Cafe Fresh

Oh yes. This is how vegetarian food should be. Café Fresh is tucked away at the top of the Powerscourt Townhouse Centre but the food is worth searching it out. Today I had the chickpea vegetable satay and rice with two side salads and a ginger beer. It’s a proper meal; tasty, fresh, huge portions, oh the hugeness of the portion. There’s not a huge amount of space but I’ve never been in there when it’s packed so that hasn’t been a problem so far. The service is pleasantly ad hoc but the food, all I can say is om nom nom. I am so looking forward to a return visit.

It took me a while to actually make it into Café Fresh (it’s not often I’d be wandering through Powerscourt Centre, and they’re only open during the daytime), but I’m glad I finally did! Everything I’ve tried has been great. The restaurant is well run, and the owner is friendly and obviously loves what she does. Like Cornicopia, Café Fresh is set up like a canteen with the majority of the menu items on display and ready to be plated. It’s an ideal place if you’re in a hurry for lunch and don’t have time to wait.
Café Fresh also offers Christmas dinner to order and pick-​up. Normally I’d make my own, but didn’t have a proper kitchen this past Christmas. I ordered a few things off their Christmas menu ahead of time (vegan nut loaf, butternut soup, stuffing and crumble for dessert) and picked up the order on Christmas Eve. It was all really good, and my omnivorous in-​laws even looked a bit envious of the food on my plate. I’d highly recommend Café Fresh for their holiday catering services.

Sometimes I feel like a bit of vegetarian food and whenever that happens, I head to Café Fresh. Eating here makes you feel really virtuous and healthy, you can nearly feel the food doing you good. Their miso soup is gorgeous and at 3 quid it’s pretty cheap as well. It goes really well with the Mozzarella Foccacia, which is a bit hit and miss though because towards the end of the day the bread can be a bit dry and tasteless. The atmosphere is a bit like a school canteen, but if you want tasty, healthy vegetarian food, Café Fresh is a good place to go.

Alike other city favourites Cornucopia and Govinda, food is served at Café Fresh in a cafeteria style. At the top of Powerscourt Shopping Centre, it caters to vegetarians and general health conscious eaters in a spacious white dining hall. After a shaky walk with my overloaded plastic tray I sat down to tuck into a slice of Sweet Potato, Spinach and Feta Frittata (€ 8.95) — the cheaper of the main course options. The closely packed wedge however looked like it was missing some publicized stuffing, most notably spinach despite the added pesto bringing a welcome piquancy to proceedings. Owing to the large portions and high prices I skipped dessert, which was ultimately a misstep. Next time I return I’ll do so with the intention of grabbing some of their mixed berry crumble and a cup of soothing tea as the eatery does exudes a certain relaxation that I want to experience again, but that serenity I am honing in on is in no way related directly to the food but more so the capacious, tranquil space.

Filling and wholesome vegetarian food lives in Fresh Café. I love vegetarian food, but sometimes (just sometimes) I’m not entirely full after a veggie meal. But, not so in Fresh. It’s delicious.
A favourite of mine is the veggie sausage, beans and toast. Very moreish. They also have fabulous soups and salads. It’s a nice oasis in the city and if you want to have a quiet lunch, it’s a good place. Their desserts are always tempting too. The nice thing about Fresh is that they’re not just veggie, they’re also healthy eating. So you feel like you’re doing your bit for the old diet by just eating here (no matter what it is!!).
They have a discount for students and members of the vegetarian society (card holders only!); they have a loyalty card and do regular specials to help with the purse strings. They also have a deli so you can take away some nice salads and their cook book looks inspiring.

Café Fresh sits right on top of the historic and beautiful Powerscourt Townhouse Centre, which has an entrance on South William St and Clarendon St.
It’s a totally vegetarian restaurant and has mouth watering foods like hot soups, cold salads and main courses like curries, tarts and lasagnes. They also do great desserts and lovely sandwiches — my favourite is the sweet potato on brown bread. So tasty!
I’m not vegetarian, but I do love coming here if I’m trying to be healthy. It’s just really good wholesome food, and you don’t even notice the meat is missing. It’s become a really popular place, and the owner has launched a cookbook and a catering company on the back of it. That’s only testament to the high quality food, in my opinion anyway!

I luckily came across this place for lunch. They had a nice selection of sandwiches to some delicious looking full cooked meals, and friendly service too. Didn’t try the desserts but they looked okay, the desserts were mostly with dairy, and didn’t look that great. The prices, for everything, were exorbitant. Nice location, though. The price for the portion sizes seemed too much, but normal for Dublin city centre.
However my friend loves this place and loves the apple crumble, I suppose you will have to give it a visit to find out.