Shoe Lane opened in July 2016 as a pop-up beside Tara Street station, on a street once known as Shoe Lane for its row of cobblers and shoemakers. The first café keeps that history in its fittings: vintage Singer sewing machines and wooden shoe lasts in the window, donated by Tara Leather, the last of those cobblers, and floorboards, seating and a counter made from 150-year-old timber salvaged from a nearby warehouse.

The coffee is roasted in small batches by head roaster Brian Birdy, a former Irish Cup Tasters Champion, who builds the profiles for the house espresso and the rotating single origins. He travelled to Fazenda Chapadão in Fortaleza de Minas, Brazil, the source of the house espresso, to see the harvest. The house filter comes from the Kii factory of the Rung’eto Farmers Cooperative in Kirinyaga, Kenya, which Shoe Lane has bought from since 2016.

There are four cafés, all dog friendly, with free wifi and music playing. The original café, with an upstairs seating area, is by Tara Street station; the newest opened in June 2026 on the Liffey near O’Connell Bridge. The other two are on the coast: in Dún Laoghaire, near the DART station and the East Pier, and in the centre of Dalkey village. The river café and Dalkey are mainly for takeaway, and Dún Laoghaire is the only one making sandwiches and toasties to order. The cafés serve espresso, cold brew and batch filter, with ceremonial-grade matcha and organic chai as alternatives.

Coffee on the shelf

Photograph: Shoe Lane Coffee