Brunch has always had a special place in our hearts. As it covers breakfast and lunch it means we can eat double the food, and anything that makes drinking before midday acceptable is something we're in favour of. So we were only too delighted to come across four new brunches in the past week and they all look and sound worthy of a weekend visit.
The Seafood Café
Niall and Co. launched brunch here at the weekend to celebrate their first birthday, and it looks very good. There's small plates, large plates and egg dishes, and as you'd expect the emphasis is on seafood - crab cakes, hot buttered crumpets with shrimp and Southern fried fish collar with waffles all get our vote. Plenty for seafood-phobes too like sweetcorn fritters, shakshouka and Eggs Forestiere (eggs benedict with proscuitto). There's also a build your own Bloody Mary bar. Sold.
Tang
Middle Eastern inspired Tang opened their second site on Abbey Street in August, with much more space than the original Dawson Street site, and they've just started brunch on Saturdays from 10am - 4pm. The menu features dishes like Irish shiitake miso and ginger mushrooms on Le Levain sourdough with poached eggs, beetroot labneh and lemon yoghurt, and 'hummus eggs', with hummus, crispy fried eggs, zhoug, dukkah, chilli oil and feta on sourdough. Could you be bothered with a full Irish when this is on offer?
Bread 41
Bread 41, the new bakery and café on Pearse Street all but exploded after opening in September, and anyone with an instagram account has been posting pictures of their cruffins, croissants and morning buns. Calls for them to extend their opening hours past Monday - Friday followed fast, and now they've been answered with Saturday opening hours and a new brunch menu. We're eyeing up the fish tacos with citrus cured black pollock, avocado cream, coriander and house tomatillo fermented salsa, and the pork belly with sauerkraut, burnt apple, jus & a fried egg. Pre or post pastries are mandatory.
The Shaka Poke pop-up opened yesterday in Portobello and runs until Wednesday 21st, and this Sunday the 18th they're hosting a special 'boozy brunch', with two course for €20 or three for €25. The menus includes all of the usual poke bowls plus some specials, starters like prawn and charred pineapple salsa, and acai ice-cream for dessert. There's also live music.
Also check out the newly opened Loretta's in Phibsborough whose brunch we'll be making a beeline for very soon.
