Encore

Encore is a sort of hidden place inside Blackrock Shopping center. You will find it in the ground floor, at the back of the building. From the outside it does look interesting but it is totally worth it to go inside.
The place is big and I like how they spread the tables around. The staff is attentive and work super quickly. They do not have a long menu, but everything I have tried there to this date is just amazing. Brownie and carrot cake. Jesus. Delicious. Specially the carrot cake.
This time I ordered the soup of the day. I can say it was really good. It comes in a big bowl and I couldn’t eatit all. The homemade bread that comes with it was so yummy. I ordered extra bread of course!
The coffee is also good. Sometimes you will have some noisy kids arounds. But hopefully they will leave soon.

Ignoring the serious lack of sound absorption (screaming children and creaky floors and clumsy cutlery dropping staff) and the dull interior this spot is saved by the friendly Frenchman serving relatively good coffee and excellent homemade desserts, pastries and scones. Great for catch up with your mum after a weekly grocery shop (read: not the hippest place, but impressive snacks and sweet treats).

When you are just about the only café /​restaurant in a shopping centre you are in a very privileged position — you have essentially a captive audience who will on occasion pay anything for a sandwich or tea and a bun or lunch of any sort… cus shopping is thirsty and hungry work and oh sweet jeebus did I really drink that much last night and why wont my 2 year old son stop shouting about lollypops?!
So, on Sat afternoon this is where we landed and a BLT with chips sounded just about perfect. Wifey went for cod and chips, junior for the kids fish and chips… Ah healthy eaters one and all. The BLT doesn’t come with chips but I reckoned at 4.95 they were probably going to be good and I was in the mood.
As we waited I looked around at a fairly Spartan décor with all the personality of the inside of a fridge I wondered at the places apparent popularity… it must be doing something right.
…as our food arrived I immediately came to the conclusion the coffee must be very good — the attached pic of a 5Euro plate of chips will testify to my disappointment which only increased as my BLT arrived… not so good, overall 1.5 out of 5.
The fish my family got was actually pretty good — but again the chips few and undercooked.
I left the café 32 Euro lighter and only vaguely wiser, my conclusion is that the menu is simply too much for the kitchen, my advice (to them) — do less, better. my advice to you: tis grand for a coffee, no more no less… and some of the cakes looked pretty good.

I say Coffee Shop, and not Café, for a reason, the coffee shop is like Kylemore or Bewley’s and not so much like one of these nifty, down with the kids, Italian affairs. It is a longer standing concept in Ireland than the café and caters almost exclusively to families and the elderly. The idea is that you drop in and chat over a shticky bun and a milky coffee for an hour after shopping.
I think I feel a great affinity for Coffee Shops having spent a lot of time in them as a kid. Encore is just this type of place, not much street cred, not much pizazz, just buns and tea in a warm spot close to the super market. They get four stars for this and because the deserts are all made in house and the coffee is surprisingly good.