Kylemore

While this place is by no means a five-​star establishment, I think the previous reviewers have been a bit harsh. You really get what you pay for. It’s in a central location, in a lovely building and well decorated inside. My friend and I came in for breakfast a few times. The buffet is very affordable and although they are skimpy with the portions, it’s a perfectly fine plate– I’d get the fried eggs with toast and hashbrowns, but they have your regular meat options for a standard fry. It also comes with a nice pot of tea.
There’s plenty of seating and the wifi works well. Nothing to really complain about!

They have plenty of seating, the queues move quickly and their food is yummy — their breakfasts are my fave, can’t beat a nice warm fry on a cold Saturday morning… or any time really! :)
If you get a seat by the window it’s great for people-​watching as they pass by on O’Connell St and Talbot St.
Being next to the Spire it’s easy to find if you’re meeting out-​of-​towners.
Yes, the toast is a little bit soggy, and they have those anti-​junkie blue lights in the toilets that make you a bit wary, but it’s and old spot and a good one!
You’ll find me there tomorrow am enjoying sausages, mushrooms and a hash-​brown. Nom.

As a traveler, I found Kylemore perfect for a quick bite and some good people-​watching. I was a bit confused about the structure of the café at first and didn’t realize it was cafeteria-​style until I sat down, waited a while to be served, then realized everyone around me had trays. And while slightly disappointed I had to serve myself, the line was quick, the food was decent, and since it is in such a great location (O’Connell St) the people-​watching was superb. All in all I had a pleasant experience here, but it is a cafeteria and cafeterias arent exactly known for their amazing cuisine.

I don’t like when they ask me lots of questions when I’ve ordered a sandwich, so I usually order straight from the menu, this time a Chicken club with a mug of coffee.
The brown sliced bread was a bit tough but the filling was tasty. The coffee was a nice mug of standard filter coffee.
A little bit on the pricey side but I think the city centre is pretty expensive anyway.
The seating plan here is a bit all over the place but I think that is just to accommodate as many people as possible.
Wifi is available here but I think it is the bitbuzz network.
All in all, the Kylemore is a standard experience where you will get standard food in the centre of town.

Café Kylemore, particularly the one on the corner on O’Connell st, is pretty iconic as cafes go. Very prominent location, and it looks effing great: really dark, almost neo-​Gothic — it looks like, from the outside, what I imagine a café from the 1920s would look like.
The inside is pretty alright, too. Unlike the two previous reviewers, I quite like the whole getting-​your-​tray-​and-​bringing-​it-​to-​the-​till thing. Pretty much every café was like that when I was a child (we only got café culture very late in the day, like five or six years ago or something), so maybe nostalgia plays a part.
I will have to agree with Jo on the whole heat-​lamp angle, and with the pricing structure. Basically, if you go Café Kylemore, you’re going to pay through the nose for some dessicated sausages, rubber eggs and some bacon which is technically a type of pork jerky. And the portions are shite. And if you want to add any items to their restrictive set meals, mother of god, bring your cheque book.
So. if you are new to Dublin, go to any establishment that sells food other than Café Kylemore, and you will receive nicer food at a cheaper price.
(By the way, this review also covers the Kylemore’s in Stephen’s Green and Rathmines any other location where they may exist, the food is expensive and shit there too).

Alexandra is right. This place is soooooo cafeteria. Deceptive though… from the outside it doesn’t look that way at all. Thanks to a recent makeover, from outside Kylemore looks like a plush, swanky café, or restaurant even. This makes it quite a trap for the unaware or the foreign tourist.
Kylemore is satisfactory if you’re interested in a basic lunch with little style or character, and even less taste (I noticed they do an all-​day breakfast, so this means the sausages sit in a heated display cabinet from about 7am until about, let’s see, 3pm… ewww gross, I’m all for freshly cooked fare, but thanks anyway.)
I was pretty happy with my panini though. A genuinely nice staff member made mine from scratch and didn’t seem too stressed out by the sizeable queue that was forming to sample her sandwich-​making skills.
When it comes down to it though, Kylemore is really just a tarted-​up American style cafeteria without the low prices.

The reason I kept going back to Kylemore café on O’Connell Street is its convenient location. Located right across the Spire, it can be the best spot to rest, warm up or hydrate yourself when Dublin is rainy, cold or hot.
The atmosphere of this place is nothing spectacular. A strange mix of tourists and locals come here. On occasion, I’ve seen some homeless people here…
Kylemore is set up like a canteen where you grab your tray and follow a queue a people from the beverage fridge, to the hot food, to the dessert section, to the hot drinks and finally to the till. Prices are unusually high. I paid 2.30 for a 7UP!
I would suggest that you go to the Kylemore in Stephen’s Green instead of this one.