We had an excellent lunch at Bewley's Café on Grafton Street. We walked upstairs to the James Joyce Balcony and found a wonderful room. We want to model our library after this room: It has dark oak floors and contrasting duck-egg-blue paint throughout. There are framed sketches on the walls and a fantastic burgundy marble fireplace in the corner. If I led a secret life as a cat-burglar (like Pierce Brosnan in The Thomas Crown Affair) I would love to steal the gorgeous Chinese tea pot displayed on the mantle. It was emerald green with an embossed gold dragon. I won't mention the matching teacups. You can read about them in the police report... The room lighting came from subdued crystal chandeliers on the high ceilings. I'm not much of a decorator, but I really dug the cozy-library-living-room atmosphere. I felt right at home.
Lunch was simple but as I am fond of saying: Simplicity is elegance. I ordered a pot of their signature Gold Blend tea and a bowl of Seafood Chowder. My other half ordered a caffè latte and a B.L.T. Our meal arrived quickly and was the proper temperature. The seafood soup was a white chowder with dill, clam, mussels and shrimp. My other half thought it was a bit too dill-y but I thought it was perfectly dill-icious. (har har) Her B.L.T. was served with thick Irish bacon and had red-stemmed rocket for the lettuce. She gave me a bite and it brought back memories of having lunch with my grandmother at the Neiman Marcus In-Circle Café. Lunch really hit the spot.
We sat close to the windows. Perhaps next time we will grab a cup of tea and sit on the balcony. The dining room contains very Paris-bistro looking tables, with square tops made of dark marble and well worn iron bases. The high backed purple velvet chairs were comfortable. The room gets its name from the balcony where customers can sit and watch street traffic down below. The balcony itself is hardly more than a wooden railing to place your cup, and deep enough for a single row of chairs. They have a red awning to keep the rain off patrons which they needed to employ because of a sudden and very Irish downpour. Herself and I were quite cozy at our table with our coffee & tea. I felt sorry for the street musicians down below in Grafton Street and the throngs of summer tourists caught without their umbrellas. It was a swift and lashing rain, which mockingly lasted only 5 minutes. We were delighted not to be in it.
Lunch for 2 was 15.95 euro. It was a perfect lunch. The meal may not have been as fancy as Café en Seine but just as delightful. The service was excellent, the atmosphere was energetic yet comfortable and we are definitely coming back.
That was my first time in Bewley's as well! The only other time was about 7 years ago when it was supposed to close (It did close but re-opened), and there was a huge queue of very irate elderly people in line. My friend & I decided it might be safer to seek coffee elsewhere...
ReplyDeleteWell, I'm glad it re-opened because it's a nice place and the service was quick and the BLT was yummy. The only criticism I'd have was that the salad accompanying the meal was a bit blah - it was comprised solely of salad leaves.It really could have done with a cherry tomato or grated carrot or something!