Avoca - Dunboyne

scudzilla

Anyone been in there yet? Wife told me i was taking her yesterday (Friday), arrived at 10:15 and the place was jammers, Security Guard on the roadway leading in saying car park was full and i had to move on, luckily enough 3 cars drove out at that exact moment so i said there must be 3 places now so he let me in.

Was rammed alright, only took about 5 mins before she was giving me kicks in the shin as everything i picked up to look at was followed by a very loud "How Much!!!!"

quite a few snobby customers in there, marching around wit noses in the air, cafe was ok but again expensive, 14euro for 2 latte's and 2 scones.

Have this pizza truck in the back courtyard, don't think it was one of these places where you could order a 12", guess it was per slice

So many staff working there, everywhere yo looked there was someone pottering about, maybe that's why the car park was full cos they all drove in??

Don't think i'll be back there in a hurry

mr_edge_to_you

We would call into other Avoca shops if we were in the area. In fairness to them, the food they serve is fairly good. Granted it's not cheap but I feel it's a fair price.

However the other stuff they sell is ridiculous. A few years ago I saw some posh one spending 14e on a fancy thing of Flahavans porridge. Crazy carry on! But if people are stupid enough to buy it, why wouldn't ya sell it?

It does look like the car park might be a bit tight. Not sure if theres any scope to extend it.

It's definitely a great addition to the area..

secman

Was in there on the opening night, it's very well finished, nice ambience to it. But it is pricey, food is lovely though and garden centre (franchised) is not bad price wise. I'd say it will do well for the food alone and the bakery too, can't best smell of fresh bread being baked . It would even make Putin smile

Dubh Geannain

scudzilla wrote: »

Anyone been in there yet? Wife told me i was taking her yesterday (Friday), arrived at 10:15 and the place was jammers, Security Guard on the roadway leading in saying car park was full and i had to move on, luckily enough 3 cars drove out at that exact moment so i said there must be 3 places now so he let me in.

Drove past yesterday. The cars were parked out on the bohereen (both sides) out past the Kilsarin entrance.

scudzilla

Dubh Geannain wrote: »

Drove past yesterday. The cars were parked out on the bohereen (both sides) out past the Kilsarin entrance.

Just a matter of time before there's a bad accident around the area

PauloMN

Haven't been yet, I'm sure we will sometime soon though. It'll calm down a bit once the novelty wears off. I'm happy to browse around such places and just grab a coffee, the stuff they sell would not really be aimed at me, but I'd say it'd be ok for buying a fancy gift for someone.

As regards the prices, sure if people buy it, why not? I'm certainly happy to see a good brand name in there rather than an empty shell, good for the local area and jobs etc.. Good luck to them, hope they are there for many years to come.

jeffk

Went in for a look as herself was dying to go in.

Maybe because it was a Saturday, but if you have encountered blanch shopping centre at Christmas then you know what to expect.

Carpark is big enough, handy if people learn how to use it, like park your jeeps etc in one space, there’s plenty of spaces so don’t park on road or drive around and around for no reason

After that the its some setup, I think you name it they had it, chemist type thing, butchers/fish/deli counters, café, restaurant, wine shop, main shop with everything and anything. Separate company garden centre.

The prices where madness (teapot, E65 as an example) and of course the clientele (D4 wannabes) to match said prices.

ongarboy

Tried to go yesterday Sunday but turned around outside because a carpark full sign was up. They had cones and tape blocking off the fronts of private homes in the road outside as people obviously had been parking there previously. They also don't allow right turns out of the junction onto the main road to Dunshaughlin because of the congestion.

I thought the initial novelty would have worn off but seemingly not. I think I'll wait til some rainy weekend afternoon in September before I attempt again as I've a feeling this place will be jammers for the whole summer.

scudzilla

Has it dies down yet? My daughter is over next weekend and wife want to go there next Sat :(

ongarite

Nope, its still as busy as ever even on weekdays. Was there on Friday lunchtime, had to drive around for 10 mins to get a parking space.
Saturday will be mental..
Heard rumour of extra parking in park n ride at train station & then being bused over to Avoca.

shane b

Was there 2 weeks ago on Sunday. There was park attendants blocking entrance to the main carpark and they directed us and several other cars to the park and ride at the train station. Mini bus picked us up about 15 mins later. We had walk around, something to eat and got the minibus back to the train station.

niallb

I've been in there twice in the early morning around 8:30, and parking is fine then.
Good butcher and lots of cheese. I wasn't expecting so much food to be on sale, but then I'd never really been in any of the others much.
They're open until 7, and they mark down the prices on a load of stuff (like cakes) for the last hour.

mr_edge_to_you

Park n ride for a cup of tea and bun. World's gone mad!

jeffk

mr_edge_to_you wrote: »

Park n ride for a cup of tea and bun. World's gone mad!

Dont forget its probably some special tea infused with something and the same could be said for the bun (prices are not THAT bad though)

mr_edge_to_you

jeffk wrote: »

Dont forget its probably some special tea infused with something and the same could be said for the bun (prices are not THAT bad though)

They do lovely jam infused donuts in SuperValu in Ashbourne.

CUCINA

Nearly a year on and I'm surprised that the car park continues to be quite full at weekends. My wife and I were there a while back and neither of us was impressed. The prices generally were ridiculously expensive.
If you were to ask a regular visitor why they went there they would probably say: "I like it because there is a little bit of everything."
Whereas if you asked someone who went once and wouldn't be pushed about going back, they'd probably say, "well, there's not much of anything".
I would agree with a previous poster, though, that it is better to have a busy commercial entity there than an empty shell.

NufcNavan

A massive playground for bored housewives who enjoy being ripped off because it shows that they can 'afford' it.

JupiterKid

In fairness, the food Avoca serve up at their cafes is very good and the portions are generous. Yes it’s pricey but the quality is good. Most of their tat like teapots, toys, smellies and books are grossly overpriced but you can pick up good value in the menswear section if you have a good look around.

Avoca is clearly aimed at women with artisanal and upwardly mobile notions, there is no doubt about that. Think of the “ladies who lunch.” I’ve seen a few gay male couples there too.

I find the Dunboyne Avoca a bit sterile though, compared to their outlets in Wicklow. Kilmacanogue in particular is lovely and in a beautiful setting but completely rammed at weekends. Better to go mid week if you can. The nicest Avoca eatery is the Garden Cafe at Mount Usher in Wicklow. Fern in Kilmacanogue is very good too and does dinner at weekends.

But it’s definitely a welcome addition to County Meath and also serves Dublin 15 which is a huge market.