Comfy Pub or Café to Read a Book

Lyaiera

With the winter months coming I was wondering where's a nice place to comfy up and read a book? It could be either a pub or a café: beer or coffee. Somewhere warm and with big chairs to relax into. Quiet is preferable, or at least with a nice low-level buzz. Free wifi would be a huge plus as I generally read on my tablet.

soundsham

Try the library or Mc Donald's

KCAccidental

the bookshelf on Pembroke Street is quite nice or the café in the opera house.

pwurple

Ah jaysus, not McDonald's! The book would end up coated in grease.

There are loads of great cafes in the city.

Try The bookshelf cafe on south mall.
I like sunbean cafe on union quay. And o conails chocolate cafe on French church street.

The farmgate in the market would be very busy. Nash 19 similar, maybe not quiet enough.

Funny one, but the cafe way up on the top floor of Dunne's on patrick street has a nice view.

Crawford has a nice cafe too. And the opera house.


Really nice spot in Fitzgerald's park... The cafe attached to the museum. Wooden chairs, so not mad comfy, but a lovely area on an autumn day.

Loire

Hayfield Manor maybe?

horgan_p

the corner house bar , I think its on coburg street.

kaerobe

Grab a spot by the fire in the Oval. Maybe Mutton Lane, or the Woodford.

Cafe wise, The Bookshelf.

CorkyLFC

I found Insomnia to be ok for a read whenever I was in the city. Both of them are relatively comfy/quiet.

One is in Easons upstairs and the other is French Church street i think

jacko1

by the fire on the left in counihans

Fabio

The cafes tend to close too early. Anyone think that?

KCAccidental

Fabio wrote: »

The cafes tend to close too early. Anyone think that?

yeah, for sure. The webworkhouse one is 24 hours and is always rammed. You'd think other cafes would look at that example.

Then again we had tribes as a late cafe for years and it was woeful!

pwurple

Fabio wrote: »

The cafes tend to close too early. Anyone think that?

Yes! I'd love a late opening cafe in the city, there's a gap.

dewdrop

Who in their right mind would consider opening a pub or café to facilitate people who want to read a book in comfortable chairs and likely stay there for hours especially if cold outside. Am I a bit harsh?

KCAccidental

dewdrop wrote: »

Who in their right mind would consider opening a pub or café to facilitate people who want to read a book in comfortable chairs and likely stay there for hours especially if cold outside. Am I a bit harsh?

Well if the customer was there for hours they might spend more in your establishment over someone getting take out.

Also ambiance is a big thing in cafes. If people feel comfortable there they will stay for longer and return spending more money.

why do you think Starbucks were pioneers in having free wifi and allowing hispters to stay there all day writing their novels on their macbook pros?

Subpopulus

dewdrop wrote: »

Who in their right mind would consider opening a pub or café to facilitate people who want to read a book in comfortable chairs and likely stay there for hours especially if cold outside. Am I a bit harsh?

I used to go to a cafe on Castle Street in Dublin all the way through the cold winter of 2010. The place was tiny, seats for about six people, and there only ever was about three people in there. I went there twice a week for about three months, bought two/three coffees each time. The place stayed open till ten. I read a lot of books there, chairs weren't great, but I didn't mind. It was like sitting in my kitchen really, except it was warmer. And yes, I don't suppose they made a huge deal of money in that cafe, but they got about 15/20 euro out of me a week that they wouldn't have gotten otherwise.

There's a real gap in Cork for a nice cafe that stays open till nine or ten. A lot of people don't want to go out and drink, or go to a restaurant for a meal. Some people just want a good coffee and to chill with a book in the evening. Cafes on the continent stay open till all hours, why not here?

Miaireland

The bar in the Imperial isn't bad either during the week or early on in weekends.There are some nice corners to read in. Not sure about wifi though.

SusieBlue

I'd recommend The Boardwalk or Barbarossa. The Boardwalk is more of a bar/restaurant but it has massive comfy chairs and an open fire!

blow69

Miaireland wrote: »

The bar in the Imperial isn't bad either during the week or early on in weekends.There are some nice corners to read in. Not sure about wifi though.

I was going to suggest this. Souths in the Imperial has a lot of quiet and comfortable little corners. Upstairs is quieter with nice couches where you won't be disturbed, at least during the day. And there is free open wifi.

If you are going to be drinking coffee, try and get it from the cafe to the right of the entrance of the hotel. The coffee from Souths is awful.

Oafley Jones

KCAccidental wrote: »

Well if the customer was there for hours they might spend more in your establishment over someone getting take out.

Also ambiance is a big thing in cafes. If people feel comfortable there they will stay for longer and return spending more money.

why do you think Starbucks were pioneers in having free wifi and allowing hispters to stay there all day writing their novels on their macbook pros?

Even Starbuck isn't encouraging cyber squatters any more. And that's an outfit with vast resources and economies of scale. You can't take away free wi-fi of course, but it's now company policy to cover up the wall sockets. Feckers buying a single drink and sitting for hours aren't doing anyone any favours. Ambiance is great, but by itself it ain't paying the rates.

pwurple

I think the Sunbean place is open until 9ish? I'd consider late opening to be more like 11.

Fabio

There is a gap fora late opening cafe in Cork. Webworkhouse have a nice cafe that stays open 24/7. Walking past a few times recently and I'm half-thinking it has gone a little downhill. A lot of "yuff" hanging about outside. Might be no harm but it deters some people from going in.

The place on Tuckey Street, Tribes, while expensive, was magical for sitting and reading. They'd a book corner and all. Open till 4am on some nights/mornings.

who_me

Fabio wrote: »

There is a gap fora late opening cafe in Cork. Webworkhouse have a nice cafe that stays open 24/7. Walking past a few times recently and I'm half-thinking it has gone a little downhill. A lot of "yuff" hanging about outside. Might be no harm but it deters some people from going in.

The place on Tuckey Street, Tribes, while expensive, was magical for sitting and reading. They'd a book corner and all. Open till 4am on some nights/mornings.

Not enough +1s for this! I miss Tribes so much. the Webworkhouse is a great spot but way too busy around the late evenings.

There's one small cafe on McCurtain St. open late (until 10/11 at least, late by cafe standards!) though it's not the comfiest of spots.

CB19Kevo

Fabio wrote: »

There is a gap fora late opening cafe in Cork. Webworkhouse have a nice cafe that stays open 24/7. Walking past a few times recently and I'm half-thinking it has gone a little downhill. A lot of "yuff" hanging about outside. Might be no harm but it deters some people from going in.

The place on Tuckey Street, Tribes, while expensive, was magical for sitting and reading. They'd a book corner and all. Open till 4am on some nights/mornings.

Yeah lots of young lads with tracksuits hanging around there,Must all be training for a marathon or something:D
Surprised webworkhouse has not tacked this as used go in there years ago and used be nice and relaxed.

Lyaiera

I tried Dan Lowrey's (on MacCurtain St.) last Saturday night. It was grand out. I sat at the bar (comfy bar stools) and drank about three coffees and one whiskey over a couple of hours. Maher's coffee and they didn't have any bother with someone drinking coffee rather than booze on a Saturday night.

I knew it beforehand but didn't think of it as a place to sit down with a book, or in my case a tablet. They have wifi in there and the seats by the table are comfy too. Best of all it was warm in there and there was a nice buzz to the place.

Herb Powell

Subpopulus wrote: »

There's a real gap in Cork for a nice cafe that stays open till nine or ten. A lot of people don't want to go out and drink, or go to a restaurant for a meal. Some people just want a good coffee and to chill with a book in the evening. Cafes on the continent stay open till all hours, why not here?

Becuase that "lot of people" isn't as many as you think. That's not a dig at you, btw, or at anyone who wants this, I just mean I don't believe there's really enough people out there to sustain such a place.

Pubs sell alcohol, always in demand, and they can afford to be bigger than cafés. They attract, and can accomodate more people, thus taking in more sweet sweet cash, allowing them to pay off rates.

Would you consider opening such a café? If not, why not?

I just don't think it's in our culture, so the demand, and therefore money, isn't there. Could be entirely wrong of course, but that's how I see it.

Ludo

You can also get beer in most cafes on the continent...not here. Pubs here are becoming more like cafes all the time. Food available in an awful lot now. they are our cafes. you can also get coffee in them obviously so there will never be a huge market. If there was there would be one to be honest.

To Elland Back

A friend has a cafe with Wi-Fi and he has had to cut it off from 12 until 2.30 on account of individuals coming in, taking over tables for 2/3 and sipping on a coffee for hours. He has had to turn away lunch customers because there is no room and that is when he needs to make money

Aglomerado

Gulp'd in the Triskel (Tobin Street) is nice. They have some tasty bottled beers too.

KCAccidental

Aglomerado wrote: »

Gulp'd in the Triskel (Tobin Street) is nice. They have some tasty bottled beers too.

I love gulpd. If you can nab the couch then you're flying

Sephiroth_dude

How long is gulpd opened? must check it out sometime.

Aglomerado

Sephiroth_dude wrote: »

How long is gulpd opened? must check it out sometime.

It's there 2 or 3 years I reckon. My first time going there was about 2 years ago. You'd sometimes forget about it outside of gigs etc in the Triskel, but it's a lovely place and quiet too.