Brick Alley Cafe

We were the first visitors to this cute little café near Temple Bar last Sunday, and they were quick to open up a bit early for us.
The food itself was good enough to fill a rumbling belly, but is more reminiscent of a greasy fry-​up than the standard brunch places I’m used to in London. The smoothies were nice and thick, and while a bit greasy, the American Breakfast gave me enough energy for a day’s walking around Dublin.
The staff themselves were super helpful too! They overheard us chatting about how to spend our day and gave us some really great recommendations for bars nearby for that evening!

Located in Temple bar this is not somewhere I would normally visit, however before visiting the IFI I decided to have a mooch in… I was extremely tempted by the hot chocolate menu on the outside and decided to order the gianduja hot choc. Wow. It was fantastic. Silky smooth chocolate with the right kick of praline running through. Extremely tasty. I would give the drink alone 5 stars however I didn’t think the café itself was worth that. Nothing standing out as eat me on the menu and the waitress didn’t seem too happy that on didn’t order any food. Will def come back for takeout hot choc though :)

Fairly terrible to be honest. Lasagne appeared to be out of a packet. Club sandwich had pre packed chicken on it. Everything was cold. Can’t recommend this I’m afraid!

I honestly do not like to write negative reviews for businesses, especially restaurants. Unfortunately, my experience today at Brick Alley was nothing short of terrible. First problem was the tea. It was filled with tea leaves and was extremely bitter. After asking for a glass of water 4 times I wasn’t brought one. I walked in and had to get one myself. I ordered a breakfast panini which sounded simple enough to make but we waited an hour and 15 minutes for what was the most sloppy excuse for a panini. All the bacon and sausages were premade. All they had to do was put all the pre made stuff on a piece of bread and it took over an hour. Not only did it take long but it was not even good. Should have stayed home and made a good breakfast myself. I highly recommend never going to Brick Alley. Terrible service, bad food, and awful ownership.

I love this place– the coffee, the food, and the atmosphere — topped off by really friendly staff. Can’t go wrong by going here in my opinion. It ended up being the comparison in mind whenever I tried another café throughout my travels across Ireland. None beat the coffee at brick alley. My only disappointment was to find they do not open till 9am, which meant I couldn’t make it my last stop before heading to the airport as i had hoped. Oh well, I’ll still be back on my next trip to Dublin. :)

Brick Alley Café, which I’ve probably walked past a million times without ever noticing, took part in the ’12 Cafes of Christmas’ today (thanks again for the tip, Don!), offering hot beverages at half price. The 20 different kinds of hot chocolate they advertise tempted me to go in.
It was dark and rainy but once through the door I instantly felt better. The café is lovely and warm and the staff was very welcoming.
From the menu I picked the coconut hot chocolate which was steaming hot and absolutely lovely. I love everything coconut so maybe I’m a bit biased but I would so go back there just for that!

Fantastic café atmosphere. Staff were very polite and service was prompt. Definitely recommend it.

Very nice little coffee shop. We needed to use a restroom and take a break, so we sat down here and had an espresso. While we sat, we were serenaded by some street performers and really had a nice time. The outdoor seating is nice if the weather holds up — excellent for people watching. If you want to escape the Temple Bar madness, just duck inside and have a seat at one of their little tables.
As with most little coffee shops, I could go hang out here any time.

We were in on a Sunday evening and apparently a lot of the menu was unavailable which was unfortunate.
I was exceptionally hung over and the waitress called me out for asking for ‘normal tea’ and not ‘regular tea’.
The toilets are weird. there’s a gap of a good 15 cm under the door of the ladies stall. The ladies and gents are right next to each other and people seem to ignore the signs on the doors. I’m a bit prudish (I totally admit to it!) so peeing while I could see the feet of the guy outside as he waited was really off putting and offended my ladylike sensibilities (which 1. I do have and 2. stop laughing) (3. No seriously stop laughing!)
My friends quite like the place so I’m sure I was just in on a bad day. I’ll give it another chance, another time.

The lunch special is definitely the thing to get (although out of the 4 menus only 1 actually advertised the special). It costs roughly the same as it does to get a main on its own, and is just about big enough to fill you for lunch. However if you are actually looking for a proper meal, I would go somewhere else.
They have a huge hot chocolate menu, BUT they didn’t have any of the fancy options when we were there. They also have a huge ice cream fridge, but only 2 flavours. The food was decent, but I would ask what they have available before sitting down and setting your heart upon something they don’t have.

The Temple Bar area was packed the night I was down there. Looking for a nice bowl of soup, we stumbled into the café. Great food options and a nice surprise with some local craft brew! A nice alternative to the pubs catering to tourists.

Stopped through here our first night in Dublin because our friend wanted some Shephard’s Pie and surprisingly, its not all that common in Dublin (I think its called Cottage Pie out there).
The prices are reasonable, but the food is just okay.

I ordered the apple cake and the lemon cheesecake; oh my goodness that was delicious! The apple cake was a thick layer of apples wedged between a beautiful cake-​like crust. It was served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The lemon cheesecake was super refreshing with the perfect amount of citrus flavour. It wasn’t as heavy as cheesecakes usually are. Both cakes were so lovely I can’t tell you which I liked more.
I love that they have all kinds of hot chocolates — it’s so hard to decide! I ended up picking hazelnut which in my opinion was just like drinking liquid Nutella. The place is small but in a nice cozy way (especially if you get the bench seats in the back).
Definitely coming back! Yum!

This place is fairly standard as far as layout and design — nice rustic vibe going on, seating is spread across two large tables and a bench, local art on the walls. The real victory here is the hot chocolate. Was blown away. I’m not even that mich of a hot chocolate dude but this was outstanding. Amaretto gave it a subtle cherry hint, texture was creamy but light enough that it wasnt like drinking a block of chocolate. You couldn’t just pop in quickly though, the specialty drinks take a while to prepare, but if you have the time, do check it out.

I was pretty excited about this place when I came through the door. Not sure how long it’s been here, but for some reason I’ve never noticed it, and it looked hella invitiing with all it’s nice lighting n shizzle. (I’m a sucker for nice lighting. Show me a candle and some fairy lights and I am there. Wonder is that something to do with getting old and wrinkley… hmmm…)
Anyway, in I went, and I was even more delighted when I saw the interior. Big massive tables with different groups sitting around casually comfortably chatting away. Benches up against the windows, perfect for looking out onto the dark gloomy day that was in it.
So I put down my bags and wet umbrella, and go up to the counter. The lady behind the counter stares at me in a kind of a «What dyu want, can’t you serve yourself?» kinda way. No words were exchanged, just a general stare down until I asked her for a menu. She blankly handed me the menu and I asked her if they had WiFi. «Yes» she said. Clearly not in the mood to elaborate further so. After (finally and painfully) establishing the WiFi password, I found what I wanted to eat, and went up to the counter to order. This time, both ladies behind the counter were deep in conversation with their backs to me. I waited. And waited. Cleared my throat a bit. Said «Excuse me…» (probably a bit pathetically I’ll admit!!!) They finally, reluctantly turned around, aaand back to the (blanker this time) stare-​down.
After I finally got everything ordered and set up, I really did enjoy having a sit down and enjoying this place. It is genuinely comfy, warm, with a whopper view of outside. No one bothers you when you’re on your laptop (obviously! See above para!), so I was gleefully waiting for my chicken salad to arrive to get proper settled in.
Said salad arrived, looking lovely, with two slices of soda bread in tow. Great stuff. Until I started eating it. The chicken was that reconstituted stuff you get that’s kinda solid and weird tasting. It was lukewarm which clearly meant it had been re-​heated to seem like real chicken. I wish they hadn’t bothered because it tasted so odd mixed in with the cold salad ingredients. The other problem was that this poor miserable salad was laced with dressing. As in, more soaked than I was by that fecking Irish rain before I came in the café. I got through about a quarter of the plate (I was starving!!!) before giving up and just eating the two slices of bread. I felt absolutely awful after eating that much, really really sick for a few hours afterwards.
It’s such a shame that the food and staff were so shoddy here as it’s such a nice space. I’m tempted to go back and maybe just get an icecream or something and be prepared for the staredown. Just so I can sit there.

Both times through Dublin I end up here for a double espresso macchiato, which isn’t on the menu but they do it anyways. Great prices for being in Temple Bar, locally owned, small on the inside but lots of love. Haven’t had the food here but this place is the local for coffee it seems

The Special is great value! For € 8.95 you get a Soup/​Salad bowl + Shepard’s Pie/​Lasange/​Beef Stew + Icecream.
The food was tasty though not out of this world.
The place is nice with big rustic tables. I really like their red coffee machine and was easily entertained by their flip clock.

Coffee joy was had here, pun on the old name Joy of Coffee
popped in here for a work thing. The coffee tastes really good and it seems as though there is a small little community of regulars who go here.
When you come off the street and into the place its warm and welcoming really nice.
Sergey the manager is a really nice guy, we had a great conversation about going surfing and where is good to go etc…
The music they play over the whole shop is really cool, funky with French vibes to it… something I very much like
Oh the have free Wi-​Fi boom… need I say more
ok I will…
I will definitely be returning her way more so relaxed, time really slows down here. I haven’t tried the food but I’m definitely going to have to taste some…
I will be back

The biggest plus about this place is the service. Kind, quick, and personable.
I didn’t try a tea or coffee so I may not have seen the best of Brick Alley, but my chocolate milkshake was a chocolate milk and the chicken panini was tasteless.
Too much money for too mediocre of a meal.

Have you ever been to a restaurant and had to share a table with some stranger? The awkward question — do you mind if I join you? You know the one. Well at the Brick Alley Café, it’s nothing like that. With only five large tables in the place, you often find yourself sitting beside a stranger and that’s half the charm — it’s cosy and welcoming — exactly what you want from a place! The furniture doesn’t match and the dimly lit coffee shop adds to the charm. The food is awesome and they open well into the evening — it’s fully licensed too.
Try the chicken panini with Camembert and cranberry sauce. Delish! I can’t comment on the coffee as I’e not had any from this place, but the tea is strong and the mugs are massive, so that’s ticked my box!
Definitely worth a try.
Tip: They don’t take cards — cash only
Tip: They do take out
Tip: Fully licensed bar

Obwohl ich schon von den leckeren Pancakes satt war, musste ich mir doch noch einen von diesen selbstgebackenen Fruit-​Scones kaufen. Obwohl direkt in Temple Bar gelegen, waren die Preise für unser Frühstück doch völlig in Ordnung. Das man an großen Tischen sitzt fanden wir auch sehr schön, dadurch kommt man leicht in Kontakt mit anderen Besuchern. Auch mein Mann war sehr zufrieden mit seinem Toast mit scrambled eggs, einzig das es keine poached eggs gab war etwas schade aber wirklich nur einbisschen. ;o)