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EVERY SATURDAY AND Sunday morning, people around the country peel themselves out of bed and descend on cafés and restaurants in search of brunch.
But where do those responsible for feeding us every weekend go when they are in need of a brunch fix? We asked some of Ireland’s top chefs and café owners for their recommendations.
Dervla James is a chef and owner of Pudding Row in Easkey, Co Sligo.
I could write a song about the things I adore about The Pepper Pot and all the delicious reasons why. This place is oozing with nostalgia for me – homely flavours, stunning surroundings and beautiful people. It’s hard to put them into words, really. It’s my ultimate go-to, the place I set out for, straight off the train and miss most about living in Dublin.
It’s the things I haven’t tried yet that get me going on an early morning mooch over on Instagram, like homemade sourdough croissants with creamy, cheesy béchamel, spinach and mushrooms.
Domini Kemp
Domini Kemp is a chef and food writer. She runs Hatch & Sons, Alchemy Juice Co, Feast Catering, Joe’s and ITSA.
I love going to Bibi’s whenever I get a chance. The warm breakfast salads are hearty and delicious, provenance is top notch and the interiors so welcoming. Fia is another good spot, superb coffee. Clanbrassil House also do a mean brunch.
Liga Jarovoja
Liga Jaravoja is a chef in Merrow, the restaurant in Pálás cinema.
I would always eat in Pepper Pot in Dublin. Their bread is just superb and you can taste the love and care in every dish.
Kevin Powell
Kevin Powell is a chef and owner of Meet Me in the Morning, Reference Coffee, and Loose Canon.
It’s been far too long since I’ve had the joy of the famous Kai brunch on a Sunday. Before my Meet Me in the Morning days, I used to try travel down on the first Sunday bus to Galway to get in line to have the pleasure of eating the Kai Fry, a plate of local supplies balanced wonderfully with seasonal veg. Well worth a trip to Galway – but be warned it’s only from 12pm-3pm!
Legi Mountbatten is head chef and co-owner of The Lighthouse Café in Galway.
Huevos rancheros in The Kitchen (with sneaky chorizo, for the non veggies). Love everything about The Kitchen. Michelle is like an aunty to everyone and one of the most genuine people you’ll ever meet, which comes through in her staff and her food. Get there before 12pm, though.
Niall Sabongi is a chef and owner of Klaw, The Seafood Café and Sustainable Seafood Ireland.
It’s gotta be Firehouse Bakery in Delgany. It’s warm and inviting with brilliant breads pastries and pizza. Ali’s Kitchen in Cork when I’m down that way. Brunch of champs. Ali, the owner, is always there cooking up a storm and serving up great portions of deliciousness.
In Cabra, there’s a bakery that doesn’t really do brunch but if you’re looking for a real fry and cuppa, these guys have been knocking it out of the park for generations – Clarke’s Bakery.
Sarah Croffey is head chef of The Kasbah Wine Bar at Tigh Neachtain.
Little Fox in Ennistymon. My favourite dish is the tacos made with corn tortillas, Gubbeen chorizo, pinto beans, foxy pickle and chipotle yogurt.
Jamie Griffin is owner of Storyboard in Dublin 8.
One of my favorite places for brunch in the country is Good Day Deli in Cork. It’s hidden away in the gardens of an old convent in Nano Nagle Place in the heart of the city. They put a massive emphasis on a sustainable food menu.
I’m an absolute sucker for pancakes so their poached pear pancakes with coconut mascarpone and honey drizzle is an absolute winner for me at the moment.
Jess Murphy is a chef and co-owner of Kai in Galway.
My best brunch this year was in Eastern Seaboard. The buttermilk biscuits and proper bacon were outstanding.
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This is result of letting a cult like group involve into our way of life support by a blind and deaf pc brigade. It to late for change Ireland has little hope and maybe some other countries. The UK is finished it be very hard task to undo what has grown there.
@: you mean Christianity?
@: are you talking about jehovahs? Mormons?
Actually they are not that bad once you get to know them
Admittedly they have some odd customs with blood and marriage and beliefs ;-)
Returning Islamic State Jihadis popping back to receive their benefits.
Send them back to their Islamic state and let e SAA, Kurds, Syriacs, Yazidi, Iraqis finish them off….https://au.news.yahoo.com/video/watch/36225430/yazidi-children-held-by-islamic-state-found-in-hospital-basement-in-mosul/#page1
More Rats leaving the sinking ship that is isis . There’ll be plenty more of this type of arrest in the coming weeks , however Mayor Khan will try and get them housed in Chelsea , in those new 1.8 million pound council houses .
Don’t be daft. Sadiq Khan’s alright. And the last thing he wants is more terror tearing through the streets of London.
@Mick Tobin: Don’t be daft ? This is the man who wanted the president of the United States banned because he had put a temporary ban on 6 countries , while the mayor himself when he was a lawyer defended Islamic militants , pushed for Louis Farakhan to be allowed into the country , even though he had called for a genocide of white people , had shared speaking platforms with convicted islamic terrorists , has spoken at muslim meetings where isis banners have been flown , called moderate muslims ”Uncle Toms” and says the Met Police do not have enough funds to follow returned Jihadis , even though he took money and personnel from their resources to set up a unit to chase down people who said things against islam on social media platforms .
@Ken Hayden: I will look into this, but contexts do matter. The mayor of Rotterdam, also a muslim, has also been accused of sharing the stage with people with radical ideas, but he in fact told them to p*** off elsewhere if they didn’t like it here.
Khan is right to shun divisions in the city, and my feeling’s been that this has been behind what he’s done, at least recently.
But sure, it pays to be critical, and I’ve taken note of what you just said. However, I now need to badly go and play Irish tunes in the pub, so I bid you goodbye for now.
@Ken Hayden: defended Islamic militants? Can you clarify whether that was as a lawyer or as a citizen? Also can you clarify that it wasn’t perpetrators of 9/11 as was previously stated on this site?
@Mick Tobin: He was a legal consultant for Zacarius Moussaoui , the shoe bomber .
There are links here to various news reports and video clips , if you follow them you will open up a trail . I will give you two links , one about Khan and the other about the Quilliam foundation .
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-03-27/london-mayors-ties-extremism-call-commitment-fighting-terror-question
https://medium.com/@jonasspooner/blowback-in-manchester-and-why-quilliam-must-be-investigated-f9472be1f26c
@Ken Hayden: In the second link you will also find a connection to Irish Jihadis . I probably couldn’t say the name here , but you will find it .
Why even entertain them. Round up their family and put them all on a flight back to where they came from. Free flight home, everyone is a winner. Especially the UK taxpayer.
@KingBen: put their families back on flights to Leicester and Birmingham?
@Richard Lippy Collins: no, they are not from Leicester or Birmingham. I’d suggest the middle east somewhere, doesn’t really matter. Just out of the country that welcomed them and gave them free houses, education, health and opportunities.
@KingBen: yep,lock stock,and barrel,,,total
Muslim and western values are not compatible we must stand up and defend our native cultures before Islamic domination prevails . it’s simple, Europe must wake up. Many parts of France,Britain,Holland and Belgium it’s too already too late . Ultimately it’s a numbers game, we must not ever allow what’s happened in Germany(2015) to happen elsewhere or else it’s all over
There should be super severe law for that, if found connected to terrorist cell they should have UK citizenships scraped and sent back to Turkey, never allow them back. With law like this all terrorists to be will think twice.
Those pesky atheists at it again…. Oh wait
Islam is to spread in every country and this is meant to be a good thing….. come on cop on, their way of living not suited for western life sure most of them say it themselves, only one solution if you want to fit in adjust to the country you choose to live in and respect our Christian value and our country, nobody’s saying convert but just remembered your choose to move to Christian Europe, and stop playing the race card when you don’t get your ways….
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