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At a time when the price of a cappuccino is more expensive than ever, Sebastian Wolfe breaks down just which coffee shops are worth your hard-earned bucks.
Coffee. This warm beverage is the basis of an underpaid, overworked university student’s food pyramid. Dublin. A hotel hellscape of ever increasing rent prices and mismanaged government funds. The former makes the latter a little more bearable. (Or should I say; Latté-er?). Understandably you want to know where the best coffee shops in Dublin are.
Here are the top three.
Metro Café
Metro Café, situated a stone's throw away from St Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre is home to the artsier crowd. Here you’ll find an eclectic mix of people, chief among them being Trinity students who wish they went to NCAD.
The vibes of this place are second to none. The old school Parisian aesthetic, low hanging red canopy and outdoor seating along the corner of South William Street and Chatham Row is perfect for people watching.
Metro is also a night café meaning it's perfect to grab an after work/college coffee so you can power through the dozens of overdue assignments you have (Or you can ignore them and split a bottle of the house red with friends). The value is excellent too with the cheapest coffee being a decaf espresso for €2.50 and the most expensive being a mocha for only €3.70. The flavour isn’t half bad either.
Not to mention the staff are phenomenal. They take time to get to know their regulars and are extremely friendly. They can accommodate pretty much anything if you ask them nicely. Also its dog friendly, what’s not to love? 5 Dublin Creatives out of 5.
Beanhive
At the top of Dawson Street is the cosy little café; Beanhive. Beanhive is the perfect place for a low-key coffee date with that special person who wrote a UCD Confession about you. Famous for their masterful coffee art; this coffee shop is family owned and it really has that homey, brewed with love vibe.
In terms of value the proof is in the flavour of the coffee you get when you go here. Prices average around €3.50 but it's worth every cent. Beanhive sources their coffee from another family business located in Sligo, Red Rooster Coffee. Beanhive uses a three bean house blend made with slow roasted coffee beans to get the best out of their beans. Combining Sumatran Mandheling, Colombian Bucaramanga and Costa Rican Honey Processed coffee beans, the flavour is strong and rich without being overpowering. If you’re a coffee snob then you need to go to Beanhive ASAP.
Bestseller
Also on Dawson Street is Bestseller. Bestseller is where you bring someone if you’ve managed to find love without the help of an arguably seedy college confessions page. Inside the former National Bible Society building, Bestseller makes the best matcha latte I've ever had (for a relatively standard €4). Every barista is clearly trained to an impeccably high standard but that’s not even the best part. Bestseller hosts Glass Mask Theatre. A new writing company who performs on the floor of the café. Bestseller operates as a café but also as a creative space for anyone interested in the arts in Dublin.
You could easily spend all day in Bestseller. You get your morning coffee and decide to sit in a cosy armchair, you pick up a book from one of several shelves decorating the walls. A friend comes to meet you for lunch, lunch turns into dinner, dinner turns to drinks and all of a sudden you’ve missed your last bus home and are watching a play by one of the newest Irish theatre companies. Fantastic.