On the surface, Granthams has all the trappings of the dishevelled hipster coffee shop, complete with butcher-block tiles and chipboard surfaces. But it’s the team behind this new spot-on Dublin’s Aungier St, which opened on January 7th, that makes it stand out. Award-winning barista Dave Regan, of Proper Order Coffee and Vice Coffee Inc, is at the helm of this new venture working alongside his (soon-to-be) brother-in-law and former financial advisor Paul Church. Regan and Church are currently developing a second space with a full kitchen on Grantham St, just off Camden St in Dublin 2, set to open later this year.
In the meantime, Regan has drafted in barista Austin Quinlan, who came third place in last year’s Irish Aeropress Championships, and Mike Shanahan, formerly of The Happy Pear and Steelhead Coffee in California, to run their Aungier St coffee shop. Regan’s brother Gary is one of the roasters at Dark Arts Coffee, a small roasters based in Hackney in London. Granthams is the only place in Ireland to stock their beans and it’ll be hosting some of the Dark Arts Coffee team for a cupping class in February. Regan plans to have Dark Arts as their house roaster and to bring in monthly guest roasters.
The barista on duty when I visit is Shanahan, and we talk about the difference between the caramel tones of Brazilian beans (great for milky coffees) and the fruitiness of Ethiopian beans (perfect for filter coffees as well as espresso). He gives me a sip of the Ethiopian filter, made with a Marco Bru machine. It tastes like strong tea and I voice my uncertainty of the current trend of making coffee that tastes like tea. He defends it by telling me of his experience converting coffee haters to coffee drinkers by having them taste this kind of fruity brew.
For me, a good coffee shop offers the potential for this type of nerdy exchange between barista and customer without being inaccessible or overloading those who don’t have time to debate the tasting profiles of a certain bean.
“I want a relaxed atmosphere,” Regan tells me. “We don’t want to be too niche.” Alongside the usual flat whites, cappuccinos and americanos, they’re serving up a weekly Epic Latte flavoured with their own homemade syrups, such as apricot and ginger infused-lattes (€4), and salted caramel flat whites.
Regan wants to focus on upping the food offering now that they’re settled in. They served Oxmantown sandwiches for the first week or two, but have started to create their own menu of sandwiches, prepared at their off-site kitchen. I have a McCarthy of Kanturk black pudding sandwich (€5.50) on Arun Bakery bread, served with a really good tomato relish made interesting by a healthy dose of mustard seeds. It’s a good sandwich but it’s similar to the Oxmantown original that inspired it, and suffers a little by comparison. I’d like to see Regan and his team put their own stamp on the food offering, and I’m encouraged to see a Palestinian falafel sandwich (€5.50) on the menu which is a little different from the usual specialty coffee shop food fare.
Naysayers of the specialty coffee boom in Ireland may argue that there can’t possibly be room for another coffee shop in Dublin’s city centre. I think this idea is supported by the notion that coffee shops are all the same, which in fairness is fuelled in part by recurring decor themes such as the ubiquitous chipboard.
But scratch the surface at a good coffee shop and you’ll find there is so much more to caffeine than a flat white to go. Besides, there is always room for people who are really good at what they do, and there’s no doubt that Regan and his band of baristas are really good at coffee. AMcE
