Best coffee in Dublin?

overcaesar

The Bald Barista on Aungier St is close by and they make pretty great coffees

http://www.thebaldbarista.com/

Fajitas!

I'm not so sure on the Bald Barista - Not a fan of the Fixx blend.

Just another note, I think hazymat's looking for good filter coffee, the only places that have good filter coffee (to my knowledge) is Fallon & Byrne and 3FE (I think Murphy's Ice Cream stores are getting it in too, but I don't know when).

hazymat

Just checked into my hotel this minute and your responses have been invaluable, can't wait to try out these places.

Thanks again,

Mat

thegspot

Absolutely love the Bald Barista, Coffee is amazing. Too many places in Dublin near burn the milk in a capaccino to the point that you nearly burn your tongue.... So god dam annoying

zuutroy

Have been to 3FE three times now and the coffee has been cold each time. They need to invest in some cup warmers! Went back for the first time since they expanded the size of the place and found the service to be exceptionally slow and the staff to be fairly dis-interested in the customers.

Dahtac

Did you mention this to them, because if you are unhappy it is probably the one place in the city where they will go out of the way to fix the problem.

That said I drink there at least 3 times a week, I always have to wait several minutes before my coffee is cool enough to drink. And bar rush times, when I am content to wait and sit because they really get hammered, service is prompt and friendly.

the beer revolu

zuutroy wrote: »

Have been to 3FE three times now and the coffee has been cold each time. They need to invest in some cup warmers! Went back for the first time since they expanded the size of the place and found the service to be exceptionally slow and the staff to be fairly dis-interested in the customers.

I've been there once and found the staff to be very enthusiastic, friendly, helpful and seemingly very knowledgeable and passionate about coffee .

I might say, I'm not convinced by the whole filter coffee revolution!
I'll be sticking to my espresso!

I spent a bloody fortune there in a short space of time (2 cups of their more expensive filter coffee - I was warned of the price before purchase - and a bag of beans to go) but it was an enjoyable experience, if a little OTT coffee geeky for my taste. I also got to try an espresso shot of the beans I was thinking of buying for free!

Coriolanus

the beer revolu wrote: »

I might say, I'm not convinced by the whole filter coffee revolution!
I'll be sticking to my espresso!

Nor me. It tends to be cold by the time it gets to the table. I think it's the glass jugs. I've had it made at a friends house, but she uses a preheated ceramic jug to hold the heat in.

ch2008

Hi All,

My name is Colin and I'm the owner of 3FE so I thought I'd jump in and answer a few of the problems raised here. I'm not sure if the mods allow this sort of thing but if there's any issues I understand if my post gets cleared. In a previous life I was a regular boards poster on C&T but feel slightly compromised since I now own a shop....

There are a few issues raised a number of time so I'll just deal with them in general points if thats ok. I'll probably refer to the other points raised here too just to keep it all in one place.

Cold Coffee; The coffee should never be cold but I would expect them not to be piping hot. All our drinks, black or milk based (caps etc.), are served intentionally at a drinking temperature as we find most of the sweetness and flavours are at their best. Drinking piping hot coffee is definitely the norm in this city but its hard to taste anything but heat when its too hot. In saying that, lots of customers of ours want extra hot drinks and thats no problem at all. Our brewing temperatures are tightly controlled but there is definitely something we can do to get the drink to you hotter. Just ask and we'll make it happen. (p.s. we also do cold brews which will definitely be cold!)

Staff; This is an odd one. If anything, the guys at 3FE spend too much time chatting to customers so I was surprised to see someone experience otherwise. We take this really seriously though so we've all had a chat about this and we're doing our best to make sure nobody slips through the cracks when it comes to service.

Early opening hours; We constantly get people telling us that we need to open early but no matter how hard we try it never takes off. We tried it for a really long time but it was always dead. The place is always busiest between 10-7 so for obvious reasons thats when we open. I'd love to open 7am to 10pm but unfortunately it isn't sustainable.

Dark roasts; This is very odd as we definitely roast on the very light end of the scale. We would be recognised as having the lightest roasts of any cafe in the country so I'm a little confused really?

Kintarō Hattori Latte disappointment; If you pop me a pm I will arrange for you and your girlfriend to come in and do a tasting. Most of the problems with milk drinks are related to milk:espresso ratio. If we cant find a drink you like I'll do you lunch on the house. Deal?

I hope these points answer a few of your queries. I understand that it is impossible to please everybody and that there will always be people who don't like what you do but its really good to get feedback so I appreciate that.

The thing I'm most disappointed about though is that those who had a bad experience never said anything to us when they were there. Its really easy to get good feedback from people but bad feedback is the most valuable information but really difficult to get. We really take every complaint very seriously, our jobs depend on it. If you have any problem with 3FE please do drop me a mail at hello@3fe.com or just talk to any of the baristas on the bar.

Hope this helps,
Col

Kintarō Hattori

Hi Colin,

That's certainly some level of service and I sincerely appreciate it. I'll certainly drop you a pm but there's no way I'd let you give us lunch on the house if we don't find a nice coffee. Simply helping us find a nice coffee is enough.

Dahtac

Take the free lunch Pete's Sandwiches are amazing!

ch2008

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

Hi Colin,

That's certainly some level of service and I sincerely appreciate it. I'll certainly drop you a pm but there's no way I'd let you give us lunch on the house if we don't find a nice coffee. Simply helping us find a nice coffee is enough.

Come on now. A deals a deal

Alara

Just wanted to say I went to 3FE as a result of the positive posts on here--and have to say that Colin is really, really nice (the coffee was good too, lol). I was having trouble with some weird fungas-looking residue on the inside of my little stovetop coffee pot, and he took the time to talk to me about it, and then even gave me a whole cup full of his own coffee-machine cleaning powder for free, haha. Sadly, it didn't work , but I really appreciated the gesture. I was a first time customer, so yes, I would say the level of customer service there is A1.

ntlbell

Also a bit surprised at some of the comments regarding 3F3 Colin and any of the staff I have encountered in 3F3 have been excellent. Always willing to take some time for any questions you have.

Never been let down by the coffee offerings, the bariasta's and now the amazing lunches.

It's the only coffee shop I would travel to town to just for a coffee and anyone I have brought with me has been equally amazed.

I would say if anyone is unhappy bring it up when you're in the actuall shop

Dyr

ntlbell wrote: »

Also a bit surprised at some of the comments regarding 3F3 Colin and any of the staff I have encountered in 3F3 have been excellent. Always willing to take some time for any questions you have.

Never been let down by the coffee offerings, the bariasta's and now the amazing lunches.

It's the only coffee shop I would travel to town to just for a coffee and anyone I have brought with me has been equally amazed.

I would say if anyone is unhappy bring it up when you're in the actuall shop

This is the funny thing, you loose customers by getting it wrong the first time. Most people (me included) won't make a complaint and have it rectified, they'll just shrug and go elsewhere.

carwash106

Where exactly is 3FE, is it the twisted pepper? or beside it, I looked on google maps , where according to the first post it was across the luas tracks from Arnotts.
Anyway, I usually get butlers cappucino, I dont know anywhere else really.

Starbucks "Ethiopa yirgacheffe" that you buy in a pack to bring home is really nice, I have bough a few packs of that for my filter at home.

frag420

I have talked to Colin once or twice(still have to drop in design for expresso machine to ya) and always found him to be chatty and helpfull. Any time I have been there the staff have been great, the coffee spot on and the cakes..........................lets not go there, nyom!!

Keep it up

ntlbell

Bambi wrote: »

This is the funny thing, you loose customers by getting it wrong the first time. Most people (me included) won't make a complaint and have it rectified, they'll just shrug and go elsewhere.

Well if you find nicer coffee as knowledgeable friendly and efficient staff, please let me know I want to be in the cafe.

zuutroy

Thanks for the feedback. I don't mean to be a hater and I know 100% satisfaction is impossible, particularly on a busy Sat afternoon. I know I should have said something at the time, but I'm of the sheepish Irish disposition; the type which complains to everyone but the wrong-doer!

Regarding the temperature, I'd like to think I know how it should be served, as I was one of the first folk Bewley's gave proper training to, back in the mid-90s (jaysus I'm old, maybe things have changed since then!). But the times I've been in the coffees I got were in the 40 degree range I'd say.

Dyr

ntlbell wrote: »

Well if you find nicer coffee as knowledgeable friendly and efficient staff, please let me know I want to be in the cafe.

Already posted this, but the one time i went into 3fe (based on this thread) I had a paper cup placed in front of me, even though I hadn't asked for anything to go, and tbh i had dumped it in a bin before I got to O'Connell street. I'm fairly easy to please coffee wise but it did'nt taste right.

Coriolanus

carwash106 wrote: »

Where exactly is 3FE, is it the twisted pepper? or beside it, I looked on google maps , where according to the first post it was across the luas tracks from Arnotts.
Anyway, I usually get butlers cappucino, I dont know anywhere else really.

Starbucks "Ethiopa yirgacheffe" that you buy in a pack to bring home is really nice, I have bough a few packs of that for my filter at home.

yeah, its the twisted pepper. Cafe by day, club by night.

ch2008

zuutroy wrote: »

Regarding the temperature, I'd like to think I know how it should be served, as I was one of the first folk Bewley's gave proper training to, back in the mid-90s (jaysus I'm old, maybe things have changed since then!). But the times I've been in the coffees I got were in the 40 degree range I'd say.

Hey, this is the point. There is NO correct temperature. Everyone has a preference so the only thing any shop can do is choose a target temp and adjust to suit on request. Lots of our customers ask for extra hot. Its definitely not a problem, we want you to enjoy your coffee!

ch2008

Bambi wrote: »

Already posted this, but the one time i went into 3fe (based on this thread) I had a paper cup placed in front of me, even though I hadn't asked for anything to go, and tbh i had dumped it in a bin before I got to O'Connell street. I'm fairly easy to please coffee wise but it did'nt taste right.

This definitely should not have happened. If you pop me a PM I can arranging a tasting and see if we can find a coffee to suit you. We change the beans quite often and can serve them many ways so would really appreciate a second shot at this!

adrian522

I had the opportunity to drop into 3FE on Saturday afternoon.

It looked busy enough so I presume things are going well there which is great to see.

I had an espresso and a Cappuccino, both were excellent but left me a little disillusionment with my own efforts to create these at home as there is such a huge difference between what I can produce and what was served up there!!

Anyway the staff were really friendly and obviously enjoy what they do and are happy to chant about the different types of coffee on offer.

Keep up the good work it's great to have a place like this in Dublin.

Coriolanus

adrian522 wrote: »

I had the opportunity to drop into 3FE on Saturday afternoon.

It looked busy enough so I presume things are going well there which is great to see.

I had an espresso and a Cappuccino, both were excellent but left me a little disillusionment with my own efforts to create these at home as there is such a huge difference between what I can produce and what was served up there!!

Anyway the staff were really friendly and obviously enjoy what they do and are happy to chant about the different types of coffee on offer.

Keep up the good work it's great to have a place like this in Dublin.

They used to do a class on a Sunday that I've heard good things about. Might help with the home production!

donnacha

Keep an eye on the 3fe website for group classes - I did the latte art class with Jordan earlier this year - definitely worth it. The fee alone would barely cover the amount of shots they pull for you never mind the gallons milk they let you steam/pour!
Honestly I learnt more about steaming/pouring in that couple of hours than what I'd picked up on the web over the previous 2 years.

adrian522

Cheers !! I'll keep an eye out....

califano

As a total coffee newb i went in to buy a bag of coffee in the twisted pepper place and test the staff while i was at it one sunday morning a couple of months ago after watching the barista video. Colin wasnt there but for about 25 intense minutes of me asking all manner of ridiculous questions* about beans(whats the secret of keeping the freshness), the grinding process and questions including whats the best supermarket coffee to buy! they answered them all like i wasnt an idiot at all. I even attempted finishing the odd sentence for them to make it appear i was on the same wavelenght and understood fully. I sensed the girl was thoroughly fed up of me towards the end but kept her council and handed me over fully to the other chap instead of running the risk of losing her patience.
So yeah i found them all about the customer and very good service.
Top marks.

*to them rediculuos, to me they were real things i didnt inderstand. Although i used the supermarket question as a jab just to see would any simmering tempers emerge:).

RE*AC*TOR

HOLY ****!!!

remwhite

3FE does brilliant coffee alright. Have loved it every time I've been there.

A great place for a coffee if you're in the area is FoodGame on Sth Lotts Rd beside Slatterys in D4. Always lovely coffee and good banter from the staff. Cool place to just chill out too.