If you’ve walked out of the Luas stop at Ballally in Dublin 14 in the past eight months on your way to Airfield Estate, or Dundrum Shopping Centre perhaps, you may have noticed Grindstone Specialty Coffee Bar.
This petite coffee shop draws you in with its carefully curated interior, all cool tones that are soothingly calm on tired eyes. Everything is simple but beautiful. A shiny Victoria Arduino espresso coffee machine is an impressive centrepiece, with two coffee grinders from the same maker to the side of the espresso machine, ready to grind up a house blend and guest single origin beans. Shelves on the walls hold Chemex coffeemakers for sale alongside 3FE bags of coffee beans, but it's uncluttered and tasteful. The real treat for those into interiors is the goreous coffee bar itself, designed and built by Irish design duo designgoat.
The barista on duty when I visit is Australian Haelee Reis. She’s cheerful and friendly, and the frothy white coffee she makes for me is short and strong (€3 for an 8oz white coffee). It’s flawless. Grindstone use 3FE’s Momentum blend alongside guest beans, usually single origin beans sourced from 3FE. They also serve Wall & Keogh tea. Behind the coffee bar, a back-lit sign says “Coffee: regular, large, black, milk, extra shot, tea, treats, sambos”, with no other details, apart from their corresponding prices. I love the clean simplicity of the hipstery sign.
“We’re going to change the hipstery sign,” says Conor O’Higgins, one of the owners of Grindstone. I meet him after tucking in to my coffee, as he’s managing the floor in the gastropub next door, called Brickyard, serving brunch, lunch and dinner.
“It’s been a little confusing for our customers so we’re going to put up a traditional menu with more details.” I feel a pang of aesthetic sorrow thinking of this lovely menu being discarded in place of a more comprehensive explanation of Grindstone’s offering, but it makes sense. Besides, O’Higgins has been getting to know his customer base since he opened Grindstone and Brickyard in late May of last year alongside his business partners Simon Moore and Irwin Pollard, and they’ve been tweaking the coffee bar to suit their customers ever since.
One would think the morning trade would be roaring for Grindstone, with bleary-eye office workers in need of a caffeine bump before facing the Luas commute. Instead, O’Higgins tells me they’re getting an even trade throughout the day. Grindstone and Brickyard are connected by a door for staff use only, which means they share their coffee machines and kitchen, so that Brickyard has great coffee and Grindstone can offer freshly made sandwiches and salads, prepared downstairs in Brickyard’s kitchen.
There are a couple of daily sandwiches (€6/€7) on offer, as well as protein pots (€6) which is a daily take on a roast-chicken and quinoa or couscous salad. Everything is ready to be taken away, though there are a couple of window seats if you do want to sit in. The kitchen makes treats such as flapjacks and protein balls to go along with the coffee, too.
I choose a grilled chicken club, wrapped in greaseproof paper ready for a trip on the tram. The bread is excellent, sourced from the exceptional Firehouse Bakery in Delgany, Co Wicklow. The overall success of the sandwich is let down by the application of slices of nondescript, dull red cheddar, which is a shame because everything else is really good, including a delicious homemade aioli that brings everything together, and a tasty Cajun spice on the grilled buttermilk chicken. The chicken is not free range but it is Irish and it’s sourced, alongside crispy fried bacon, from Doyle Meats, members of Associated Craft Butchers of Ireland.
Grindstone is a great little find, particularly for coffee fiends, in an unexpected location.
