Most expensive coffee in Galway?

Fey!

Got a large takeaway coffee and a bottle of water in the little coffee shop beside Maplin today. Cost €5.30. Plus €2 for 2 apples (and not even fresh, big, juicy ones!). Had ordered before I found out the prices.

I know that several places in the city centre charge around €1.70 for a takeaway tea and €1.90 for a takeaway coffee.

Anyone come across anywhere else offering even less value for money?

mdo

We spent app. $75 euro (over $100 US dollars) for breakfast for 2 couples (brunch menu) one morning at the Ard Bia Cafe on Shop Street because we slept late and missed the free cooked to order breakfast at the Park House.... food was overpriced .. here is the menu... not used to paying $6.00 US dollars for a glass of orange juice....(in fairness to them, I thought the food was good, just overpriced by my standards and service was really poor)

Krieg

Aye their prices are stupid, bought coffee there once and thought nothing special of it, I also worked nearby for 3 months and it was the only cafe for lunch and I still didnt go there.

I think they are simply taking advantage of the fact that it is the only cafe in the area (Apart from the "G") and its likely for people to grab something after some shopping in the area.


Lynchs on shop street have been upping their prices again, 2.25 for a coffee, but its damn good coffee! Guess its the norm price now

mdo

The coffee shop next door to the Park House Hotel had great coffee, and great service.... can't remember the price.....

tristanc

Fey! wrote: »

Anyone come across anywhere else offering even less value for money?

Sure, it's called Starbucks, and I'm sure it will here soon

randylonghorn

tristanc wrote: »

Sure, it's called Starbucks, and I'm sure it will here soon

Ssssh!

<_<

>_>

That's like talking about he-who-shall-not-be-named, it just draws their attention to you!

Fey!

MDO - I work almost beside one of the Ard Bia restaurants, and haven't set foot in it since the owner treated me as if I had leprosy because I dared ask for a soft drink rather than something alcoholic; it was mango juice, tap water or nothing.

biko

Mocha Beans 2.30 for reg coffee takeaway.

JIZZLORD

but mocha beans actually roast their own coffee, so it's the freshest in the city

biko

Yeah, imo it's the best coffee around. Besides Tim Hortons in Spar (and I can get a Boston Cream donut too)

Fey!

biko wrote: »

Yeah, imo it's the best coffee around. Besides Tim Hortons in Spar (and I can get a Boston Cream donut too)

Mocha Bean and the Tim Hortons are both good. Doughnuts, on the other hand, don't come better than Boychik Doughnuts in the market on a Saturday morning. €3 for 6 (or is that €2.50).

inisboffin

mdo wrote: »

We spent app. $75 euro (over $100 US dollars) for breakfast for 2 couples (brunch menu) one morning at the Ard Bia Cafe on Shop Street because we slept late and missed the free cooked to order breakfast at the Park House.... food was overpriced .. here is the menu... not used to paying $6.00 US dollars for a glass of orange juice....(in fairness to them, I thought the food was good, just overpriced by my standards and service was really poor)

Having lived in The States for a long time mdo, I sympathize with the shock/horror that comes with breakfast price comparison between the two places. You CAN get cheaper than Ard Bia in town, but I have to say, the quality of the former is good.

They supply lunch food to Neachtains and it is really of a great standard.
Service is good there, though they do get slammed at the weekend.
I have to say though, it is hard to get a healthy lunch in a lot of places, and I always feel great after my lunch in Neachtains (no jokes about the 4 shots of 12 year old! )

In general, if you are used to 'standard breakfast service' from somewhere like a good ihop in the States, you will be disappointed (not necessarily by friendliness, but by efficiency and choice - particularly healthy options)

dafunk

I've eaten in Ard Bia quite a few times and have found the food to be great. From what I can tell they do one of the best damn breakfast frys around and it's 9.50. That's not bad. The most miserable fry up in Dublin would charge you alot more than that and there isn't a chance you'd get a coffee anywhere for less than 2.70. We're not getting as ripped off as we could be.

tristanc

inisboffin wrote: »

In general, if you are used to 'standard breakfast service' from somewhere like a good ihop in the States, you will be disappointed (not necessarily by friendliness, but by efficiency and choice - particularly healthy options)

**** Ihop. Just tell me somewhere here I can get a good Bloody Mary with my breakfast - that's all I miss about a nice weekend brunch in the states.

ErnieBert

Cafe Blu on Shop Street (beside Garavan's auld man's pub) has a yummy coffee for €1.70. It brought to your table and is served in a real cup. Tasty sambos too.

Also Starbucks are going into the old Sisley shop at the entrance to Edward Square. The owner has appled for PP for a 2 storey coffee house.

You read it here first.

JIZZLORD

maybe not, what with mocha beans being around the corner. or is that their plan.

as long as mocha beans is still about i'll be happy. in enjoy going in for fresh bags of their sumatran coffee. it's so good. much better than their house blend.

Fenster

Some of those prices are savages, and I'm eaten at high-end restaurants. O.o

mdo

dafunk wrote: »

I've eaten in Ard Bia quite a few times and have found the food to be great. From what I can tell they do one of the best damn breakfast frys around and it's 9.50. That's not bad.

Breakfast was good... Fry was great and the Blueberry pancakes too!...I'm not knocking the quality, just the poor service... not crowded either.... I asked for a coffee refill, never got it. Once the waiter (who acted like a manager or owner) brought our food, he sat down at a table with a waitress who was having breakfast and they talked the whole time we had breakfast. No opportunities for more coffee or juice. After a considerable wait, I had to get up to get someone to take our money. I still left a good tip.....I'm used to having an expensive breakfast when in Los Angeles or at upscale hotels... but used to good service when I pay premium prices. At $75 euro (15 euro tip) , I expected more...

leninbenjamin

mdo wrote: »

At $75 euro (15 euro tip) , I expected more...

you really shouldn't have left the tip then. that just encourages them (or is it discourages... meh... )

15eruo is a massive tip for Ireland really, especially considering it's only breakfast.

cornbb

mdo wrote: »

Breakfast was good... Fry was great and the Blueberry pancakes too!...I'm not knocking the quality, just the poor service... not crowded either.... I asked for a coffee refill, never got it. Once the waiter (who acted like a manager or owner) brought our food, he sat down at a table with a waitress who was having breakfast and they talked the whole time we had breakfast. No opportunities for more coffee or juice. After a considerable wait, I had to get up to get someone to take our money. I still left a good tip.....I'm used to having an expensive breakfast when in Los Angeles or at upscale hotels... but used to good service when I pay premium prices. At $75 euro (15 euro tip) , I expected more...

When service sucks in this country its generally because the waiters/waitresses don't expect the 10-20% tip which is virtually mandatory in the US. People are generally only expected to tip in restaurants, not in hotels, cafes or pubs, and even then the staff aren't relying on it as a huge part of their income.

Its not an excuse for crappy service though, with a €75 bill for breakfast I'd expect decent service. Coffee refills generally aren't free however. But €6 for a glass of OJ is appalling.

mdo

cornbb wrote: »

Its not an excuse for crappy service though, with a €75 bill for breakfast I'd expect decent service. Coffee refills generally aren't free however. But €6 for a glass of OJ is appalling.

I agree on the OJ.... I've had breakfast in Berverly Hills, California and paid less for orange juice.......Paying for the coffee refill wasn't an issue.... we had good food, poor service... that can happen almost anywhere, anytime....

This was our first vacation to Ireland.. Glad we picked Galway, had the time of my life...met the nicest people I've ever met, and wouldn't let poor service at one cafe spoil a dream vacation....

inisboffin

Yeah, a couple of posters made a good point about the tip (and I lived in the US for so long, I still do it anyway).
A good friend used to frequent a breakfast place on the West Coast of the US, I ate there sometimes with her and got great service and loved it. We always tipped well. One person we knew was notorious for being a bit stingy with the change, and he would leave maybe 10-15 percent on a good day. I have to say, I had breakfast with him, and our service from the SAME waitress that usually helped my (other) friend, practically ignored us and the food was late.

People are motivated by tips sometimes, and it is true that we should reward good service. I got into the habit of tipping 15 percent minimum over in the US, and 20 if the service was good but it doesn't seem to have the same function here. And sounds like your waiter was on a break!~ Probably 8-10 percent would have sufficed in your case mdo (good food, slow service)

Glad you had fun though, and enjoyed Galway

Fey!

On tipping, does anyone here tip if there is a) a service charge or b) bad service. And if service is particularly bad, would anyone here refuse to pay the service charge? Finally, do all restaurants give the service charge to their staff?

dafunk

The service in there is hit or miss it seems. I've had fantastic service on a number of occasions and crap service once or twice. The last time I was there the service was atrocious so I left a 1 euro tip. I think an insulting tip lets them know that the service was bad, more so even than no tip at all. You're mad to tip 15 euro if the service was bad!!

mdo

dafunk wrote: »

You're mad to tip 15 euro if the service was bad!!

Not mad.. made a mistake....don't think that 15 euro will cause a bankruptcy....will not make the same one twice... very unlikely that I'll eat there when I return..

I was in Bazaar last night and they charged me 2euro for a cup of tea. I asked the bartender at the time if they accepted laser card, he said yes, and when I asked if he accepted it for tea, he immediately said, no. It was a friends 21st and I didn't have any cash on me (wasn't out to drink), and just wanted some tea while I waited.

As for Ard Bia. I checked them out once, for valentines day. Looked at their menu and instantly decided against it. Ended up in Martines aka Quay Street Wine Bar, on Quay Street. Delicious. I whole-heartidly recommend it to anyone.

inisboffin

Fey! wrote: »

On tipping, does anyone here tip if there is a) a service charge or b) bad service. And if service is particularly bad, would anyone here refuse to pay the service charge? Finally, do all restaurants give the service charge to their staff?

I still have the tipping thing ingrained from living in the States, also my folks (who are Irish) have always been tippers for some reason (and they were never loaded), so I sort of grew up with it. I think I would still tip if the food was ****e but the service was good, I would tip less than normal if reversed.
If it was somewhere I went a lot that were having a bad night, likely still tip but lower. If they p*ssed me off enough I would leave nothing.

Not sure about service charge, I honestly think that depends on the place who gets it. I would only tip above that for exceptional service (rowdy bunch/lots of running for the waiters/extra stuff given etc)

Was at a mild-mannered hen at the G recently, we had lounge food, staff were lovely. We asked about tipping on the credit receipt, and the Waitress said better in cash, so not sure if that was about tax or how they divided it up - either way she deserved a big tip for her service.

galwaybabe

3.10 for a takeaway mocha in Arabica beside Joyce's in Knocknacarra

inisboffin

Jaysus! Hope it was big enough to swim in!

gurramok

When i've gone to Galway city on my flying visits, i've always dropped into Trisha's cafe near the docks end for grub, think it's on Abbeygate st.

Not overpriced and its great homemade stuff for brekkie which i've always been full afterwards!

Krieg

Sorry to go off-topic but..
Am I the only one who thinks Mocha Beans coffee is ****?
Id compare it to hot water being filtered through cat litter with rats milk and those mugs! they remind me of an inverted breast.

The idea of paying 3.10 for that kinda of coffee is beyond my realm of belief