Bewleys Cafe – An Irish Institution

No visit to the Fair City of Dublin is complete without a visit to the famous Bewleys Cafe on Grafton Street. My mother first visited the cafe back in the 50s with her grandmother, and since then, we have always popped in every time we have passed through Dublin for a coffee and a tasty scone. The cafe opened back in 1927 by Ernest Bewley the cafe has offered a haven for Dubliners and tourists for over 80 years, and has played a significant role in the literary, cultural and social life of the city ever since. The cafe played host to some of Ireland’s most famous literary and artistic figures, including James Joyce (who mentioned the cafe in his book “Dubliners”), Patrick Kavanagh, Samuel Beckett and Sean O’Casey.

Bewley’s itself have been importing and roasting the finest teas and coffees since 1840, and they pride themselves on having the highest quality teas and coffees on the Emerald Isle! As the cafe culture has exploded over the past decade or so, they have added espressos, cappuccinos, etc, to their selection of coffees.  My cappuccino was beautifully presented and delicious, even if a little wet for my palette, but the sheer atmosphere of the saloon room we were in made up for that as did the fresh apple and berries crumble – YUM!

I should add that Bewleys is also quite the pioneer in the area of social corporate responsibility in Ireland.  In 2008 the company became Ireland’s first fully certified Carbon Neutral coffee company. The programme removes up to 3,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the world we live in every year.

Ok, so have I convinced you about the importance of visiting Bewleys cafe, should you happen to be in Dublin?  You will not be dissapointed, I assure you.  Actually, the only dissapointment might be a long wait as it is such a popular place.

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