If you find yourself in the beautiful West Cork town of Glengarriff and you are looking for somewhere to eat, I can heartily recommend you stay well away from Casey’s Hotel Glengarriff.
I was there last weekend with my wife, my son and my wife’s nephew and we had lunch there - the food was vile and the service was appalling.
For instance, I ordered fish and chips - not too much wrong you can do with that, I thought - wrong! The fish was completely tasteless and the chips were so greasy that even the ketchup I tried to put on the chips to disguise their greasy taste, couldn’t stick to the chips and kept sliding back off they were so greasy!
We were asked to pay for our meal after ordering it - i.e. before it was delivered to the table, we had to pay for it! They are obviously used to people refusing to pay because of the poor quality of the food.
The table was dirty when we arrived - no problem there, I asked one of the staff to clean it - he grudgingly cleaned half of it and left the rest filthy.
Just behind the eating area are kept empty soft drink bottles - this attracts hordes of bees/wasps who then buzz around you and your food as you try to eat.
The lunch for the four of us (three and a half really - my son is just over two years old!) was €41.60
In short, Casey’s hotel has no redeeming qualities that I could find.
If you are looking for somewhere to eat in Glengarriff, eat anywhere but Casey’s Hotel.
Edited to correct the spelling of Glengarriff!
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It’s amazing how many stupid people are running restaurants in Ireland.
I swear most of the people who get into the restaurant business have never frequented restaurants on a regular basis.
It’s a pleasant surprise when you go to a restaurant and get treated with some civility.
Civility is one thing but the quality of the food, the price, the location of the empty bottles, having to pay before getting the food - it all added up to one of the worst eating out experiences I have had in a long time.
“Glengariff” has two r’s, not one, making it “Glengarriff”.
It is a pity that you had a bad experience with the Hospitality Industry in Glengarriff though. When I was on holidays there last year I ate in the Martello Tower and in the Eccles Hotel and found the food, price and service to be excellent.
Eileen,
thanks for the clarification (I never was great at spelling, as regular readers here will attest) - I will amend that in the article and title now.
Thanks for the recommendations of other places to eat in Glengarriff.
Great site Tom,
I’m coming over to Ireland from England for a weekend in October with my daughter to visit Garnish Island and we’ll be staying in Glengarriff so it’s nice to get the tip-off as to where and where not to eat.
Thanks
Great Tony,
glad to have been of help - hope you and your daughter enjoy your stay.
As a visitor to Glengarriff with my family for many years now I have become familiar with all restaurants in the area and none,in my opinion, can match the welcome recieved every time I step inside the door of Caseys Hotel.I have ALWAYS found the standard of food and service to be impeccible and find it hard to read harsh criticisms of a business that I know is run with such precision and care as this one is.I advise you, Mr Rafferty to return to the area,sample the delights of the Caseys I know and then review your previous opinions.
P.S-Try the Roast Beef on a Sunday,the Yorkshire Pudding that accompanies it is exceptionally good!
i have spent a great deal of time in glengarriff,it is a lovely village and have stayed in casey hotel and the food was very good and staff very nice as all the people in the village are. so i dont think your letter sounds like the caseys i know.must have had bad luck mate.
hi im from glengarriff and i can tell you that caseys has good service.there food is always good and so is the service.but as you should know GLENGARRIFF is a tourist village from March to October and all the business are always busy. but is what you should do is if you are in the area for more then two days is go to one place for lunch and another place for dinner and you can then decide which one you think is the best. so do not dis the locals or the business as its the only thing that the local kids have to look forward to a summer job in the local business and meeting new people from all over the world. so to end caseys hotel has always have good service and the staff has a warm welcome for any one.
Hi, I live in England and come to West Cork regularly. I always stay at Casey’s when I am in the area, and can assure you I have NEVER had anything but good service and excellent food. I can endorse the comments about the roasts on Sundays - they are GREAT, some of the best food I have had in Ireland in recent years.
I am due to return in late July this year, but fear the hotel may be booked-up.
hi
caseys hotel looked after me when I was travelling in Ireland and gave me food and board ans hospitlaity second to none when I played piano for them a few years back
you must have hit on a bad day
hope you try and again and see there good side
regards
adam
Having visited Caseys on 3 occassions in July 2006 I can only comment what excellent food and service at a time when they were packed out with the world cup on.
Would have no hesitation in recommending CASEYS to any one, indeed we went origonally on 2 recommendations.
Either you hit it on a very off day or you yourself were in an off mood.
Totally agree with Tom Raftery, I was there recently and the food, service and decor is appalling. It is like something out of the seventies when much poorer standards in Irish hotels ( if you could call this dive a hotel ) were tolerated. Tables were dirty, staff surly and the standard of food awful.
I can’t imagine where Jimmy McGee andTom Raferty ate - it must have been at a different Casey’s than the one we visited just a week ago. The food was delicious and the service was great. Another group of people at a different table told us they had tried many of the restaurants in Glengarriff and thought Casey’s had the best food in town.
hey i live in GLENGARRIFF and ive got to tell u Casey’s hotel has always had good service there and the custom has always been good. like i said the last time try different places. There are other places to eat in GLENGARRIFF and its worth trying each one. I love meeting new people who come to GLENGARRIFF every year. i dont know where Jimmy McGee and Tom Raftery,eat when they were there and to say about Jimmy McGee’s comment”I was there recently and the food, service and decor is appalling. It is like something out of the seventies when much poorer standards in Irish hotels ( if you could call this dive a hotel ) were tolerated. Tables were dirty, staff surly and the standard of food awful.” and i know all the buiness there and its not in GLENGARRIFF. so understand where im coming from u are telling people to stay away from GLENGARRIFF and that means less jobs for the local kids which means kids are left without jobs. no people will visit GLENGARRIFF and the business will suffer. Tourists will stay away. im sorry if i offened people but understand where im coming from. thank you
To think that people could have such a low opinion of a business such as caseys shows exactly the kind of society which we are turning into- where impartiality and coldnss is perferred to the warm and friendly welcoming atmosphere of traditional family businesses such as this one.
Having been a visitor to glengarriff for over thirty years i spend a good deal of every summer in the area and not one other business can compete with this one.The whole family is pro-active in the running of the business from Eileen in the kitchen which produces excellent high quality meals to the Sons and daughter serving in the bar and dining room, .A cheery atmosphere is clear throughout with high staff morale,no doubt encouraged by the hotels engaging owner Donal who is always on hand to provide an entertaining time!
I would advise the people who complain about such a service to revise their own values and opinions before judging others
Mary,
if I had received anything like the service you described, I would not have posted anything derogatory about Casey’s. I have eaten in many restaurants and never posted about the service I have received.
I specifically posted about Casey’s to warn people against going there because of the appalling lack of service we received. The coldness and indifference of the staff and the slop we were grudgingly served after having paid for it!
If you want good food and good service stay well away from Caseys.
don’t know much about the food
but its a great hotel for the fleas
hi just back from glengarriff my husband and i loved the place very busy serving food and drink heard no complaints somone looked for food at nine o clock thats when they finish serving but lo and behold the man was fed and no complaints thats caseys for you and the music and song was great staff very friendly we will go back again we travelled from wicklow and it was well worth it
to be honest if any one has some thing bad to say about glengarriff they should be shot. ots the nicest place in the world. ive been going there for the last 18 years as i am that age and my fathers from there so as soon as possible ill be movin down there.. in regards to the restaurants every where is good to eat bar the one that yourdragged in the door!!!
It seems incredible that so many people can have had good experience and two have had such bad experience…
I am a regular visitor to GG, I normally only stop to eat at lunchtime and I have to say that over the years I haven’t found it to be the best place in that area to eat. I accept it is a tourist place in Summer but that isn’t an excuse, it should perhaps be a reason for it to be good. If I was asked where to eat in West Cork generally and the GG area specifically I’d say Bantry is better, more choice, but my best experiences are in Glandore…..
I’m just back in Dublin, having spent the Easter weekend in Casey’s hotel, Glengariff, Co. Cork. I find it hard to believe Tom Raftery’s comments about Casey’s hotel.My wife and I have stayed in very many hotels all around the world , and I can honestly say Casey’s Hotel was the friendliest I,ve ever encountered, From the owner , Donal , down to the lady who cleaned our room ,we had only friendly , helpful and courteous service, invariably. The food was excellent , by any standards, and we had good live music in the evenings . Our bedroom was clean , comfortable ,quiet and completely adequate, but certainly not luxurious . There is a cosy , welcoming bar and a bright cheerful dining room . When one considers the cost of our accommodation , 280 Euros, for three nights and a double room, over a peak holiday weekend, I’m amazed at the value for money.
I don,t know what T.R. is on about, caseys hotel is one of the best places to eat in glengarriff, its good food and good value for money. He must have hit it on a bad day,sorry tom you need to go back if they will let you in at this stage. we are in glengarriff 3 to 4 times a year and we always eat in caseys hotel.
i have stayed in caseys hotel twice over the last two years.the reason i took guests there the second time was because of the warm welcome,good food and accommodation which we recieved on our first visit. I was not dissapointed. Dolan the owner even remembered me from my preivous visit. We had a great time, the staff were very polite,service was great.Cant wait for my next visit.Soon i hope.
DONT BOTHER WITH ANYWHERE OTHER THAN PAT SOMERS BAR (OPPOSITE QUILLS) .THE FOOD,DRINK,AND ACCOMDATION ARE SECOND TO NONE-THE BEST YOU WILL FIND IN GLENGARRIFF.TRY IT.
Well I will be in Glengarriff from Friday to Monday and will give Casey’s a try. I haven’t been to Glengarriff before so will be completely unbiased as I only ever rely on my own opinion when eating out. I will let you all know how I get on!!
We stayed at the Eccles Hotel in Glengarriff but refused to eat there. We decided instead to try Casey’s as promised. We ate in the very friendly bar and the food was delicious, no greasy chips, maybe a little too much red onion in the salad. We were so impressed with the freshness of the food that we chose to eat three nights running. The staff were very friendly. My only gripe, and this applies wherever I go, was that our cutlery was ‘dumped’ on the table unceremoniously by the nice Polish girl. It takes no time to ‘place’ the knife and fork but this is just my whim. We have eaten in many places and for bar food this was second to none. Sorry Tom
Don’t apologise Catherine, if you had good food there, I’m happy for you.
Maybe it has improved, it was 2005 when I ate there.
Well you wouldn’t have wanted to eat at The Eccles Hotel which was like an old people’s home, complete with the smell of either disinfectant or fish and chips…..
We have a holiday home in Ardrigole and always eat at Casey’s when we are there. The food is always good and the bar is usually packed full of diners. A sure sign of a good meal! We have been going there for 7 years now and have never been asked to pay up front. We will continue to vist and support the local business. Highly recommended.
I just got back from Glengarriff and ate at Casey’s four times, twice for Sunday lunch and twice for food in the bar, and every time found the food, the service and the atmosphere to be excellent. Well cooked, well presented, and very tasty food, supremely friendly staff, good ambiance. I hope people read on and don’t rely on T.R.’s rant before deciding on Casey’s. It’s a great place.
I’ll be staying for a night in May &, having read the rebuttals to the original post, am looking forward to my stay & the breakfast that I’ll be having on the Sunday morning.