Simon’s Place

I admit I was here only because I was obsessed with the movie Once whilst in Ireland. I was here early September in the afternoon, and luckily not too many folks around. I was able to grab a table near the window where Markéta and Glen have a bite to eat after dragging her Hoover to him while he busks. From there you can see across the street, Waltons Music, where the famous «Falling Slowly» piano scene takes place. I was only planning on grabbing a cup of coffee but I saw, errr, smelled hot cinnamon rolls fresh out of the oven so I knew I had to have one. So good, I would come back just to have one of those again. The place is much bigger than it looks. In the basement, there’s a lot more seating. But if you’re a Once fan, grab your window seat… fast!

Maybe I caught this place at a bad time, but at 8:30am — i.e. breakfast time — the shop had limited pastries. I also dislike the fact that they only take cash! I will say that the coffee was very tasty & the pasty was actually good enough, considering it may well have been there since the previous evening — I didn’t get the impression that they had been baking that morning!

Great place to grab a quick chicken sandwich to go — only € 4.80. Pretty tasty with lovely bread all wrapped up for you to ravage back in the office.
But the real show-​stopper is the cinnamon bun… it would be a sin not to pick one up to hoover up after the sandwich. Sticky, yummy and oh so delicious!
Staff are very friendly but firm too, no chance of some random stranger trying to cut the queue!

Sorry I can’t like thus place as much as everyone else. They don’t have chai lattes and the chicken sandwich is pretty much all mayonnaise. I could only force about half of it down before giving up. The scones are good though and the coffee is not bad. Plenty of other places in the area to chose from as far as I am concerned.

Great sambo’s, especially the chicken which seems to sell out nearly every day, fantastic if your in a rush and they do nice big cups of tea as opposed to fiddly tiny annoying teapots. Comfortable and relaxed too.

Come here for a decent coffee and one of the best muffins I’ve ever had… its a real lunch place … The service is super quick… so great if you are rushing on a lunch break. They do really good soup too.

Very unpretentious, modest and homey place with caring staff and very diverse clientèle. Famous for the aromatic cinnamon buns. With a big window and view on the Georges street, great for watching busy world go by.
On the downside they have no substitution for a cows milk.

Two words — cinnamon buns. Delicious sandwiches and soup at great prices. There’s always a queue at lunch, so arrive early.

This is a 3.5 star rating.
Hands down the best wifi I’ve come across in any coffee shop in town. If you’re looking for somewhere to set up shop with your laptop for a little while, have a drink, eat some whopper sambos, and get some good people watching in, this is your spot.
I only had a tea so can’t comment too much on the food this time. The tea was average at best — tea-​bagged tasteless peppermint, served in a mug with no teapot etc. My other gripe was having to pay for my tea on order, rather than at the end. As I was waiting for someone else, I wanted to pay for us together, or maybe add more to my bill as I was going. Just a small gripe, but one the same.

If you love good sambos, that would be your must-​visit spot. If not, that is a good place to start your affair with sandwiches. Simon’s Place offers refreshing blends of flavours served on really tasty bread. Crispy crust and moist crumb are their signature. They never fail to impress me. Casual atmosphere and great buzz.

Simon’s Place is a Dublin institution. Anyone who went to college in the 80s or 90s will almost certainly have whiled away hours of their life in this busy hub. A place that that for all its vigour never as much as shot a stern sideways glance at lingering wasters whose coffee cup was long drained.
The spirit of Simon’s Place is one of community. It welcomes all: artists, students, workers, chancers, passers-​by. It has never bowed to fashion or fad, as it has witnessed a city in the grip of culinary overhaul over two decades, without flinching, or changing. Testament to that is its queen of soups, the General Vegetable, a staple that would make up the first course of my last supper. Even today, if I’m getting over a cold or flu, the first thing I crave is that delicious soup. I once asked Simon the owner for the recipe and he gave it to me. It’s ridiculously unfussy — the perfect recipe. I tried to make it but it just didn’t taste the same. Perhaps my pathological inability to properly stick to a recipe, but I’m not sure I really wanted to anyway. Because it’s never just what you eat, is it? It’s where you eat it.
It still serves the same limited selection of pre-​made sandwiches: avocado, cheese, tuna and so forth — hand-​wrapped in the clingfilm with the twists in the end — and the introduction of the barista coffee machine is perhaps the only nod to a post-​filter culture to be seen, and that one can only be good.
Want to put up a couple of posters for your upcoming gig in one of the few places in Dublin where you can do this for free? Go right ahead. Want to sit by yourself for a while and people-​watch, develop your novel plot, read your book or just muse about life without feeling self conscious? Be their guest. Want to hatch a counter-​cultural plan to overthrow something or other, or just change the world fundamentally in five days? Downstairs is a good start. Want to engage in conversation with a stranger, about something esoteric, cranky or otherwise. There’s a good change they’re sitting close by waiting for a smile and nod.
Simon’s Place — there’s nowhere else quite like it. Well, maybe Grogan’s pub, another stalwart to consistency in a trend-​strangulated world. Just without the alcoholism.

cheap, cheerful, love a ham sandwich, a cinnamun bun, and a cup of tea, all for about eight quid, don’t go too early or they won’t have the buns ready, don’t go too late or they’ll all be gone

Simon’s place is actually pretty great.
Their sandwiches are good value at € 4.50 (or so) and they’re all clingfilmed/​saran wrapped so they’re easy to take back to the office.
I presume they’ve been prepared in the morning, but they’re as good as fresh. They use nice mealy bread and proper tasty ingredients!
So, go to Simon’s get a sandwich.
The sign on George’s street just says «Coffee shop», you may have difficulty spotting it.

A nice little coffee shop in George’s Street, very cozy!
Perfect to sit, either inside and outside and watch the city stroll before you.

Great cosy coffee shop that does magnificent sandwiches.
Really tasty sandwiches with a variety of fillings. Probably the best sandwich in the city centre, it’s worth going just for the sandwiches. There is a great vibe and friendly atmosphere.
I’m not a big fan of different prices for eating in as opposed to taking food out, the only real negative I can say about the place.
If you are a sandwich fan, pay them a visit.

Original and best boutique sandwich and coffee shop in Dublin. Great sandwiches and staff. A buzz about the place you won’t find in the corporates. Where real Dubs of all walks of life, local traders, and artists mix with the touring hispter. What Gaby’s is to Soho in London, Simon’s is to Dublin.

A great place to sit with a cup of tea /​coffee and a delicious cake, whilst reading a book at your leisure.
I’ve loved this place since I was first allowed into town — it’s where all the «cool» kids would go… so I tried to blend in too! Despite the hip and cool folk loving the place, it’s not sold out and become too trendy for it’s own good — respect!
I ordered a cheese sandwich and a cuppa, which was absolutely delish! It is a proper cheese sandwich with salad and a doorstep of cheese. Put a massive smile on my face and once devoured, I settled down with a book and my tea.
A great place to eat with seating both on the main floor and downstairs too.
PLEASE NOTE: Do not leave this place without ordering a little cake… om nom nom nom! :P

Everybody know this feeling going into a restaurant or café and asking for a table for one and then the waitress mostly give you this friendly pity smile…
But there are places which are just perfect for a nice cup of coffee, my book and me myself and I.
Simons place is one of those coffee spots they have nice single seating in front of the window perfect for people watching or drift off into your own thoughts while the busy city life flows by.
I really enjoyed the easy going atmosphere, friendly staff and the poster covered walls which just added this little bit of extra personality to this place which keeps me returning to this place for coffee…
If you looking for a relaxed place for coffee or meeting friends on Dublin south side you will not regret choosing Simons place.

I might be getting a little too old to hang out in a coffee bar whose walls are covered in flyers for cool gigs, has communal tables, and serves yummy home-​made treats, but I’m definitely not too old to enjoy a downstairs area with dark recesses to plan and plot, scribble in my notebook for hours, and drink good coffee.
Bottom line: Nah, I’ll never be too old!

Just nursing a coffee in Simon’s makes you cool by association! From the music poster plastered walls, to the music makers sitting beside you, this place rocks! Yet it doesn’t scream ‘we’re hip’, instead the atmosphere is pure laid back good vibes.
Grab a table outside on George’s Street and watch Dublin and her people whizz by or sit upstairs, on rustic benches and rub elbows with fellow latte sippers and read the many magazines and newspapers around or the informative walls! But if you can find a seat, head downstairs, to the cosy, cocooned, cavernous basement area. Grab a table and settle in with a battered book or chess set and relax and enjoy the peace, quite and conversations around you.
Of course you obviously want to enjoy a coffee with all your atmosphere so it is a good job that the coffee here is tasty and cheap too! From espresso to hot chocolate the barista get it just right and brew to perfection! Served in big mugs and glasses, so no need to drink and run, stay and linger if you please!
If you are hungry the giant doorstep sandwiches will fill that hole. They are made in front of you on their fresh homemade brown bread, with lots of interesting fillings and the soup is home made too and really satisfying! But, for me, the hot sticky sweet cinnamon buns that melt in your mouth and leave you wanting more are the best thing to go with my coffee after a hard days shopping in the George’s Street Arcade! You have got to try them!
With 12 years experience behind this place, you would expect them to get it right by now and they do! The tried and tested recipe works, friendly staff, yummy food, perfect coffee, relaxed atmosphere, prime location, comfortable size and good vibes, are what keeps all those happy customers coming back week after week to Simon’s. See you there!