Indigo & Cloth Temple Bar (Men's Store and Coffee Shop) Dublin, Ireland

We heard about Indigo & Cloth the first time while staying at The Dean Hotel in Dublin. (See our review)

We had just visited the Temple Bar Gallery & Studios to see Peachy Dublin and another exhibition at the Gallery of Photography and wanted a hot drink to warm up.

Indigo & Cloth is a men's store, selling clothing, accessories, cosmetic and chocolate. They also have a coffee shop.

We decided to stop there for two hot chocolates.

The coffee shop is small with a table seating four.

It was self-service, but the person behind the counter was very friendly and agreed with his colleague that it was a good day for hot chocolate.

There were also cakes and pastries to choose from.

Coffee is provided by Clement & Pekoe.

We took a seat at the communal table and waited until he had made the hot beverages.

It was made with Aine Hot Chocolate Sticks. Having had similar ones at Clodagh’s Kitchen (See also review.) I was a bit worried the hot chocolate would be too sweet. Thank Goodness the cocoa content seemed to be higher here, so we liked it.

Cost for two hot chocolates was 6 Euro (ca. 6.70 USD).

There was reading material provided including Root and Bone, Fantastic Man and Cereal, inspirational food, fashion and travel magazines.

After our hot chocolates we had a quick browse and found chocolate tablets we liked. The company’s name is Bean & Goose and is based in County Wexford. The tablets are made on marble slabs and in small batches.

There are only two versions available (milk or dark chocolate) with sea salt and cocoa nibs.

The results are amazing.

The texture is on the one hand very smooth and on the other rough due to the sea salt and cocoa nibs. I personally agree with the employee in the store, who recommended the dark chocolate. I think it works better together with the salt, but I would take all two again. He doesn’t have any preference.

One bar costs 5.50 Euro or ca. 6.15 USD.

We liked also clothing by Sandquvist, Sunspel and Saturdays NYC, plus Norge Projects.

We will be back for more.

©2015

Clodagh's Kitchen @ Arnotts Department Store, Dublin, Ireland

On the day before our trip to Dubai we were organizing a few things for our travels in the city center and were hungry, so we decided to test Clodagh's Kitchen at Arnotts department store in Dublin, Ireland.

Clodagh McKenna is responsible for running the restaurant. She is also working together with Aer Lingus and created some in-flight meals, which we already tried. The quality was good, so we hoped the restaurant would be the same.

Clodagh's Kitchen is located on the top floor of Arnotts. There was no menu outside, which we think should be changed.

We were welcomed warmly and could choose any table we liked.

Unfortunately the cleanliness wasn't up to the standard we expected, so we couldn't take the first table, because the floor was dirty. Someone had dropped food, but it hadn't been brushed up.

There wasn't much of an atmosphere.

We were nearly alone, beside some much older couples and ladies.

The interior was contemporary and the chairs comfortable.

In our opinion the tables were too close together and too small.


When our order arrived we had barely space for it.

The emphasis is on Irish produce and staples like egg dishes.

The coffee/tea set was a good deal. You can order any coffee or tea and have a slice of cake. It costs together 5 Euro (ca. 6.50 USD).

We had brought appetite with us, so we wanted something more substantial. We had two orange juice, two hot chocolates, one omelette with chorizo and cheese and one smoked haddock chowder.

The orange juice came with ice cubes - both of us don't like that - without being asked. The Aine (an Irish company) hot chocolate was slightly too sweet, but the omelette and the chowder were very good. They were flavorful and moreish.

We paid 32.90 Euro, ca. 42.60 USD. We thought it was a bit too high, comparing it to Cafe Novo at the Westbury, where omelettes start at around 8 Euro (ca. 10.35 USD). Clodagh's Kitchen’s were 12.95 Euro or ca. 16.90 USD.

Unfortunately it is unlikely that we return to this establishment.

 ©2014