Readers Cafe

Dickens with your doughnut

For a quick blast of coffee and culture, the Readers Café in Waterstones, Dawson Street is your only man. Choose a book from the store, read it over a cuppa and then put it back. Without paying, we might add. (For the book, at least – the coffee, you probably should pay for.)

The place has something of a schoolhouse feel and could do with a dash of glam, but it’s comfortable and peaceful, and the staff seem lovely.

Breakfast, served until noon, attracts a nice mix of suits, grannies, nerds and those looking for a quiet place to chat: try the scrambled eggs with smoked salmon, €8.75, served on homemade soda bread.

The lunch menu, though small, is made up of thoughtful dishes: we had a lovely potato farl with Portobello mushrooms and mascarpone, €9.95 and a bowl of good Dublin coddle for €7.95 on a cold day. The dessert trolley is a wonder – after some deliberating, we split a piece of thick homemade chocolate cake, €3.95. Very tasty.

First floor, Waterstones, Dawson Street, Dublin 2. 679 1415

Comments

[Karl]

Good food, good coffee. The book standards aren't really up to to the cafe, but the one I picked up on Medieval Wars was interesting. I wouldn't ever have thought about looking at that type of book before. It's a great idea to let the customers pick out books and read while in the cafe, I'll definitely be going back, If only to read something I wouldn't normally go for.