contents ¦ reviews and voting ¦ history ¦ links ¦ spill the beans

Bewley's closes

Bewley's closed at the end of 2004 amid much publicity and with anguished cries from its regulars (of which I was one!) at the loss of a Dublin institution. The rent was horrendous on its sites, particularly the Grafton Street outlet (left, above), and it seemed there was little or no chance of making a profit based on the throughput of customers and their average spend in the shops. Bewley's was already among the more expensive locations to have a cappuccino in the city but with Grafton Street rents the fifth highest in the world according to a recent report the café would have had to have a far higher turnover to make ends meet. The new layout includes Mackerel, a very pleasant fish restaurant. The main restaurant is now Café Bar Deli, part of a group founded in 2001 on the principle that great food can be served with style at reasonable prices and this is where Breakfast at Bewley's is served, re-introduced due to popular demand in June 2005. The very successful Bewley's Café Theatre still presents regular productions and The Mezzanine, part of which overlooks Grafton Street, is the place for those wanting coffee and sticky buns.
The Westmoreland Street branch (right, above) has not re-opened; planning permission was being sought for an extension to the adjacent Bewley's Hotel but as of now there is no movement on the site.