The Elephant & Castle in Dublin does it all. They are open from 8:30 in the morning until almost midnight and serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. It’s a Celtic-ized version of a Jersey diner.
Located in the popular and convenient Temple Bar area, we found it because it was close to our hotel, the Westin Dublin. We usually shy away from hotel breakfasts as we find them too homogenized and expensive. It must have been the luck of the Irish that we found a place like the Elephant & Castle.
The morning rush for them is more spread out, especially on the weekends. The constant influx of non-tourist customers was a great sign, and it turns out the regulars are right – this is a perfect spot for breakfast.
The breakfast menu contains items you would expect to find in Ireland: Irish Pinhead Oatmeal, eggs and streaky bacon and Frou-Frou with Greek yogurt. A couple of odd (yet pleasant) surprises were the California Sunrise Breakfast and the Mexican Scrambled Eggs with Crisp Tortilla (really? in Dublin?). My absolute favorite though was a delicate French Brioche Toast with Maple Syrup. Light yet substantial enough to keep me going through a busy morning of sightseeing on a cold Dublin day.
Another pleasant surprise was the bottomless cup of coffee, definitely needed after a late night in Temple Bar. The prices weren’t crazy either. Dublin is well known, and accurately so, as being an outrageously expensive city. Yet you can have a nice breakfast here, including coffee, for around 10 Euro a person – an absolute bargain by Dublin standards.
Even if your hotel isn’t close to Temple Bar, its proximity to the heart of the city warrants a visit to the Elephant & Castle.
