Formerly a cobbler’s workshop, Jackie Hoyne’s delightful café enjoys a corner location and it would be hard to pass by the elegant 18th shopfront with its immaculately maintained paintwork and lovely Georgian windows.
Inside, polished wooden-topped tables and bentwood chairs, wooden dressers and display shelves all add to the atmosphere, creating a homely setting for food that has a strong emphasis on organic and local produce, and on home baking. Friendly, helpful staff are quick to welcome customers and it’s a relaxing place to take a break.
Blackboard menus offer familiar café fare – scones, sandwiches, salads, cakes, coffee and other drinks - but tip-top ingredients and careful preparation (and the aroma of home baking coming from the semi open kitchen …) make this café stand out from the crowd.
Local apple juice and cheeses – Knockdrinna and Lavistown, made nearby at Stoneyford – are offered for sale and feature on the menu. You could have a Knockdrinna Goats cheese open sandwich, or a Lavistown cheese quiche, for example (both served with salad, about €8) and then try some of Jackie’s sweet treats (apple tart and cream, or a slice of tea brack, perhaps, both about € 2.50) and a good coffee.
With friendly service, delicious homemade food and good value, this lovely café is the kind of place that should be in every small town in Ireland.
Mon-Sat 9.30-5.30pm (Sat from 10.30). B 9.30-11.30am. Closed Sun & Bank Hols. No credit cards.
