Dublin. Three Cafés Worth Noting in or near Museums

Cuppa by Cuppa in Dublin. 

Three Unheralded Cafés Worth Noting in or near Museums 

This is the narrowest point of the huge CHQ dining area. It widens considerably as you walk
further in with generous seating and a choices of cafes eager to feed you.

Just back from a whirlwind 4-day trip to Dublin, and my feet are still in recovery-mode, but my heart (and stomach) is full.

If you are planning a catch-up tour of the Fair City, prepare yourself for either a serious step-count or an enhanced Uber bill. We found a healthy mix of both worked a treat. Staying near St Stephen’s Green, we kept our radius manageable: wandering down through Temple Bar, crossing the Liffey to O’Connell Street, and dipping into the cultural gems of Kildare Street (including the nearby National Gallery that has its own bright and airy café).

Our longest trek was out to the spectacular EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum on Custom House Quay. We split the difference—smoothly cruising out there via a €12.83 Uber and enjoying a lazy, scenic stroll back to the centre.

When you're on the move between Dublin's heavy-hitter attractions, it does no harm to prepare a lunch plan. Did you know that some of the city's best culinary surprises are tucked right inside its modern museums?

Here are three smaller spots that served us incredibly well.

1. Tír Deli at EPIC (The CHQ Building)

The Vibe: A soaring, glass-roofed cathedral of casual food.

The History: This massive space once hosted a "Great National Banquet" in 1856 to honour 3,600 veterans of the Crimean War, while 1,000 civilian onlookers watched from a gallery above!

The Food: Today, the "battle" is simply choosing a lunch spot. Surrounded by strong competition like Seven Wonders and Bakehouse, Tír Deli got our vote for its dedication to seasonal Irish produce. Despite the post-museum rush, their efficient queueing system had us sorted in no time. We grabbed a piping hot tomato soup and a killer chicken sandwich, scored a seat right outside their door, and ate while the Dublin sunshine flooded through the glass overhead.

Green Kitchen's not too far
away from The Spire!

 2. The Green Kitchen Café at the GPO Museum

The Vibe: An oasis of pure joy hidden right off bustling O'Connell Street.

The Mission: This isn't just a café; it's a brilliant social enterprise partnering with the charity WALK. They provide meaningful training and employment opportunities for adults with intellectual disabilities and autism.

The Experience: The GPO Museum downstairs delivers a powerful, compact history of the 1916 Easter Rising. But when you step upstairs into this light-filled courtyard café, you are greeted by lots of space and smiles galore. We stopped in for a quick cuppa, but it was worth the visit just to catch a whiff of the absolute happiness that abounds here. Great food, great community, great cause.

3. The Commons Café at MoLI (Museum of Literature Ireland)

The Vibe: Literary elegance meets lingering lunchers.

The Secret: Tucked on the edge of St Stephen’s Green, this impressively renovated building features its own hidden entrance to the beautiful Iveagh Gardens out back. While the museum itself left us wondering exactly what the grand budget was spent on (it's beautiful, but light on exhibits unless you are a die-hard James Joyce fan), the café is an absolutely relaxing spot.

Reuben & soup at The Commons

The Food: Managed by Gather + Gather (whose Culinary Lead is Corkman Jack O'Keeffe), the service here was exceptionally warm. I thoroughly enjoyed a rich tomato soup paired with a classic Reuben, while CL found the Irish-sourced Kish smoked salmon to be just the job. Open 10am to 5pm daily, it's a perfect sanctuary from the city noise. And, if you fancy a post-prandial stroll, you've got the Iveagh Gardens at the rear, St Stephens Green at the front.

What About a "Big Lunch"?

A full sit-down lunch wasn't on our daily radar, though we had a spectacular one lined up at King Sitric in Howth until a sudden bug scuppered our plans! If you are looking for a heavier midday meal back in the city centre, add these to your notebook:

Lucio’s: (by Ross Lewis). Brilliant, but note they only do lunch on Thursdays!

L’Gueuleton: A fantastic French bistro option open every day.

The Vintage Kitchen: A beloved local gem for exceptional Irish cooking.

Urban Brewing: Located right next to EPIC in the CHQ vaults, serving up fantastic O’Hara’s brews and hearty bites.

Dublin is a city best devoured one neighbourhood—and one café—at a time. We barely scratched the surface in four days!

* We'll have info on evening dining in Dublin, including La Maison, in a soon to be published post.

** Also on this trip:

The lively Bouef & Frites in Temple Bar.

METROPOLE HOTEL TO HOST UNIQUE EVENING OF FRENCH FOOD AND FILM

press release

THE METROPOLE HOTEL TO HOST UNIQUE EVENING OF FRENCH FOOD AND FILM 

Historic Cork city hotel partners with Alliance Française de Cork for “Projection Gourmande”

Alex Petit

The Metropole Hotel in Cork city is partnering with Alliance Française de Cork for a unique event that celebrates the rich flavours and traditions of French cuisine and cinema.

“Projection Gourmande” is an immersive dining experience curated by Alliance Française de Cork President Valérie David-McGonnell alongside Trigon Hotels’ French Executive Chef Alex Petit.

The event takes place on Friday, October 9th from 7.00pm to 10.30pm in the hotel’s recently renovated Douglas Vance Suite.

Guests will enjoy a specially designed four-course meal inspired by regional dishes from across France. This will be followed by a screening of Sébastien Tulard’s 2023 acclaimed French film Sugar & Stars, a heartwarming story centred on the journey of a young French chef pursuing his culinary dreams. 

Alex Petit said: “I’m really excited about this menu as it gives the team of chefs at the Metropole Hotel a fantastic opportunity to use locally sourced ingredients and give them a French twist. In designing the menu, I was inspired by some of the most-loved dishes from my home country such as soufflé and Bouillabaisse. It is a privilege to team up with Alliance Française de Cork which has been instrumental in some memorable events in Cork in recent years and I have no doubt that Projection Gourmande will be one of those unique experiences for food and film fans.”

Valérie David-McGonnell added: “There is a great appetite for French film in Cork and we are delighted to partner with Alex and the team at the Metropole for this event. Alex is a fantastic chef and has designed a wonderful menu that can be enjoyed in the intimate setting of the Douglas Vance suite followed by the screening of the highly acclaimed Sugar & Stars, a real French cinematic treat.”

The menu includes:

Starter

Ficelle Picarde

or
Soufflé au Comté

Main Course

Boeuf Bourguignon
or
Bouillabaisse

Cheese Course

Irish Cheese Plate
Brie de Meaux, Ossau-Iraty, Sainte-Maure

Dessert

Crème Brûlée
or
Tarte Tatin with Vanilla Ice Cream

Tickets are from €90.81 and are available on Eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/projection-gourmande-tickets-1990569071678?aff=od

Boeuf et Frites. Two track menu! All about the beef and the buzz at this friendly fast-paced Temple Bar venue.

Boeuf et Frites. Two track menu!

All about the beef and the buzz at this friendly fast-paced Temple Bar venue.

Boeuf et Frites  has a central Temple Bar location. It features exposed brick and chandeliers, and serves prime Irish steak or chicken with unlimited garlic bread and bottomless frites. And that’s about it apart from a solo dessert offering.

Despite the chandeliers and the old style gilt framed landscapes, this is a lively venue and also a very popular one, so best to book before you go. Our visit on a Monday night saw the venue packed.

We were escorted to our seats and, even before we got settled, that Warm French baguette with roast garlic butter starter was served. And, don’t worry, more arrived on our table in minutes.

Service is fast for sure but it is also very friendly and helpful and there’s a great atmosphere here.The first choice you have to make is either go chicken or steak. You may have Irish chargrilled half chicken — rosemary, thyme & garlic, red wine gravy or Chargrilled peri peri half chicken — lemon and chilli peri peri sauce, each served with Caesar leaves and bottomless frites. CL picked the first option, absolutely delicious, perfectly cooked. Hard to beat that one, though I'm sure the Peri Peri would have been fine also. 

My options were the 7oz Prime Irish Fillet  or 10oz Prime Irish Striploin. Six sauces were offered and my pick was the fillet with the Red Wine Jus. Some of the other sauces were Brandy Peppercorn, Classic Béarnaise, and Mushroom. Like the chicken, the chosen fillet came with Caesar leaves and bottomless fries (and yes, extra fries were regularly volunteered).

All the while, we were sipping from a Malbec (Languedoc) at €9.50 a glass, Aromatic and full bodied, it was very much at home here and very much appreciated. Despite the lively pace, there was no rush at all when it came to the dessert: Profiteroles with warm chocolate sauce. In any case, the tempting dessert was rather swiftly dispatched!

Back at Hotel Marlin, I was delighted to see Wicklow Wolf Elevation Pale and a series of Teeling whiskey available in the bar. Over the week, that beer became our friend, of course we knew it well from previous occasions, but it is that little bit better on draught as was the case here. The Teeling Whiskey was, as you’d expect, top class, and the trio sipped were Small Batch, Single Grain and Single Malt. Cheers!

Also on this trip:

Food at Dublin Museums and Galleries.

The O'Briens Wine Fest Returns to Cork! Hayfield Manor is the new venue.

The O'Briens Wine Fest Returns to Cork! 

Hayfield Manor is the new venue.

The O’Briens wine festival, a regular feature of late autumn in Cork until Covid struck, makes a welcome return next month (Oct 8) with no less than 20 winemakers present and showcasing their portfolios. Hayfield Manor is the new venue and you may get your tickets at O'Briens in Douglas. Sounds like a good one!

Chilli Con Carne and the mute robotic serving assistant get the attention at The Barn

Chilli Con Carne and the silent robotic serving assistant get the attention at The Barn

Chilli Con Carne

Once upon a time, not so long ago, the Barn was a by-word for old fashioned courtesy, superb service and generous portions of well-cooked and presented food, with soft piano music in the background. If you wanted to contact it on online six or seven years ago, you’d find it almost impossible.

Then came Covid. For 40 years, The Barn has served dinner and Sunday lunch to the people of Cork.  After Covid and huge slow-paced renovations, they decided for the first time ever, to open for breakfast, brunch and dinner.

The robotic assistant

And the new generation was internet savvy and you could, and can, find out all you need to know about times and menus online. Order and pay by QR from your table (no cash, by the way). 

And they also have a robot. Not quite a server but more an assistant that brings your dish to the table, and your server  (human!) completes the task by taking the dish from the "robot" and placing it in front of you as before.

Automobiles roll in every morning of the week at 8.30am for the expansive Breakfast and Brunch menus and it continues all day long with enticing Lunch and (most recently) Evening offerings. The post-Covid formula proved an instant hit and that expanded carpark is often close to full during a typical day. 

Breakfast is served until 11.30am. You may start with Granola or Porridge, lots of egg dishes available also, as well as the Full Barn.

Brunch runs from 8.30pm to 4.00pm and the offerings are along classic lines including Eggs Benedict and Eggs Royale and also pancakes and waffles along with tea and coffee of course, hot chocolate too.

The menu for the day is in magazine format, colourful and informative.
This is just the egg dishes.

The award-winning carvery runs from noon until 7.00pm and it is rather splendid with all kinds of meats, vegetables, and sauces available in generous quantities. 

Our most recent visit saw CL choose the carvery. She picked the turkey (with stuffing) and, from quite a list, creamy cauliflower, mashed and roast potato and carrots. By the way, you have to go and get the carvery yourself, no robotic help.

But my main dish did come by robot. Five foot tall or so, it moves, smoothly and silently, up the aisles in a white trim, doesn’t say a word but stops right by your table. The "wired-up" server arrived, from a different direction, more or less simultaneously, and put my Chilli Con Carne on the table in front of me.

I didn't get a comment on the rpbot but our server told me earlier that my dish was very popular. They use an “authentic traditional recipe” with the best ground beef and beans and a choice of rice or chips or both. 

On first bite, it seemed to be very spicy indeed but I soon got into the swing of things and found it very enjoyable overall. I had picked half rice and half fries; next time, I’ll go all rice as the chips were on the hard side.

Honeycomb Charlotte

Not a carvery fan? No worries. You may choose from Salads, Burgers, Fish and Chips, Sandwiches, Pizza and Pasta dishes, with no shortage of sides. Look out for the Jack McCarthy Black Pudding Salad, with Roasted Walnuts, Boiled Egg, Baby Spinach & Home-made Bacon and Apple Jam.

And, after all that, you have about ten desserts to choose from! We did choose one (for sharing), the sweeter than sweet Honeycomb Charlotte, white chocolate, fresh cream and honeycomb, decorated with silky caramel and honeycomb.

An all-weather extension (retractable roof) with views over the fields towards Glanmire

The Barn's restaurant space is huge, up to 300 covers. There is an large outdoor dining area which is enclosed, by glass, in winter (with expansive views of the nearby countryside). Plenty of life inside here in the Barn, people talking, servers constantly moving, perhaps not as much as before thanks to their silent assistant! You may also see examples of this new tech in the Briar Rose and the Marina Market.

The Cove at Fota Island Resort welcomes Macallan Whisky for an intimate dining experience

The Cove at Fota Island Resort 

welcomes Macallan Whisky for 

an intimate dining experience

The Cove at Fota Island Resort is collaborating with The Macallan Whisky to host an intimate and informative dining experience on Friday, 25th September.

 

Set in the heart of the 5-star resort, The Cove is an elegant setting for an enjoyable evening discovering The Macallan expressions paired with dishes from Executive Head Chef Satish Jothi and the culinary team, guided by The Macallan's whisky expert.

 

The evening begins at 7:00pm with a welcome drink and a selection of elegant canapés including; Rossmore Oysters with green apple & The Macallan shallot mignonette and Artisan Bruschetta Selection featuring pickled Garryhinch Wild Mushrooms, pear, Cashel Blue Cheese mousse & fig chutney, and hand-cut beef tartare with quail egg & Oscietra Caviar.

 

You’ll take your seat for a specially curated five-course dinner with a menu that features fine local produce, starting with Glenmar scallops with apple purée, celeriac brown butter and Oscietra Caviar with dill oil to begin. Followed by orange & star anise cured Skeaghanore Duck with cherry, beetroot and hazelnut, and Glenmar turbot with Ballycotton Lobster, Fota Garden wild garlic mousseline and Champagne velouté with charred leek, sea herbs and smoked roe.

 

The showstopper dish is a 45-day dry-aged Irish Hereford beef fillet with oxtail pressing, wild mushroom & black truffle duxelles, saffron potato fondant, charred baby carrot, and a Macallan Bone Marrow Jus.

 

To finish, guests will be treated to Valrhona Guanaja Chocolate,  a 70% Guanaja chocolate with salted caramel, roasted barley ice-cream and a Macallan Whisky caramel with cocoa nib tuile plus a selection of petit fours.

 

Throughout the evening, guests will be guided by The Macallan's whisky expert, who will share the heritage, craftsmanship, and distinctive character behind one of Scotland's most celebrated single malt whiskies, while enjoying an exceptional menu created to complement each expression.

 

A dedicated adult-only dining experience, The Cove is designed for a more relaxed pace in a low-lit, intimate setting in the heart of Fota Island Resort, home to warm Irish hospitality.

 

Tickets are €90 per person and include:

 

· 5 Course Tasting Menu

 

· 5 Paired Macallan Scotch Whisky Tastings

 

· A guided experience by a Macallan Scotch Whisky Expert

 

· A Macallan gift bag to take home. 

 

To book see Eventbrite.

Make a night of it and stay at Fota Island Resort for €260 including breakfast the following morning, to find out more visit fotaisland.ie.

press release

All the food and fun of FeastCork 2026.

 FeastCork 2026. All the food and fun from yesterday

All pics by Joleen Cronin 06.09.2026

Clodagh Neville, aged 5, from Midleton, with Róisín Bergin, host of Zumbini,
in the Family Fun Zone at fEast Cork 2026.

Barbara Hegarty and Aoibhinn Hayes of

Ireland's Tree of the Year 2019 will bewitch you in the Blarney Castle Gardens

Ireland's Tree of the Year 2019 will bewitch you  in the Blarney Castle Gardens

Pics: 09.05.2026

The amazing Witches Yew Tree (well, most of it) at @blarneycastleandgardens.
It was Ireland’s Tree of the Year in 2019.

 Celtic Peace Dove  by Nigel

Killarney abuzz as glorious summer morphs into golden autumn

Killarney abuzz as glorious summer morphs into golden autumn

Muckross gardens

An August morning stroll in Killarney

Afternoon visits to Killarney House and Muckross Gardens

Killarney is abuzz as glorious summer turns into golden autumn. We were there briefly last week and amazed to see the activity. Take Kenmare Place as an example. All the outdoor seating here, and there is quite a lot of it, was packed from morning into the evening, all enjoying

DUNLUCE LODGE UNVEILS AUTUMN SERIES OF FOOD AND WINE EXPERIENCES

 DUNLUCE LODGE UNVEILS AUTUMN SERIES OF FOOD AND WINE EXPERIENCES

Wine Vault

 

-Award-winning Executive Head Chef Stephen Holland puts the flavours of Northern Ireland centre stage at the five-star Portrush retreat-

 

Food lovers looking for an excuse to escape to the North Coast of Ireland this autumn can add Dunluce Lodge in Portrush to their diary, as the five-star hotel unveils a trio of special food and wine experiences celebrating exceptional local produce, international wines and some of the region’s finest culinary talent.

The intimate 35-suite Dunluce Lodge, overlooking the fourth fairway of Royal Portrush Golf Club and close to Whiterocks Beach, has quickly established itself as one of