popping up inside the Town Car Park behind the Tourist Information Office, between thirty and forty stall holders set up shop facing the bay from 9:30am – 2:30pm.
From freshly baked sourdough breads, cheeses, organic fruit and vegetables to made-to-order salads, curries, pizza, farm fresh ice cream and smoothies, plus a diverse array of local arts, crafts and music, this market is a feast for all the senses.
