I haven't had a cafe crush in a such a long time... There are many places I like but they just don't tick all the boxes, maybe they're too noisy or the staff aren't very warm, and lately I've found that places start to look the same. So I was delighted to discover a new little café recently, which was a total breath of fresh air.
First there is the name, 'Meet Me in the Morning' is named after a Bob Dylan's song. Then there is the decor, white walls, wooden tables and proper chairs, a short menu written on a mirror, a small counter with baked goods... It's unfussy, bright and welcoming and there is no sign of exposed pipes or uncovered light bulbs, unlike pretty much every other place that opened in the last year.
Now the staff, there were two guys who couldn't look more Irish, pleasant and helpful asking everyone if they needed help with the menu and the lady who cooked the food brought us our plates.
When it comes to food, the menu is short but sweet. They have their hazelnut and cacao spread on toasted Le Levain (best bread you can buy in Dublin in my opinion) bread (€5). The other breakfast option was rhubarb ginger and cacao buckwheat granola with yogurt, mint and poached rhubarb (€6), I'll have to come back for breakfast. Unfortunately they had sold out of portobello mushroom on toast with sorel hummus, radish and Jerusalem artichoke oil and sunflower seeds (€7.50) on my visit so I went for a Puy lentil salad.
The lentils were perfectly cooked, keeping a nice crunch and served with slices of avocado, aromatic shaved fennel and rainbow carrots. This was a bowl of colourful goodness, beautifully seasoned with a variety of herbs and lemon zest on top.
There was also a generous portion of lemon and basil yogurt on the side which I happily dunked my crunchy carrots in, one of the best salads I've had in Dublin.
Miss Y. ordered an equally good dish, consisting of a toasted slice of sourdough bread topped with a mix of leeks and spinach with a poached egg on toast and a blob of garlic yogurt and smoked paprika oil. The oil made this vegetarian dish taste like chorizo, so full of flavours.
My slice of rhubarb and star anise upside down cake (€4) was ordered by pure greediness, I loved the caramelised crust and flavour combinations but Miss Y's won with her dessert. If I recall correctly it was a lemon, tarragon and pistachio almond cake.
You can clearly tell the chef in this place is serving food she loves and not any regular cafe fare, incredibly tasty and picture perfect. I'd say the menu changes regularly which gives me an excuse to come back.
Now do yourself a favour and visit Meet Me in the Morning. Truly one of the most exciting cafés that's opened for a while, I'm hooked.
Meet Me in the Morning
50 Pleasants Street
Dublin 8
Meet Me in the Morning's Facebook Page
This is an independent review, I paid for my meal.
