Is 2026 the year of the pop-up restaurant? Cork chefs on their unique appeal

Pop-Up, Supper Club, Chef Collab, Four Hands, Takeover, Residency… If you have come across one or more of these terms floating across your social feed this year, or attended a dining experience in a great location with a chef whose food you’re slightly obsessed with, you have been part of Cork’s exciting year of the pop-up!

I was a fan of this exciting dining concept since before it was hip and cool. Between 2013 and 2014, I hosted a West Cork version of the Manhattan-style supper club that had taken the Big Apple by storm a couple of years prior.

As it grew in popularity, I moved it out of my home and instead worked with exciting up-and-coming chefs to host pop-ups in quirky locations.

Events were popular, always selling out, but it all came to a full stop with the pandemic. In the post-lockdown rush by diners to make up for lost time, the pop-up scene suddenly blew up.

The pandemic had given chefs the perfect excuse to reimagine the dining experience, and a realisation that a great dinner can happen anywhere.

Over the past year alone, I’ve enjoyed pop-ups by the cocktail and small plate pop-up Cold Cuts at The Libertine, Viet-Thai over the fire cooking with Tiger Balm Club at The White Horse in Ballincollig; a “Mexican-ish” feast by Caitlin Ruth at Blacks of Kinsale distillery; a zero waste banquet hosted by FoodCloud and The Metropole in the chapel at Northside Community Enterprises; a Ayurvedic-inspired Indian menu by Gautham Iyer at Goleen Harbour Eco Resort, and a sumptuous gathering at The Park Hotel Kenmare with legend of the London food scene, Sally Clarke. Not to mention the momentous Long Table VQ Dinner alongside 450 other diners for this years’ Cork on a Fork.

There have been plenty others too. In fact, it’s quite possible I have eaten more in pop-ups, supper clubs, and four hands events this year than in a regular restaurant.

For me, I love the ephemeral nature of the pop-up: there one minute and gone the next. Chefs, especially those with their own restaurant, can flex their creative instincts in a way the rigidity of customer expectation often won’t allow in their own domain.

As we head into the year’s final chapter, the pop-up shows no sign of abating; and there is one experience I have had chalked into the calendar for quite some time.

On Sunday, October 18, Cork city’s foremost urban retreat, The Montenotte Hotel, will host a special “four-hands” dinner. The hotel’s Executive Chef Martin Lovell will host Rob Krawzcyk of the Michelin-starred Restaurant Chestnut in Ballydehob for a Hilltop Gathering.

Special because, just 12 days later, Rob and his wife Elaine, are calling time on their celebrated restaurant after nine impeccable seasons. So, is this pop-up a taste of things to come in a post-Chestnut era for them? And why do chefs open their kitchens to other chefs to cook alongside them? Aren’t they supposed to be highly territorial and secretive, if the old stereotypes of chefs are to be believed?

I asked Rob Krawczyk what’s the draw for him with pop-ups?

“I love working with other chefs and restaurants, and bringing together two teams,” Rob says. “We learn so much from collaborating. Each experience is always unique, and you are always learning - whether it is a small or large lesson. It adds to your knowledge, skill set and adaptability.”

It’s no small matter moving your restaurant lock, stock and barrel into an unknown setting some 97kms away, but not off-putting, so it seems.

“There is a sense of the unknown in a way that brings a new layer of challenge and energy. The menu must be well considered for the proposed location as it may be in an outdoor setting or in a building not known for offering food. You really have to be creative in the approach to your menu to ensure it can be executed to the standard you wish to attain, bearing in mind the environment you will be emerged in.

“It proposes a challenge to you and your team, and it is wonderful seeing how the food is responded to by the guests.”

I am nodding in agreement with Rob here. When next at a pop-up, if you can drag your gaze away from the gorgeous things you are eating and just look around the room for a moment; take in the atmosphere; the chatter and sudden outbreaks of laughter. The clink of glasses and hum of satisfied diners enjoying what they are eating and experiencing. It’s such a buzz – and that matters to chefs. It’s fuel to keep going.

In recent times, the Montenotte Hotel, under Martin Lovell’s watch, has increasingly explored ways to create food and wine experiences for hotel residents and visiting guests alike.

From its quarterly Wine Club evening to celebrity chef collabs with the likes of TV’s Matt Tebutt, and internationally renowned beverage director Gregory Buda of Bisou Bisou working a guest shift at The Glasshouse cocktail bar, the pop-up has put Montenotte Hotel on the map as an exciting culinary destination in the city.

So, what do these experiences bring to the team at the Montenotte?

“Collaborations bring a real sense of energy and creativity to the team,” says Martin. “It’s a chance for us to work alongside chefs with different styles, perspectives and share ideas. Every chef has their own background, influences and way of approaching food, so there is always something to learn. I enjoy the process of bringing two different styles together and creating a menu that feels completely unique to that one evening.”

Creating something that is unique and never to be repeated is a big part of what fascinates me about pop-ups. When there’s an opportunity to anything at all, seeing where a chef’s ambition can take the diner is an exciting prospect.

“Events like these give our guests something genuinely different to experience,” says Martin.

“There’s a real sense of occasion around a menu that has been created for one night only, and it introduces The Montenotte to people who may follow the visiting chef or have a particular interest in food, so they are a great way of reaching new audiences too.

“Pop-ups show that food is an important part of The Montenotte experience. It keeps us curious and encourages us to continually develop what we do. We want to keep challenging ourselves, working with great people and creating dining experiences that feel interesting and memorable. Ultimately, it helps position The Montenotte as somewhere people think of for great food in Cork, whether they are staying with us or simply coming for dinner.”

The four-hands dinner with Lovell and Krawczyk on October 18 will celebrate Ireland’s extraordinary autumn larder through Krawczyk’s ingredient-led cooking, shaped by the landscapes and produce of West Cork, and Lovell’s refined contemporary style, honed over more than 25 years in luxury destinations.

Tickets are priced at €180pp, include a welcome cocktail, tasting menu, and wine pairings. www.montenottehotel.com