Bewley's Grafton Street — Restaurant in Dublin

I went to Bewley’s last week as a tourist, knowing that it is a bit of a tourist trap but wanting to have a nice lunch in a pretty, old-world cafe. They have a line to be seated? No worries, it must be popular. But when I told the hostess I would just use the toilet while waiting she said I couldn’t do that until I was seated. I wasn’t given a menu, though others were. Then another host came to collect me and two other parties at the same time and deposit us unceremoniously at a row of three equally unappealing tables with no indication of whose was whose. I think the one man just changed his mind and left, and the other party asked for a better table. Meanwhile, I’m trying to catch the waiter’s eye so I can ask for a menu. But then when he came, he accused me of skipping the queue because I should have been given one by the host! Did he not see the host seat us? I waited until I had ordered to use the toilet, because I hadn’t been allowed to do this earlier, and when I came back my tea was already on the table. Now, maybe the waiter would have warned me if I had been there, but I had no idea the loose leaf tea was still steeping in the small teapot! The first cup was a little too strong, and the second was undrinkable. There was no small plate to hold the metal tea steeper when finished, either, so then why did they not just finish brewing the tea before serving?

Anyway, it’s really just a few minor annoyances, but the thing is, I didn’t find the atmosphere or service warm, charming, or special and I do I wouldn’t recommend the experience to others. My lunch, a goat cheese salad, was lovely (though I would have loved a bit of bread!) and no one was actually rude or unpleasant, so I don’t want to only give 1 or 2 stars. Perhaps they are a victim of their own success, but it all just felt impersonal, like they are just trying to extract the maximum amount of money from the maximum amount of people, in the way that is most convenient for themselves and with obviously less regard for the comfort of...

Had breakfast with friends who came a long way to visit Dublin this morning.

I wouldn’t call it good value, i.e. €17.50 for Full Irish Breakfast, €15.90 for Avocado Toast, €5.10 for Latte, and €4.40 for tea. But it’s understandable, considering its premium location.

However, the quality of our food was pretty disappointing, at least for our visit today.

I’m not sure if it is really “full” Irish breakfast when baked beans, mushrooms and hash browns were missing, and fried eggs were replaced by poached ones. You might argue it’s a healthier option. But who would order full Irish breakfast in the first place, if he/she takes healthy eating as a priority? It is perfectly fine if boiled or steamed bacon/sausage were to be introduced in the future for those value good diet over taste, but I think at least the customer should have been given the opportunity to choose fried eggs if he/she prefers the traditional/classic way of Irish cooking. And the rashers of bacon were so dry and hard, and my friends had to send them back to the kitchen. Also the presentation of the dish has some room for improvement, for a premium price of €17.50. The picture says it all…

As per the attached photo, there was a very thin layer (not really much thicker than the butter spread you would put on a toast) of meshed avocado on the small and extremely dry sourdough bread. And it was topped with pickled onion slices, which I personally consider a strange combination and don’t think it goes well with the taste and texture of avocado.

The Latte was pretty good. And it should be, for the price of €5.10.

The Irish breakfast tea was OK.

The waiter was very kind and professional, for which I added a tip to my payment, even though the food was far below our expectations.

The decoration and atmosphere were both great.

Bewley’s has a long history, a good brand and nice atmosphere, which for sure attracts and will keep attracting tourists. But I wouldn’t go back for its food/drink, as there are far better options in its...

You would be lost without staff like Ray Quigley! I am writing this review in relation to the mother’s day afternoon tea that took place this year. We had booked a table for 3 in advance and upon entering were asked if it was possible to wait 10 mins and walk around outside, but we let them know we preferred to wait inside if possible. Following that we were waiting over an hour to get our seats upstairs. It kind of felt like staff weren’t properly prepped before this and were just told to prepare a room as it was happening..

Eventually we were seated in the upstairs room. We were just served some tea and water. Then, we had to wait another hour, watching other guests get up, complain to management and leave, while managers tried to sort out something. It all felt very disorganised. We weren’t attended to at all, while people that came in after us got food and prosecco, despite us flagging waiters multiple times to get something. We flagged down a manager and explained that one of our party had diabetes and so cannot wait for such long periods to eat as it makes managing blood sugars really difficult, and we just wanted a refund and to exit the building. The manager tried explaining that the card used hadn’t been charged yet and we should not be charged, it wasn’t very clear to be honest. Just as we entered the elevator to leave, another staff member, Ray Quigley came down with us and he really showed kindness to us and I feel what Bewley’s really wants to show in it’s customer service - we discussed what happened with Ray and he immediately got us sorted out with a meal, drink and dessert to make up for what happened and was very professional and friendly towards us. I just wanted to thank Ray for this and I still remember how nice he was to...