Coffee and Brunch in Drumcondra: Sit Down for Both
Coffee that comes with brunch: what is on the coffee bar, what to eat with it, and where to sit down with both in Drumcondra.
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A full Irish breakfast is one of the best reasons to get out of bed on a weekend. At our café in Drumcondra we call ours The Lovely Irish, and people ask us about it all the time: what’s on the plate, where the pudding comes from, and whether there’s a vegetarian version.
So here it is, one part at a time. This guide explains what a traditional full Irish usually includes, what black and white pudding actually are, and exactly what goes on our plate at 94 Drumcondra Road Lower, Dublin 9.
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A full Irish breakfast is a cooked breakfast built around eggs, bacon and sausages. Most versions also include black pudding, white pudding, grilled tomato and mushrooms, with toast or brown bread on the side and a pot of tea or a coffee to go with it.
There’s no single official recipe, and every kitchen has its own habits. Some add baked beans or hash browns. In the north you’ll often get soda farls and potato bread, which is why that plate has its own name, the Ulster fry. What they all share is good meat, good eggs and enough on the plate to see you through to the afternoon.
For us, the quality of each part matters more than the number of parts. A full Irish breakfast made with average sausages and watery eggs is a disappointment, however big the plate is.
If you’re visiting Ireland, the puddings are usually the part that needs explaining. Neither is a dessert.
Black pudding is a type of sausage made from pork fat, oats or barley and blood, with seasoning and spices. It’s sliced and fried until the outside is crisp. White pudding is very similar, but made without the blood, so it’s paler and a little milder.
Both are a big part of what makes a full Irish breakfast taste like home to a lot of people. Our black pudding comes from Dunnes of Wicklow, and you’ll find it on the plate next to Wicklow white pudding.
The Lovely Irish costs €15.50. Here’s what goes on the plate:
The Lovely Irish contains cereals, eggs, milk, celery, mustard, sesame and sulphites. If you have an allergy, tell us when you order and we’ll talk you through it. The allergen numbers for every dish are on our menu page.
You don’t need to eat meat to enjoy a full Irish breakfast. The Vegetarian Irish, also €15.50, comes with free range soft eggs, a vegetarian sausage, halloumi, vine tomatoes and garlic roast potatoes, with the same portobello mushroom sauté and sourdough toast.
The halloumi brings the salty, crisp bite that rashers usually give you, and the potatoes make it every bit as filling as the original. It contains cereals, eggs, milk and sulphites.
Hungrier than usual? You can add to either plate:
If a full plate is too much, the Breakfast Bap (€9.95) gives you sausages, smoked back rashers, relish and leaves in a brioche bap. Our House Sausage Roll (€7.50) is made with pork, black pudding and apricot and comes with relish and green leaves. It’s also on the all day menu, so you can have it after breakfast finishes.
There are lighter egg dishes too. Eggs Benedict (€14.95) is bacon and poached eggs on a brioche bun with hollandaise. Avocado Toast and Eggs (€13.50) comes with a spicy peanut ragu, pomegranate and radish. Or keep it simple with Annalitten free range eggs your way on sourdough toast with roasted cherry tomatoes (€9.50).
Tea is the traditional choice, and a pot of breakfast tea is €3.50. If you’re a coffee person, a flat white or a cappuccino (€4.10) works well with a fry, and an Americano (€3.65) cuts through the richness nicely. Fresh orange juice is €4.15.
On a slow weekend morning, some of our regulars finish with a slice of banana bread or a cinnamon bun and a second coffee. We won’t judge.
We serve breakfast until 12.30 on weekdays and until 1pm on Saturdays and Sundays. We open at 10am from Monday to Friday, at 9am on Saturday and at 10am on Sunday.
Weekend mornings are our busiest, so booking a table is a good idea, especially for a group. Use the Book a Table button on this page or ring us on (01) 830 9549.
We’re on Drumcondra Road Lower, near Drumcondra train station and a short walk from Croke Park, which makes the full Irish a popular choice before a match. Our guide to breakfast near Croke Park has tips for timing it around throw-in. If you’re coming from Glasnevin, it pairs well with a morning at the Botanic Gardens.
If you have typed “Irish breakfast near me” into your phone and landed here, this is where we are. The Lovely Food Company is at 94 Drumcondra Road Lower, Dublin 9, on the main road through Drumcondra, two doors from our sister café, Bread & Butter.
Getting to us is easy. Drumcondra train station is on the same road, plenty of Dublin Bus routes run past the door, and Croke Park is a short walk away. If you are coming from Glasnevin or the Botanic Gardens, it is a walk of a few minutes.
We serve the full Irish seven days a week, until 12.30 on weekdays and until 1pm on Saturdays and Sundays, so an Irish breakfast near you in Dublin 9 is not a weekend only thing. Walk in, or ring (01) 830 9549 if there are a few of you. There is a coffee bar running all day to go with it.
The Lovely Irish is €15.50, and so is the Vegetarian Irish. You can add two sausages for €3.00, two rashers for €3.50 or mushrooms for €2.00.
Breakfast is served until 12.30 on weekdays and 1pm at the weekend. After that, our all day menu takes over, and the House Sausage Roll, pancakes and granola stay on.
Yes. The Vegetarian Irish has free range eggs, a vegetarian sausage, halloumi, vine tomatoes, garlic roast potatoes, a portobello mushroom sauté and sourdough toast.
No. Beans aren’t part of The Lovely Irish. Ours is eggs, rashers, black and white pudding, sausages, vine tomatoes, a mushroom sauté and sourdough toast.
Our eggs are Annalitten free range from Castleblayney, County Monaghan. Our sausages are P O’Connell’s award-winning sausages, and our black pudding is from Dunnes of Wicklow.
If you are in Dublin 9, The Lovely Food Company at 94 Drumcondra Road Lower serves The Lovely Irish (€15.50) seven days a week, until 12.30 on weekdays and 1pm at the weekend. We are on the main road through Drumcondra, a short walk from Croke Park and beside Drumcondra train station.
Yes. We are a short walk from the stadium, so the full Irish is a popular choice before a match or a concert. Booking is a good idea for the bigger games.
Hungry now? Have a look at the full breakfast menu and come and find us on Drumcondra Road. The kettle is always on.
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Monday - Wednesday: 10am - 4pm
Thursday - Friday: 10am - 11pm
Saturday: 9am - 11pm
Sunday: 10am - 4pm