Go Fork Yourself: Lazy Days Cafe, Blackrock, Dublin

Open from 8am-3pm on weekdays (we’ve yet to visit on the weekend), our Lazy Days review doesn’t quite fit the standard format. It’s really more of a love letter born out of a hodge-podge of past experience.

Find yourself outside their door shaking off an umbrella at 8 o’clock in the morning on a rainy summer’s day and they will serve you up a takeaway hot chocolate and a fresh muffin for less than a fiver. If you happen to be suffering the after affects of the night before and you can’t quite take the intense glare of the 40 watt office bulb any longer, you can ramble their way before 12pm for the breakfast menu. Full Irish, cheeky sausage sambo, or (piece de resistance) Canadian toast with bacon and maple syrup, any one of them will set you up for the day. Meanwhile the lunch menu brims with more hearty homemade fare – quiche, lasagne, potato cakes, chunky salads – and the desserts will leave you dribbling and pawing at the counter glass – giant rice krispie squares, muffins, tarts. We’ve tried it all, and it passes muster with room to spare. Fresh and homemade are two tags that find themselves applied to even the lowliest garage sandwich. Fresh and homemade and Lazy Days means you can see the brunch salads being chopped up in the morning when you go in for your coffee.

A mix of small tables (indoor and outdoor) as well as secluded giant kitchen table seating 5 or 6 which certain rampers have laid claim to, and two squashy, comfy sofas down the back, Lazy Days is just that. You can settle in with your coffee for as long as you like or be in and out the door in minutes as required.

Across our regular darkenings of their door, we’ve clocked up a count of 3 regular staff, one of whom is the owner. It’s a relaxed sort of place where they get to know you, but will treat you just as well if you’re new.

Try the Full Irish. No wait, try the quiche. No, the muffins. Oh hell, make a day of it, try everything.