Coffee around River Liffey, in a sailing jacket and beach hat. Very Dublin.
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson & CM Cordeiro 2019
It was a typical tourist thing to do. Read up on the top ten things to do when in Dublin, Ireland, and then make a to-do list. Most reviews recommended pub crawling at Temple Bar. I’m personally drawn to waterways and the ocean, so walking along River Liffey was certainly on my list. That, in combination with some kind of Irish scone with raspberry jam and cream in hand, would’ve made an ideal evening activity. So it was mostly a matter of logistics of how to have scone in hand, tea or coffee in another, and stroll down River Liffey without knowing much about how to navigate Dublin. As the evening turned out, it was that the city navigated me. My antennas were out for something sweet, something rich, something… chocolate. And where I found that, would be the starting point of my evening’s activity. That happened to be Dollard House, along River Liffey, at Gratten Bridge.
From Styrsö Bratten in Sweden, to standing serendipitously at Gratten Bridge, River Liffey, Dublin.
Dollard House Food Hall and Deli
The food hall and deli located on the ground floor of Dollard House, an historic printing house in Ireland dating back to 1886, is a fantastic welcome to any food enthusiast. Customers here will find fresh international produce on a daily basis. The ambience at the deli reminded me a little of when dining at the Tiffin Room at Raffles Hotel in Singapore. My favourite items though were the ones made in Ireland, that would include the New York Italian pizzas served in slices. Very Dublin.
When in Ireland, we had to try Italian pizza, made in New York style at Dollard House.
Absolutely love! Irish bakeries. In particular, their fruit cakes, scones and sweet pies.
Teas.
When she brings home her chocolate cherry cake.
Porterhouse, Temple Bar
The Porterhouse at Temple Bar, is Dublin’s first pub brewery. It opened in 1996 with from what we understand, a lot of scepticism on home brewed beers and stouts. Two decades later, it today serves some of the best non-mainstream beers in Ireland. We had a go at their home brewed stout. It was awesome.
I mistook this for a Guiness, and was kindly corrected on that. This was home brewed by The Porterhouse Temple Bar itself. It was awesome.
He, with his chocolate cherry cake.
The Temple Bar
Confused at what exactly is Temple Bar, having seen signs plastered all over the quarters near River Liffey, I accosted six college boys on their way somewheres. “Where is the Temple Bar, and what is it? Is it a place or a region?”, I asked. They looked at each other and turned back to me, “Well, it’s both a place and a lot of small bars in one place. It’s up straight on this road and then to your left, if you see that brown building over there?” “Yep.”, I replied. I noted the direction of The Temple Bar, and then got distracted by handcrafted leather wallets on display in a shop window, that made me take an immediate left at right angle. We got to The Temple Bar, after a couple of zig-zags through the streets. Lively atmosphere, great crowd! It was certainly worth the zig-zagging getting there.
