Leeside café crowned ‘Munster’s Best’ as owners to open new city centre bar soon

A much-loved Cork café has been ranked as one of the best in Ireland as its owners prep to launch a new ‘flagship’ Leeside bar this summer.

It’s deffo one of the city’s more ‘unique’ venues – but Cafe Depeche on Lancaster Quay has been a go-to spot for fine grub and great-tasting coffee since staff first opened its doors in 2008. It was founded by veteran Leeside traders Humphrey and Trinette Porter, who used their passion for music to design a restaurant fully styled after UK 80s electronic band Depeche Mode.

And it seems all their hard work is finally paying off as their venue was crowned “Best Cafe/Bistro in Munster” last night in the Food Awards Ireland 2024 – beating top eateries from across the county and beyond. Their team just fell short of the category’s overall winners The Duck Café in Dublin – but they weren’t the only Rebels honoured at last night’s event.

Another Leeside venue, the Strasbourg Goose Restaurant on French Church St, was awarded the title of ‘Munster’s Restaurant of the Year’, all while the English Market’s popular Farmgate Café was Highly Commended in the ‘Traditional Irish Restaurant of the Year’ category.

This news comes as Humphrey and Trinette prep to open their new 80-seater Cafe Depeche gastropub next month, which will link to their current base on Lancaster Quay. Their latest venture will take over the former site of The Thirsty Scholar bar while keeping much of the ‘charm’ of the old pub’s interior – including two fireplaces for chilly winter evenings.

The pair have dropped a number of teasers on social media giving sneak peeks at the venue over the past few weeks, and recently showed off their new bar counter and impressive range of wines on display. They added that big news is coming “very very soon” – making it likely they’re still on track to open their doors early next month.

Humphrey said: “We’ve honestly been waiting for this for 20 years, it just had to be the right timing, the right location. We get a lot of business with staff from hospitals and want to keep an early opening for them. We’ve definitely been feeling the cost of living crisis, it’s impacted us as much as anyone else. But you have to box smart. This is a great venue in a great spot, and we’re lucky to have a big group of regulars we can rely on.”

You can read more about the new Cafe Depeche bar here.