Cool cafes in Central Dublin

cloud493

I'm quite a fan of moda in rathmines. Food's a little over priced, but 2 quid for a cup of tea and a sit down.

killbillvol2

cloud493 wrote: »

I'm quite a fan of moda in rathmines. Food's a little over priced, but 2 quid for a cup of tea and a sit down.

€6.95 for the all day breakfast is good value.

SebBerkovich

Cafe Irie in temple bar was really good - sadly i hear it closed down recently enough. pity.

cloud493

killbillvol2 wrote: »

€6.95 for the all day breakfast is good value.

I don't think its that good though.

sky2424

Thought the same about cafe irie too- til I saw this. In hindsight I'm kinda not surprised- always wondered what happened behind the curtains at the till!!

http://www.fsai.ie/news_centre/press_releases/jan_enforcements_11022013.html

SebBerkovich

sky2424 wrote: »

Thought the same about cafe irie too- til I saw this. In hindsight I'm kinda not surprised- always wondered what happened behind the curtains at the till!!

http://www.fsai.ie/news_centre/press_releases/jan_enforcements_11022013.html

Weird, didn't know thats the reason it went down - also i notice Camden Kitchen on there, that's still open any idea why that's still around while irie is gone?

Dick Turnip

Went to Urban Picnic in George's Arcade for lunch today. Honestly had one of the nicest sandwiches ever - beef medallion ciabata with pepper sauce/mayo and a small side salad. €8 and worth every bit, the beef was very tender.

The cafe itself is small, just two long benches which may not be to everybody's liking but it was to mine. Maybe if it was busier and I was eating face to face with a perfect stranger I might think differently but I'll definitely be back

TTWNF

the Black Apple Cafe in Harold's Cross is great.... great food & top coffee

Ben D Bus

liffeylite wrote: »

also roasted brown in the IFI, temple bar.

Filmbase, not IFI?

liffeylite

Ben D Bus wrote: »

Filmbase, not IFI?

You are correct, my mistake.

IFI does have a cool café bar also though

Dub13

On the northside The Lovinspoon on north Frederick Street is a great spot.

AsianDub

Stage Door Cafe in Temple Bar is nice. Didn't eat, just had a few glasses of wine. Service was friendly.

Koptain Liverpool

Dord wrote: »

Accents turned off the sockets as people were abusing it. They said they either had to put up the price of drinks which is unfair, or turn off the sockets as the bill was too high. Makes sense in fairness. I'd rather have cheaper coffee.

It's for reasons like this that I don't like that place.
What were people doing - plugging in tumble driers??

liffeylite

wanted to add the new oolong flower power tea café on Stephen street. over 150 different types of tea!! :eek:

AsianDub

I like Bleekers on Dorset Street.

strandroad

Koptain Liverpool wrote: »

It's for reasons like this that I don't like that place.
What were people doing - plugging in tumble driers??

It's a common problem in cafes with comfy seats and long hours; people set up their offices there, block the seats, use up power and sit over one tea pot for half a day. You'd have to ask them to buy something or leave to make room for paying customers which looks horrible and puts onlookers off big time. Much easier to turn off the sockets to protect the business.

ProudDUB

mhge wrote: »

It's a common problem in cafes with comfy seats and long hours; people set up their offices there, block the seats, use up power and sit over one tea pot for half a day. You'd have to ask them to buy something or leave to make room for paying customers which looks horrible and puts onlookers off big time. Much easier to turn off the sockets to protect the business.

Didn't the old Bewleys go out of business, as too many people were coming in and reading the newspapers all day long, but only ever buying a cup of tea and a sticky bun? Meanwhile, very expensive city centre rents had to be paid.

I really miss the old Bewleys coffee shop set up. The current set up makes it feel a bit like a cattle mart - get the punters in and get them out as quickly as possible. You do want to create an atmosphere where customers can sit back and relax. But then there are the customers who will sit there all day long and just take the piss. With everyone these days having lap tops and smart phones and a need for wifi and electricity, it is a very tough business model to get just right.

Dub13

ProudDUB wrote: »

Didn't the old Bewleys go out of business, as too many people were coming in and reading the newspapers all day long, but only ever buying a cup of tea and a sticky bun? .

Surly its not a Dublin only problem, how do cafes in other city's deal with this..?

strandroad

ProudDUB wrote: »

Didn't the old Bewleys go out of business, as too many people were coming in and reading the newspapers all day long, but only ever buying a cup of tea and a sticky bun? Meanwhile, very expensive city centre rents had to be paid.

I really miss the old Bewleys coffee shop set up. The current set up makes it feel a bit like a cattle mart - get the punters in and get them out as quickly as possible. You do want to create an atmosphere where customers can sit back and relax. But then there are the customers who will sit there all day long and just take the piss. With everyone these days having lap tops and smart phones and a need for wifi and electricity, it is a very tough business model to get just right.

It's not only that; in one cafe there was a notice to please not consume food one's brought on the premises; I was like "wow does it really happen" and the staff said it does, to the degree they had to put it up. People were really coming in for the day, on one coffee purchase.

EyeSight

Dub13 wrote: »

Surly its not a Dublin only problem, how do cafes in other city's deal with this..?

most shops have seating that isn't too comfortable. For 30 mins they are fine but try sitting on them for over an hour.
It is still a big problem for them but they make money back off having great foot traffic meaning more takeout orders.
As i said before, i love accents but it pisses me off when i order a coffee and then find there's no seats because some people are sitting for hours. If you ask to share the table they get quite annoyed

ProudDUB

Dub13 wrote: »

Surly its not a Dublin only problem, how do cafes in other city's deal with this..?

No, I agree. It is probably a problem that all coffee shops in city centres have to deal with, not just Dublin's. I just brought Bewley in particular up, as they were a uniquely Dublin institution. Am sure that a lot of other cities have their own versions of Bewleys too, and that they face the very same problems that Bewleys do/did.

Aard

Noticed a new cafe opened on Dawson St - Walter Mitty. Has anyone tried it yet?

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When it comes to customers hogging tables, I can understand both sides. You want to be able to relax - read the paper, post on boards etc - but the cafe needs to turn a profit. I think that when you've been there with an empty cup longer than with something in the cup that you've overstayed your welcome. It would be good if everyone abided by an unspoken rule, but sometimes you need to move people on. I think that's fair enough, especially if there's a group taking up lots of seats.

Speedsie

Aard wrote: »

Noticed a new cafe opened on Dawson St - Walter Mitty. Has anyone tried it yet?

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When it comes to customers hogging tables, I can understand both sides. You want to be able to relax - read the paper, post on boards etc - but the cafe needs to turn a profit. I think that when you've been there with an empty cup longer than with something in the cup that you've overstayed your welcome. It would be good if everyone abided by an unspoken rule, but sometimes you need to move people on. I think that's fair enough, especially if there's a group taking up lots of seats.

Walter Mitty is owned by the guy behind Cafe Sol, I haven't been in, so I can't comment.

My mother told me that Bewley's was set up like that so that very impoverished people could come in & have a tea & bun and discretely leave. Part of the Quaker ethos I suppose.
It's a little like the 'Suspended Coffee' concept that's doing the rounds at the moment.

reprazant

Any food that was not sold that day in Bewleys was given out to the homeless at the close of business.

On the weekends, when it closed for the hour (about 4 I think?), there would be a queue of homeless people outside waiting for their cake.

tmc86

Aard wrote: »

Noticed a new cafe opened on Dawson St - Walter Mitty. Has anyone tried it yet?

Great little spot, very New York-esque design to it and the coffee is goooood!

billymitchell

The Mayfield and Spoon in Terenure Road North are really good cafes too.
The food in Mayfield is excellent if a tad on the expensive side. Spoon is slightly cheaper, but the food isnt as good as Mayfield(still really good though)

Hootanany

There is a super place just up from Cafe Noto only open Thursday till Sunday it has a Monkey in a Chair on the sign Mingles Marcade I think it called very ecclective even has a cinema inside and a couple of coffee shops in it really good

worded

Dub13 wrote: »

Surly its not a Dublin only problem, how do cafes in other city's deal with this..?

In Prague Macdonalds have power points at every table and even provide power docks for iPhones

Wireless - there are ways to provide wireless keys / passwords every 30 mins or hour. They expired ? Buy another beverage

The irish way of dealing with this is everyone with a laptop or smart phone that needs power can f off.

LizT

Surprised Cup on Nassau Street hasn't been mentioned. Great coffee and good food too. Bit small though.

Aard

I wasn't too impressed with Cup. Seemed pretty expensive for the portion sizes.