Java's Cafe Bar on Campus - your say

cson

Meh I bet it wasn't all that great. Hype ftw.

bluedolphin

Jealous.

PeakOutput

just walked threw it there it does have couches which look comfy so they will be prime real estate and the prices look fairly reasonable for the drink too

cooperguy

Ok so I spent the last few hours in there for my dinner and a drink and here is my verdict:D

Its a really good looking place and its comfortable. Those couches around the walls are good, and I like the way there is a couple of pretty big tables in the centre if you have a big group it would be handy.

Food is very good compared to the college standard but slightly more expensive. Average of €6.50 for a meal but worth it because the quality was good and so were the portions. Here comes my main complaint with the food though, FIX THE CHIPS. It was mentioned in this thread by somebody else long before the place opened, good quality thick chips is what is needed and anybody complaining inside there today was complaining about that.

The drink is reasonably priced with a good selection. 2 things here though can the jugs of beer be for a number of types and not just Fosters (obviously they would all be different prices) also are ye going to have splashes of coke and other minerals that would definatly be welcomed.

Overall I like the place and Ill be back again:D

<edit> As somebody else said the publicity round this place probably should be increased a small bit since most people I was talking to didn't even know it existed never mind was opening today.

Peteee

Was in there for a few pints tonight (Was last out if truth be told, but that not unusual if you've seen us in the stables!)

Pretty positive, will definitely be in for more.

Firstly, the place looks very classy. I love the dark wood finish ye have to most of the place (Even if a few tables are Scholars era!). The chalk writing looks a bit out of place, but overall a very nice looking place.

The Guinness, superb. Even had a round of pints bought out to us. Kudos!

Nice atmosphere, not a lot of people in there tonight (Talked to a few people and they didn't know it was opening, you need better publicity) but nice level of volume on the music, very comfy seats, and a nice place for a conversation.

One thing I did notice is that you repeated at least one song (Rob Dougan - Clubbed to Death) whether that was a random thing or just not enough selection, it wasn't a good thing!

No Toilets!!! Quite a big sticking point. To be fair, I'd have no idea where I would put them in a small area like you have. Maybe try to get the toilets just outside the door open for longer (At least till 11.30, when I went they were closed and had to go over to the Stables, not good)

Prices, I was charged €4.30 for a bottle of Corona. Was very shocked by this. I asked for two, and the guy behind the bar said that it was €8.60, I aksed 'How much?' thinking I had misheard, he said €8.60 again, and I handed him €8.60 and he said 'Yeah thats grand'. Those are night club prices tbh, and considering the Stables cost €3.20 for the same product, it's not something thats going to win you many customers (Especially considering Fosters is the same price, and Guiness is within 10c)

Besides that, a nice place and I will be back. I'm sure a few more people will weigh in with their opinions.

kaimera

:boggle: €4.30 for Corona is daylight robbery tbh. As Pete said, it's only €3.20 in the Stables.

Prices like that won't help.

cson

Corona? :eek: Shame on you all! I think I'll go for dinner there followed by a whack of pints and then write up csons incoherent inconsiderate review to Javas.

cooperguy

Corona €4.30 :eek: Im there for pints tonight and if thats the case I wont be there for long!! Though I think the price of my pint of bulmers yesterday was the same as the Stables. Though I was looking at the prices of the spirits that are chalked up behind the bar and they looked reasonable.

Javas people I hope ye are taking all the comments onboard!

<edit> Kaimera I doubt they will post there food prices anyway cause they will be changing depending whats on offer and it is a bit more expensive aswell (but as I said I think the food is worth it). Though posting drinks prices might be interesting.

kaimera

Actually, any chance of ya posting up an alcohol price list java?

[edit]was referring to the alcohol

Mossin

I was there with Petee last night,
I had been enjoying the experience quite a bit until the CORONA escapade. WTF is with that extortionist pricing!! €4.30 is an utter joke to be honest.
The Guinness at €3.70 is good value, and Heineken at €4.00 is also reasonable, albeit that both are 10c up on the Stables pricing.
The bar staff are not the greatest either, watching poor staff attempting to pull pints properly didn't sit well with me. Saw the tall blond guy trying to pull 2 pints at the same time and god help him, he only managed to put more alcohol in the drip trays underneath, than in the pint glasses. 'Give the lad a chance' some might say, but I say fcuk that..he should be trained on how to pull a pint.
Also, on entering initially, and three of us ordering separately, the barman decided to try and charge the first of us for all 3 pints, come on now, piss off home..I think he was foreign too, actually think that 2 of them were foreign. I have nothing against them, it can only get better..Here's hoping anyways..

Enough from me now I think..
I will definitely go back, hopefully some of the little quirks can be ironed out by the time I return.

kaimera

Whats the sound system like?

and 10c more expensive is roughly average. Isn't the Sports Bar more than that?

€3.50 for Corona there

cson

Sports bar is €3.90 for a Heinken and €3.80 for Guinness. The bar seems a bit tight for 2 people to be working there, they could be ran off their feet if there was a crowd in there. What time does it close at does anyone know?

rmacm

Mossin wrote:

Also, on entering initially, and three of us ordering separately, the barman decided to try and charge the first of us for all 3 pints, come on now, piss off home.

I've had that happen to me numerous times up here......it's either the barman assuming you're drinking in a round (even though you've ordered separately) or them being a bit lazy and not wanting to take cash and get change for 3 people...either way its a bit of a pain in the arse.

Cheers
Rory

Peteee

cson wrote:

What time does it close at does anyone know?

11.30 is when they stop serving.

Java's Cafe Bar

Hey guys

Firstly - will look at the Corona price - I would say that was an oversight (I know - chancers!) Will check the prices.

Re Toilets - the toilets outside are our toilets however red tape has delayed the actual handing of the keys to us. Security or someone must thave closed toilets a little earlier last night - when we went to clean them they were locked (the night staff were happy about that though not the morning staff)

Re - Music the music system won't be fully in until the weekend although we installed our music library this morning so it should be better tonight.

We are also waiting to get the electricians back to put dimmers on our lights (we felt it a bit bright last night.)

Re - Guinness our keg room is literally behind the wall where the coffee machine is - the Guinness guys reckon it's one of the shortest draws you can get (bar putting the keg under the counter without chilling) so it should keep first pints perfect and way easier to keep clean.

Raction is good so far - although we haven't pushed publicity much as we are still in start up - we hope to have an officail launch in a few weeks. Still working on a few things.

Keep the suggestions as they do work - we'll have to have a boards.ie party in there some night.

regards

Java's

PeakOutput

Java's Cafe Bar wrote:

we'll have to have a boards.ie party in there some night.

that is a great idea with free drinks being given to those who know a special code word released only on boards

also im still waiting to hear back from my cv but you look fairly well staffed at the mo so i can understand if there is nothing going as i got in late

Peteee

Java's Cafe Bar wrote:

Hey guys

Firstly - will look at the Corona price - I would say that was an oversight (I know - chancers!) Will check the prices.

Re Toilets - the toilets outside are our toilets however red tape has delayed the actual handing of the keys to us. Security or someone must thave closed toilets a little earlier last night - when we went to clean them they were locked (the night staff were happy about that though not the morning staff)

Re - Music the music system won't be fully in until the weekend although we installed our music library this morning so it should be better tonight.

We are also waiting to get the electricians back to put dimmers on our lights (we felt it a bit bright last night.)

Re - Guinness our keg room is literally behind the wall where the coffee machine is - the Guinness guys reckon it's one of the shortest draws you can get (bar putting the keg under the counter without chilling) so it should keep first pints perfect and way easier to keep clean.

Raction is good so far - although we haven't pushed publicity much as we are still in start up - we hope to have an officail launch in a few weeks. Still working on a few things.

Keep the suggestions as they do work - we'll have to have a boards.ie party in there some night.

regards

Java's

Thats all great news. Keep up the good work.

Seconding the secret code word!

Funkstard

Right, have been there twice and already asked Cormac (manager I think) about a job behind the bar.

My opinions on the food;

Yesterday had Chicken Korma with rice. Very nice, was impressed with the poppadoms & portion of chutney or whatever it was. Nice to see a little effort made, little things like that are what will make the place stand out.

Today went back, firstly the menu was very limited so I got a Chicken Kiev with chips. A bit of presentation would help...literally couldn't see the chicken as it was surrounded by a mountain of chips and even more salad. The chips had changed to being thicker cut and were awful, please use the shoestring chips you had yesterday and just up until I got served. They tasted the exact same as in any other food outlet on campus (bland and needed to be smothered in condiments to make them in any way enjoyable).

Secondly, the chicken kiev wasn't a kiev. It was a breaded chicken breast. Same with my friend too. What the hell is that about?? Salad was the exact same as the Stables (where I generally consider the worst food to be on campus) and all in all I could have been eating in there. I don't want to see the place become like every other outlet in UL with everywhere having the same food.

Experience wise, the system of where you pay for food is a bit chaotic. The till should be where the bar turns 90 degrees. As of now customers are forced to perch their plates on drip mats amongst stacks of glasses - asking for trouble IMO. Even putting a table to the right hand side of the till against the wall would help things, and open up more space.

Very happy to see a manual coffee machine in their, it tastes great too. Whoever was making it knew what she was doing with my latte - nice thick layer of foam on top. Also happy to see a splasher in there, no more paying €5.20 for a pint of coke! (I hope...)

There seems to be too much staff behind the bar..or perhaps it's that there's not enough space for all of them. One person on the till, one person on drinks and one or two on food should be ok surely? There seemed to be way more behind there today. I haven't been there in the evening yet, but during the lunch rush it was a bit mental.

Had a look behind the bar and there seems to be nothing unusual there - come on, where's the imagination!? Same drinks as you'd get anywhere else on campus, surely you can throw a few more exotic beers/ciders in the fridges? Also I think I saw a fridge stocked solely with Bulmers - you know your clientele anyway!

Overall though I think it is done very well inside, I like the dark wood and unlike a previous poster having prices/info up on boards is an extremely good idea. You can see them from far back in the queue so hopefully there should be no humming and hawing at the counter. Nice to know what sort of shots/special drinks are available too.

I think you'll do well there, you seemed to have made an effort so people will recognise this and realise there IS an alternative to listening to the 'DJ' in the Stables. Oh, the music was well chosen too. Good good! Can't wait to become a regular!

cooperguy

I was there yesterday evening with 7 or 8 people and one thing we noticed (and laughed extremely hard at!!) was the angle of the TVs in the bar. They were being put up while we were in there. They were mounted flat against the right hand wall so now the only people that can see the TV nearest the fire exit on the far side of the bar is the people behind the counter and the second tv can only be seen by about 6 or 7 people sitting on the couch facing it. A hinged bracket to mount a TV at an angle costs about €50 for god sake!!!!

Java's Cafe Bar

Quick Update

Re TV they are only there for emergencies - we do not anticiapte using them too much - we were begged (by the supplier) to put in brackets. He pointed out (as did the previous poster) that the TV's wouldn't be seen in certain areas of the bar. That made are minds up for us!

Re Beer - we are dlighted to say that sometime next week we will be introducing a Microbrewery offering. We hope to have a guest tap each term by inviting some of the expanding number of microbreweries in Ireland to our bar. Galway Hooker is a pale ale produced in Roscommon and it is a fine beer. These guys are smaller operations and can not afford the marketing spport of the bigger boys so please be good and spread the word!

Re other beers we are getting more international beer next week - we'll be offering the usual Erdinger, Tiger, Asashi (Japanese) and a few others (I can't spell) - we're very tempted to sell the Ulriech beer from fine wines aswell - Long neck for 2.50 Euro? Anyhow point was well made - we anticipated the international beer by opening however miscoomunication with supplier scuppered that.

We'll do that boards.ie party on our "Launch week"

Re Chips - Shoe strings or thick cut?

cheers

Java's

ninty9er

Java's Cafe Bar wrote:

Re Chips - Shoe strings or thick cut?

cheers

Java's

There's an easy way and a hard way. Easy way - tell people to take it or leave it and you decide.

Hard way - do both. You can't please all the people all the time, but you can try

Funkstard

Has to be shoestring. Thick cut are EVERYWHERE else on campus. And shoestring are much nicer IMO.

And re: the beer, sounds fantastic. Very impressed by both the microbrewery idea and the cheap option.

ninty9er

I'm in the minority I'd imagine, but I like McDonalds "chips"...is that what you mean by shoestring??

bluedolphin

Shoestring ftw!

Thick cut are everywhere else on campus and are so bland. Java's is the alternative, right?! Besides, shoestring are a little more chic which is what Java's is meant to be offering in the culinary department.

Ate in there for the first time today: veggie lasagne is yummy! Portions are good too - value for money.

My recommendations:

COUCHES!!!!! ARMCHAIRS!!!!

These were things that a lot of people I've been talking to have suggested also.

It's meant to be a relaxed cafe; not that easy to completely relax at a regular eating table and chairs. Definitely keep some, but get rid of a few; a lot of people go in for a cup of coffee and to chat - couches and low coffee tables would be fantastic, just to make it less like another campus eatery. Mix n' match; eclectic vintage is the way to go a la the original Java's.

PS Those of us from Scholars' vintage are finding it difficult to refer to it as anything other than An Phluais; I find myself repeatedly saying, "An Phluais...I mean the new cafe...I mean Java's..." I will learn

Mossin

I was in it again last night, and enjoyed a few nice quiet pints. The relaxing music and comfy leather is good, but very little people there, and those I did see I eventually saw in the Stables after.
I haven't been in the Stables all week so I went in for the end pint, and it was a little weird seeing all the people from Java's in there, before closing time, I even saw the Staff from Java's coming in for a drink.
I hope that it won't become a quick stop place for people on the way to the Stables, otherwise the atmosphere will always continue to be dead. I'm not suggesting that it become a noisy place, but a bit of craic wouldn't go astray.

Oh yeah, it's not open this weekend either. After last night it won't be open again until next Monday, according to one of the bar staff last night. It's the opening weekend so fair enough, but I hope that it won't be closed every weekend..

cooperguy

Ya Bluedolphin iv been calling it the Scholars place:D

Only problem with Ureich is thats its piss, but its a cheap option so I suppose it will be drank.

When is Launch Week?

bluedolphin

cooperguy wrote:

Ya Bluedolphin iv been calling it the Scholars place:D

Brilliant! We are not alone; loads of 4th years and older are calling it everything other than Java's! Particularly since I used frequent the *real* Java's quite a bit and this place is nothing like that... An Phluais ftw!

ninty9er

bluedolphin wrote:

Brilliant! We are not alone; loads of 4th years and older are calling it everything other than Java's! Particularly since I used frequent the *real* Java's quite a bit and this place is nothing like that... An Phluais ftw!

you guys are the only people who were around before the Scholars Closed and when Javas opened...so it's not likely to be a problem next year....I did like the Scholars the few times I was in there for food...pity...smoking ban ehe:rolleyes: :rolleyes: I know I know....it wasn't the smoking ban

cooperguy

ninty9er wrote:

I did like the Scholars the few times I was in there for food...pity...smoking ban ehe:rolleyes: :rolleyes: I know I know....it wasn't the smoking ban

Ya it was bad management but I feel this is not the thread to start my standard rant on that topic:D

zilog_jones

bluedolphin wrote:

We are not alone; loads of 4th years and older are calling it everything other than Java's! Particularly since I used frequent the *real* Java's quite a bit and this place is nothing like that... An Phluais ftw!

I'm old (4th Year Part Two: The Sequel) and I've just been calling it Java's or "the new" Java's, though next to it is the Scholar's Memorial Shop .

Java's Cafe Bar wrote:

we'll be offering the usual Erdinger, Tiger, Asashi (Japanese) and a few others (I can't spell)...

Asahi is awesome - only has one 's' though Are you the one who wrote the stuff in chalk then? I noticed a few mistakes there like "Jagermister", "Martiny" (or something like that) and "Black & Bush". Also, will there be a variety of Erdingers? The Alkoholfrei one (the blue one) is actually drinkable unlike Becks and the other shyte I've tried - handy for lazy motorists like me. Kystalklar is also nice, and they seem to have crazy seasonal stuff too. Also: Sam Adams.

I've only been there once so far - last wednesday or thursday. The food was nice but they seemed to stop serving food about half 3 or 4 (can't remember exaclty) - is there food in the evening as well? This is one of the things UL is seriously lacking in after about half 6 or 7.

I was amazed that the big old table (with pointy numbering ) from the real Java's had survived! I'm suprised no one else here noticed that, though most of ye are probably Castletroy noobs