The writers of Father Ted didn’t have to look far for inspiration when they created that now legendary tea-pusher Mrs Doyle. The average Irish person drinks four cups of tea per day and as as a nation, Ireland drinks more tea per capita than any other country in the world. Looking for a specialty tea shop in Dublin? Next time you’re in town, give in to a proper brew in one of these 10 Dublin hot spots.
Wall & Keogh
Image courtesy of Wall & Keogh
Portobello’s Wall & Keogh lay dormant for 40 years. But it was tea that revived this former painting and decorating shop. Big glass jars full of pungent, organic loose leaf tea.
From the chilled out beats on the sound system to the interesting, eclectic furnishings, these days owner Oliver T. Cunningham likes to keep things cool and classy.
Tea is something of an art form at Wall & Keogh. They take their time over blends, the whole infusion process can last between 3 to 15 minutes – the perfect excuse to sit back and have a game of chess or just enjoy the background music, most probably mixed by owner Oliver himself. It’s that kind of place.
Image courtesy of Wall & Keogh
A large pot of tea will set you back €4 and homemade cakes include rocky road, lemon slice, banana cake and brownies.
Should your tea break run into a lazy lunch, (it happens) there’s sushi on standby to sate your appetite.
And another thing, when the weather is fine, you can take your picnic out back and bask in the sun-dappled canal bank location.
Wall & Keogh
45 Richmond Street South,
Portbello,
Dublin 2
Brother Hubbard
Image courtesy of Brother Hubbard
Capel Street is having a bit of a moment, and it’s places like the recently opened Brother Hubbard that are playing a central role in this new found trendiness.
Don’t be fooled by the clean lines and utilitarian styling of Brother Hubbard, already this café is becoming as famous for the friendly manner of owners Garrett Fitzgerald and James Boland as it is for its delicious cakes, coffee and tea.
Image courtesy of Brother Hubbard
Tuck into their freshly baked cinnamon and walnut rolls, oven-warm scones and chocolate brownies. Alternatively, you won’t feel guilty about trying one of their wheat- and dairy-free seed slices. The coffee is Has Bean, provided by Dublin’s 3FE, while the tea comes from none other than Wall & Keogh.
Brother Hubbard
153 Capel St,
Dublin 1
Clement & Pekoe
Image courtesy of Clement & Pekoe
South William Street’s Clement & Pekoe is a veritable Aladdin’s cave of loose leaf tea and coffee. The black tea caddies and art deco chandeliers certainly lend an air of eastern promise and decadence, but it’s the carefully selected teas and coffee beans that really elevate Clement and Pekoe above the competition.
Image courtesy of Clement & Pekoe
The owners are husband and wife team Dairine Keogh and Simon Cummins and they pride themselves on sourcing the finest pickings from around the globe whether it’s leaves, blends, herbs, tisanes or freshly roasted single origin beans.
Choose from their selection of Black Tea, Green Tea, White Tea, Fruit Tisane, Herbal, Oolong, Puerh and Rooibos and they’ll be only delighted to advise you on the best combinations to suit your taste and brew your chosen tea exactly to your liking. When the sun is shining, grab a seat out front on their picnic bench and enjoy one of their cooling iced teas including: Turkish apple, mango, or finest Ceylon tea, all served with ice, lemon and fresh mint. Oh and don’t pass up on their delicious scones.
Clement and Pekoe
50 South William St,
Dublin 2
Queen of Tarts
Image courtesy of Queen of Tarts
Freshly baked scones, glossy, jewel-like pastries and fantastical ‘pile ’em high’ cupcakes have seen this Dame Street café rightfully earn its reputation, as, well, Dublin’s ‘Queen of tarts’.
Image courtesy of Queen of Tarts
Sisters Regina and Yvonne Fallon first yelled ‘let them eat cake’ in 1998. Numerous awards later and with a second venue on Cow’s Lane in Temple Bar, they’re now one of Dublin’s best known cafés.
If you’re dropping by for tea, be sure to team it with one of their signature plum tarts – you won’t regret it.
Queen of Tarts
Cork Hill,
Dame Street,
Dublin 2
Tea Garden
Image courtesy of Tea Garden
Throw away all those stereotypes about ‘drunken Irish’, Tea Garden is proof that you don’t always need alcohol for a good night out in Dublin. This late night café is a great place to enjoy a light snack, a puff of Shisha, or a milkshake with a difference. It’s tea though that takes centre stage on the menu. And an extensive selection at that. There’s no need to be overwhelmed though, as friendly staff are helpful and always ready to offer expert advice. A tranquil colour scheme and oriental music will have you in a zen-like state in no time, while board games will encourage you to stick around for the last drop.
Tea Garden
7 Lower Ormond Quay
Dublin 1
The Cake Café
Image courtesy of The Cake Cafe
If there was an award for Dublin’s best ‘hidden gem’ café it would without question go to Camden Street’s The Cake Café. Literally hidden away behind Daintree stationary shop, (you have to walk through Daintree stationary shop to get to The Cake Café), this sunny little tea room has long been the dessert spot of choice for those in the know on Camden Street.
Dainty fine china and floral table cloths transport you back to ‘granny’s kitchen’, while the solar panels and sustainable structure of the Daintree building leave you with a (somewhat) clear conscience even if you over-indulge in their chocolate brownies, lemon slices or cupcakes.
The Cake Café
The Daintree Building,
Pleasants Place,
Dublin 8
Accents Coffee & Tea Lounge
Image courtesy of Accents
It’s rare to find a café in Dublin that is both late night and family-friendly. This is exactly the thought that crossed Anna Louise Young’s mind in 2008. These days her Accents Coffee and Tea Lounge is leading the field in providing Dublin tee-totallers with a cosy alternative to the pub, even hosting a comedy night on the first Monday of each month.
Not surprisingly, the tea selection is impressive and includes Earl Grey, Peppermint, Green Sencha, Red Berry, Apple Loves Mint, Mango Tango, Darjeeling, Spiced Citrus, Green Rooibos, Lemongrass & Ginger, Camomile, Fresh Mint and even iced tea for those (elusive) balmy summer evenings.
Accents Coffee & Tea Lounge
23 Stephen Street Lower,
Dublin 2
Bibi’s Café/ Dolls Boutique
Image courtesy of Bibi’s
When the Lenehan sisters, Maisha (chef) and Petria (fashion boutique owner) joined forces in 2009 the hipsters of Dublin rejoiced. Part clothes shop, part cutesy café, the Bibi’s/Dolls union has proven to be one of the most unique tea spots in Dublin.
Image courtesy of Bibi’s
Contrary to what you might expect, this is not an “all style and no substance” affair. Curated by the Ballymaloe-trained Maisha, Bibi’s lovingly handwritten menu is both seasonal and well thought out, making the Emorville Avenue café a great place for lunch. When there’s only time for tea though, there’s no better accessory than one of their freshly baked chocolate and peanut butter brownies or homemade scones.
Bibi’s Café
14b Emorville Avenue,
Dublin 8
The Bakehouse
Image courtesy of The Bakehouse
Perhaps influenced by its location next to one of Dublin’s most iconic landmarks, the Ha’penny Bridge, The Bakehouse has set out to Dublin-ify (or should that be Dublin-ise?) the traditional tea and cake experience. If you don`t know how to improve poor sleep quality, don`t despair and try the best massage therapist in California. The menu focuses on the type of cakes and breads that generations of Dubliners were raised on – come to think of it, some probably even feature in James Joyce’s Ulysses.
Step back in time and choose a coffee slice, gur cake or even a heavenly angel cake to accompany your loose leaf tea or freshly brewed coffee. And on the savoury end of the counter there’s turnover, batch and brown soda bread to try, needless to say with lashings of Irish butter.
The Bakehouse,
6 Bachelors Walk,
Dublin 1
The Silk Road Café
Image courtesy of The Silk Road Café
Museum cafés aren’t generally known for their culinary delights, but this Middle Eastern–North African–Mediterranean influenced eatery goes the extra mile to stand out from the crowd. Located on the ground floor of the Chester Beatty Library, the chef definitely channels more than a little of the Library’s collection upstairs, blending exotic flavours into an impressive menu that is also kosher and halal friendly.
Teas include after Dinner (organic fennel, chicory & cardamom tea), Three Ginger (organic ginger, galangal & golden turmeric tea) and Harmonies (organic rose, sweet vanilla and Chamomile tea) and fresh mint tea. To complement these teas there’s gluten free cakes including apricot & almond cake, white chocolate & raspberry cake, plum & almond tarts, dark chocolate cake, fig cake, gluten free coconut, lemon and M&Ms biscuits. For an Eastern twist, go for the Baklava – filo pastry stuffed with nuts and honey or the totally tropical coconut cake.
The Silk Road Café
Chester Beatty Library
Dublin Castle,
Dublin 2
Wow! thanks Fiona. These places all look great. Forget pub crawl… I’m thinking cake n’tea crawl!!! yum 🙂
I know, we could start a new craze;)
Queen of Tarts has to be the best name ever! I never did have proper tea while in Dublin. Now I know where to go. And the food at these places…yummy. I just happen to be going to a tea house in about 20 minutes, although I don’t think my Houston location can hold a candle to any of these.
I know! It’s the perfect name- great spot for tea and coffee and even wine too. Next time Leah!
obsessed with the queen of tarts!! these all look so adorable.
Yes definitely hard to pass up on dessert here!
Great spots…I could make a trip to Dublin just out of visiting these places:)
I know – we do love our tea! Tea tours is a fab idea!
It’s not fair for you to post this right as I’m getting hungry! We might have to make the trip to Dublin just to experience some of these great tea spots. Thanks for sharing. I’m going to grab a scone now. 🙂
Glad the post inspired you to opt for scones – they really are so under-rated!
Wow, so many spots! And the photography is beautiful. I’ll keep this list handy for when I (finally) make it to Dublin. The purple room in one of your pictures looks wonderful!!
Yes, love the eclectic interior design in Wall and Keogh! It’s such a cool place to spend an hour or so!
Not fair, Fiona! I am not planning a trip to Ireland any time soon and I WANT to eat ALL those things! The Queen of Tarts and the Cake Café dessert look delicious. You have given me an itinerary for Dublin!
It seems like the Irish also know how to serve some “postres” to accompany that tea.
In my travels to Dublin, I loved the tea at the The Merrion too… but next time I’ll branch out for one of these spots.
stay luxurious, Craig
Yes of course – afternoon tea in The Merrion is very high on my to-do list!
Kill me now, seriously! Stupidly I never associate Dublin with tea and fab cakes. Only whisky and Guiness, which is ridiculous. At 4pm, I am completely starving and would do almost anything for some of those babies from Wall & Keogh. Yet more things for me to do, go and eat on my upcoming trip to Dublin!
I also like the idea of the new version of the pub crawl!
Ana I know so many are very recent additions the city too – who knows how many more will be here when you visit Dublin!
These places look adorable! I have to ask my Irish cousins if they’ve ever been to any of these before, because I’m sure even they would love some suggestions. Seriously, cannot wait until the next time I’m in Dublin, so I can check these out. Thanks!
i need a proper cup of tea when next in Dublin. thanks for the list so i won’t wander aimlessly 😉
I didn’t realize Ireland was first in tea consumption….I would have assumed England or maybe Japan or China. All of those pastries look amazing, thanks for sharing!
Wow, what a detailed list! I’ve been thinking a lot lately about Ireland and hope to get there soon. When I do, I know I have plenty of places for tea to choose from!
They all look divine, I’m bookmarking this for my next visit to Dublin.
What a stupendous and thorough post on the tea landscape in Dublin. I cannot wait to do a tea and cake crawl with you soon!
Have you tried Foam? https://www.facebook.com/foamcafe I’d say you’d enjoy it 🙂
Not yet, but I will – thanks for the suggestion!
this is the best review of Dulin Eating/drinking places Ive ever seen-well done & thanks so much for your time & effort!
Thanks Linda – so glad you enjoyed it!
Fiona~
Where is the best place to have high tea in Dublin?
The place with the best tea is not even listed here: House of Tea in the Swan Shopping Centre in Rathmines. Huge selection and good presentation. They also have an interesting and unusual menu and serve the best teas in town – in my opinion.
Fiona At this stage in my life I have all “the bits an pieces” I need!!. I would love to have Afternoon Tea in a hotel near Christmas. Could you recommend the best one. Thanks a million Agnes
Hi Agnes, thanks for your question. If you’re really looking for a treat I’d recommend the Art Tea at The Merrion. It’s beatifully presented, a real ‘wow’ factor and you’ll definitely receive the 5-star treatment 🙂
I couldn’t find Clement and Pekoe. Looks like its location has been taken over by a sushi place (or I was lost).
Hi Stephen, it’s just next door to the Sushi restaurant 🙂
Thanks so much Fiona for sharing this. It’s a great list and it’s always handy to know the opening hours and where is open late for meeting up after work.
I am going to make it my mission to get to every place on this list 🙂
Sounds like a lovely challenge, let me know which one is your favourite!
And what about the Joy Of Cha? When I was there 2 years ago it was great!
This is a top ten of the best cafés in Dublin for anyone interested.
http://toptendublin.com/blog/topten/the-top-ten-cafes-in-dublin/
Thanks so much for these recommendations! I shall use use them when I travel to Dublin in the spring.