Bastion in Kinsale

What can I say but sublime. Nestled in the heart of Kinsale, Bastion was one of the last places I had to tick off the Michelin list and by god did it deliver. The wine list was excellent and the food and service sublime. Attentive but not overwhelming. The food, well sourced and wonderfully prepared truly an excellent display of localized contemporary food presented impeccably. Wholeheartedly recommended to anyone nearby - or even further afield. This restaurant will not disappoint in truly displaying the wealth of culinary talent and produce access that Cork has available to it.

We had the discovery tasting menu and wine paring. The evening was amazing with wonderful flavours and textures. Everything was perfect from the mini brioche with treacle butter to the pettifores. The cured langoustine and the rabbit loin were my favourites. We enjoyed everything including the staff with their friendly interaction and detailed description of the wines and foods. Thank you Hellen and Paul.

We booked Bastion last minute, normally not being a fan of long tasting menus, finding that they can be padded out with just average dishes- however that is the complete opposite of my experience here. Every single dish was delicious and had something unusual or remarkable about it (while still being delicious - no fancy techniques for the sake of it here!) Highlights for me were the mushroom meringue; the poached monkfish in champagne sauce; chargrilled broccoli with aged parmesan foam; venison and the dessert of plum that had been "injected" with umeboshi. The service (thank you Pierre and Helen) was attentive but not overbearing, and the wines (including a 2015 Sequoia Grove Chardonnay and a botrytised dessert wine from New Zealand) were excellent and good value. We loved our visit here and very glad of our last minute reservation!

High end service and food without doubt an experience to be tried.