Café Paradiso is an award-winning Irish

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

 restaurant located in Cork

Cork (city)

Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...

, County Cork

County Cork

County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...

. It specialises in vegetarian cuisine and the proprietor of this restaurant is the celebrity chef and television personality Denis Cotter

Denis Cotter

Denis Cotter is an Irish celebrity chef, author, television personality and proprietor of the acclaimed vegetarian Café Paradiso restaurant in Cork City. He has published three cookbooks - "Cafe Paradiso Cookbook", "Paradiso Seasons" and "wild garlic, gooseberries...and me", and his fourth book is...

. It has been featured in publications such as the Irish Independent

Irish Independent

The Irish Independent is Ireland's largest-selling daily newspaper that is published in both compact and broadsheet formats. It is the flagship publication of Independent News & Media.-History:...

, which suggested the restaurant as a place to dine if one had to spend forty-eight hours in the city. That publication has also expressed it surprise that Café Paradiso possesses a total of zero Michelin

Michelin Guide

The Michelin Guide is a series of annual guide books published by Michelin for over a dozen countries. The term normally refers to the Michelin Red Guide, the oldest and best-known European hotel and restaurant guide, which awards the Michelin stars...

 stars.

Origin and style

Cotter opened his Café Paradiso restaurant in Cork in 1993. Café Paradiso is located at 16 Lancaster Quay in Cork. Its vegetarian style is connected to Cotter's overwhelming fear of cattle, which he overcame in the February 2008 RTÉ One

RTÉ One

RTÉ One is the flagship television channel of Raidió Teilifís Éireann , and it is the most popular and most watched television channel in Ireland. It was launched as Telefís Éireann on 31 December 1961, it was renamed RTÉ Television in 1966, and it was renamed as RTÉ One upon the launch of RTÉ...

 television programme Guerrilla Gourmet

Guerrilla Gourmet

Guerrilla Gourmet is an Irish television series broadcast on RTÉ One. The series features professional chefs from various backgrounds, such as Dylan McGrath and Kevin Dundon, who each take on a new challenge...

by opening up a temporary restaurant in a cattle mart in Bandon

Bandon, County Cork

Bandon is a town in County Cork, Ireland. With a population of 5,822 as of census 2006, Bandon lies on the River Bandon between two hills. The name in Irish means "Bridge of the Bandon", a reference to the origin of the town as a crossing-point on the river. In 2004 Bandon celebrated its...

, County Cork

County Cork

County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...

. Cotter has been referred to as "a gentle food giant in the South". Meals served by the restaurant include goat's cheese gnocchi with pan-fried artichokes. A dinner at the restaurant costs approximately €

Euro

The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...

40 per person, not including wine.

Awards

On 7 March 2009, the Irish Independent listed Café Paradiso, alongside Neven Maguire of the MacNean Restaurant, Brian McCann of Shu and Martin Shanahan of Fishy Fishy Cafe, as a restaurant whom many would be surprised to learn has no Michelin stars to its name and never has had. At the time there were only six restaurants in possession of this accolade and all of them were in Dublin. There were none in Cork.