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20th December 2016
12:10am GMT
This café nestled away down a street off Stephen's Green is one of Dublin's hidden gems serving up delicious fresh soups, sandwiches, salads and cakes. It's been on my list since Maser told us earlier this summer it was his favourite spot for lunch!
Coppa Café in the Royal Hibernian Academy is hardly a secret given the amount of people queuing for a table when I visited it on a wet and miserable Wednesday lunchtime. Upon arriving at 1.20pm it was instantly clear I should have come earlier as one of the salads was already gone and the slices of enticing cakes on display were already quickly disappearing.
As I practically had to swim across town to get to Coppa, I decided to get a small glass of soup to warm me up before my frittata and salad. The soup of the day was potato, kale and parmesan cheese... They had me at cheese. Dousing kale with cheese is delightfully sneaky way of getting some of the green stuff into your diet. I was really glad I ordered it, it was delicious.
I ordered the vegetarian frittata and salad for the main show. I ordered a frittata in a bid to eat healthily, but I ended up gazing longingly at the two sandwiches on the table next to me. The frittata was fine but it was a bit too plain, it could have done with some more cheese or roasted vegetables or something. I don't think I'd order it again, I'd definitely go for one of their smoked salmon or chicken tapenade sandwiches which looked like tasty little whoppers. The people next to me were doing the whole 'closed-eye-eating' thing as they sank their teeth into their sambos, I had a serious case of food envy.
The chickpea and chorizo salad was one of the nicest sides I've had in a long time and I would order it again in a heartbeat if it's on the menu the next time I go back. The chickpeas made it so filling and the chorizo gave it a nice smoky whack.
The cakes looked incredible, but I managed to resist- mainly because I was so full after my lunchtime feast. Cafe Coppa would the perfect place to go with a friend over the weekend for a catch up over lunch or coffee and cake. Despite being a busy little cafe, it's off the beaten track so you would be unlikely to be disturbed if you're looking for a lazy, chilled out munch. Best of al you could browse the beautiful art in the RHA Gallery afterwards. This is definitely somewhere to add to your list!
