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.
