A really warm welcome. Lovely staff, efficient service and so friendly. Fabulous food and beautiful views. Kinsale is a gorgeous town and The Bulman is definitely worth a visit.
A really warm welcome. Lovely staff, efficient service and so friendly. Fabulous food and beautiful views. Kinsale is a gorgeous town and The Bulman is definitely worth a visit.
We were in Kinsale late Sunday and left Tuesday late afternoon so we were lucky to be able to have lunch on our way out since the kitchen is reportedly closed Sunday and Monday. We had the reuben, oysters and the cheese board and all...of it was great! The staff was very pleasant and the room is cozy with lots of wood and old photos. I highly recommend the Bulman!More
We found the setting to be spectacularly beautiful and the servers, which I believe can be the lasting memory of many a dining experience were polite, friendly and professional young ladies. The restaurant very quickly filled on our arrival, however a busy kitchen is an...aspiration of every restaurant not an excuse for unprofessional standards. The calamari starter which can very hit and miss in a lot of restaurants was simply superb, so much so that my partner on tasting mine, ordered a portion for herself. Whilst many very tasty looking main course dishes passed our table, we unfortunately both decided to order the ribs for main. The first offerings were returned as the ribs which were fridge cold and not something which had been heated and thereafter had gone cold. They were simply undressed ribs plonked into a bowl of heated sauce. I even asked the waitress to touch them as they were as stated unbelievably fridge cold ! The second offering of ribs were similarly undressed ribs placed into a bowl of hot sauce, however whilst these seemed initially at least, to be warm, they within minutes had lost significant heat and I regret to my core that I didn't also return the second offering. The kitchen should be embarrassed to have sent them and deserved to have them returned. I didn't however return them, but instead ate these barely lukewarm ribs which albeit were meaty, were also tasteless and dependant on being submerged in the sauce for any heat or flavour. I cannot state for certain that these ribs were heated (without due care or attention ) in a microwave, however I strongly suggest so, which is totally unacceptable in a professional kitchen. As stated numerous very good looking plated of food passed our table as we waited (twice) for our main course and the lack of ribs flavour was undoubtedly compounded by the lack of heat associated with such, the kitchen really should be ashamed to have sent such over the pass, not just once, but twice. The ribs looked nothing like those pictured in previous reviews. The kitchen's lazy approach disrespected the ribs as an ingredient, and to treat then with such unprofessional disinterest and distain, disrespected us as customers. In conclusion whilst I did complain post the meal to the management, which was unquestionably and humbly accepted by such, I truly regret not returning the mains a second time, the kitchen should rightly be embarrassed and ashamed to have served the ribs as they did, particularly when they were initially returned. So our dining experience ! The setting overlooking the harbour was spectacular, the servers were worthy of special mention and the calamari starter was faultless. Should we have ordered a different main I'm sure this review would have been a 5 star award, however our experience should not be dependant on getting lucky with our menu choice, and so regrettably, but deservedly its a 3 star rating.More
Having spent a week in Kinsale with a big sailing crew, we found most of the usual haunts disappointing but not the Bulman. Absolutely the highlight of the week. Stunning setting, MD Shirley fabulous at looking after our table of 12 and incredible foods and...wines. Whilst others may have let standards slip, the opposite can be said of the Bulman. Every visit is an absolute treat!More
This is a pub, so a stout is a must in Ireland. Of course, it's good if its Guiness or Murphys. These are on tap and totally different than from the bottle. The ribs and especially the rib sauce is excellent. The monkfish was the...best I've had in Ireland.More
Truly do not understand why this fantastic pub and restaurant is not number one for eating out in Kinsale! We did the half hour walk around the bay towards Charles Fort and sat outside to eat probably the most delicious lunch we have had in...a long time. The service was superb and the staff absolutely charming. My lobster was moist and delicious and the homemade mayonnaise perfect. Pear creme brulee similarly divine.More
It was a beautiful sunny day and we made the spectacular walk form the centre to here. A lovely spot to refuel with food and drink and the quality didn't disaapoint.
Lovely drive from the city center for lunch matched the views across the bay seated at the restaurant. The waitress who initially took the order probably was new and did not know that Heineken and Carlsberg were not local beers. A bit funny for someone...working in a bar. After initially ordering the vegetarian days special was told that it was sold out and was suggested the beetroot and durres cheese gallete which turned out to be a stunner. The crunchy veggies on the side was fresh and tasty as well. My husband ordered the lobster which he enjoyed. A nice place to dine when in Kinsale.More
Wonderful dinner - fantastic food - our group had the John Dory which was a special and lobster - so beautifully cooked - food was a hightlight of our trip to Kinsale - we were staying in town but the walk there and back was...fine. My only comment would be regarding the wine list - need a Pinot Noir or other lighter wines to go with a menu dominated by fish. As a group we prefer drinking with red even with fish and it was a challenge to find something to match - but overall couldn't recommend more highly.More
I have eaten at the Bullman in the bar but this was my first time upstairs in Toddies and I must say it was excellent. I was there with my grown up children and we all enjoyed the dishes we chose very much.
The perfect lunch stop on our walk from Charles Fort to downtown Kinsale. Delicious seafood chowder and fish 'n chips hit the spot. Wait staff was friendly and efficient. A "must stop" in Kinsale.
Seven of us went to Kinsale for a ( Covid rescheduled) Paddy’s day visit. I really wanted to visit the Bulman so we went one day for lunch. It’s in a great spot in a lovely little harbour. Make sure you are early - there...was a queue outside by the time they opened and this large pub was full after a few minutes. We were lucky and got a great spot by the fire. Despite how full it was the service was great, friendly & quick, and the fish and chips and burgers certainly hit the spot.More
Our experience was sadly almost exactly the same as a previous review. We’ve visited this little pub for years and have loved it. We arrived last week with friends and headed straight for The Bulman for lunch on a beautiful sunny day. The owner who...we have always previously chatted with and found to be very friendly, couldn’t have cared less that we were somewhat familiar faces. She was abrupt, almost to the point of rudeness. We were told we couldn’t bring our dog inside, nor could we order lunch to eat outside, which we found strange since last summer when we were here we could only eat outside! As we’d walked to the pub we couldn’t put our dog in the car (nor would we want to) and as we’d received such an unfriendly welcome from the owner we simply left and went somewhere else. A real shame this pub seems to be sitting on its high horse at the moment. A victim of its own success in our opinion. We definitely won’t be returning until there’s a change in attitude/owners, which is sad as we’ve visited here for nearly 20 years now. We obviously can’t comment on the food as we didn’t eat here this time.More
Disappointed that this pub no longer lets dogs in. We had visited pre-covid with our spaniel with no issue. Now I was told this policy has changed, which was a big disappointment but at least they have some outside tables. I had seen people eating...outside so I asked for a menu only to be told that they were not serving outside. When I challenged this the barman checked and said we could have chowders, and apologised. He’d obviously not been told. Whilst waiting for my Guinness and Chowder, I saw one of the owners who I knew (she didn’t recognise me but that’s fine). I said I was disappointed not to be able to bring my dog in. She said “Covid changed a lot of things”. Whilst we sat outside, a coach load of young lads came down the hill, presumably after parking at Charles Fort. These 30 or more lads piled inside. Having been inside moments before I knew there wasn’t space for them inside with any social distancing at all. Strangely they were allowed to stay, sing happy birthday loudly inside, etc… despite the ongoing risk of covid. If I had been inside having a nice meal before that invasion I would have been leaving as fast as I could. The logic by which one small dog on a short lead accompanying a couple ready to spend big on lunch was barred due to covid but a group too large for the pub who created a frankly unsafe environment were allowed in defeated me. We didn’t have any more drinks and walked home. Don’t get me wrong, this is a great place. But they need to get some perspective before I will go again.More
No vegan or vegetarian choice. Food mediocre. Disappointed there wasn’t some vegetarian or vegan choices on menu