Having heard lots of good things about The Bakehouse I decided to make it my business to take a visit. A no booze Saturday night led to an early start on Sunday morning with a ten o’clock showing of The Wolf of Wall Street (excellent). Suitably starved after three hours of a movie myself and himself (him indoors) headed for brunch. The Bakehouse on Bachelors Walk is a pleasure to behold from first sight. The interior is surprisingly spacious with many a hint of pink. While there were only one or two fellow diners when we arrived, within ten minutes the place was filling with a mix of young and old.

The staff in The Bakehouse are some of the nicest I have ever met. The three girls as it turned out were related to the owner and she will be pleased to know they were doing a great job.

The menu is big enough for choice and small enough that you know the chef’s are adept at creating each dish. The soup of the day you will find written on a large mirror running down one side of the cafe. Without hesitation I opted for the Beef Stew which I was advised is served in a bread bowl. Picture a circular loaf of bread hallowed out and filled with stew and that is pretty much it.

I also ordered a glass of the New Zealand Vicars Choice Sav Blanc, which my helpful waitress advised was gorgeous.  You just know she had tried it many times herself and that’s the kind of recommendation I like. As it turned out she wasn’t wrong. It was light and crispy and a perfect relaxer.

My Beef Stew was everything I wanted it to be. It had large tender chunks of beef which melted in my mouth and gave me that warm comfort food feel.  The stew it swam in was full of flavour and right amount of ‘thick’. Despite my best efforts I was far too full to attempt to eat the bread bowl itself.

Himself had the Bakehouse Grill. He is notoriously difficult to please but was quite taken with the grill and despite the ample amount of food on the plate (bacon, egg, sausage, pudding and toast) he managed to eat most of it. The homemade Bakehouse tomato relish I’m told is particularly good.

He opted for the more sensible option of a pot of tea to wash it down. The tea incidentally is loose leaf and comes with one of those dainty little strainers which transform the experience of pouring tea into something more akin to a traditional tea ceremony. It’s these little touches that give The Bakehouse that something extra.

The staff alone would make me come running back but luckily the food was well able to speak for itself and stood its ground just fine. Oh I should also mention that The Bakehouse is also a bakery and for just €10 they will box up four cakes of your choosing to take away.  It took all the will in the world I had to walk away from the counter.