Slice

After years of walking through a desert of red-brick houses with no sight of a place to eat, a sudden mirage has appeared before me in the midst of Stoney-b. Except mine eyes do not deceive me – when I return, it has not vanished into the ether – it is still there. It’s my third time going to Slice since it opened and there is the strangest mood of exhilaration every time I go in – like everyone might start high-fiving and patting themselves on the back in a congratulatory moment of triumph. And well they might. Having lived in the area for almost three years and having become, for better or for worse, an obnoxiously smug Stoneybatterite, a total void of somewhere nice to sit and have a coffee in the ole red-brick womb was a pretty noticeable and inconvenient phenom. The new wave of pram-pushers who have brought rents up across the neighbourhood, as well as the scruffies such as myself, who spend their week’s allowance on living well, were all in dire need of somewhere to have brunch. Much-loved Lilliput Stores has covered most bases for a long time, except that one particular meal.

Slice, as some might already know, is Cake Caf?’s baby sister set up beside the notorious Maureen’s. Like the Cake Caf?, its staple is a range of quality local Irish produce thrown together with delicious abandon with undertones of Ottolenghi and nouveau-Brit gastronomy. Everything has an extra pinch of love and detail in it, from their new range of Cake Caf? products, to the fresh juice press you’re served from the laid-back staff. They serve breakfast, lunch, and on weekends, a stunning brunch as well as serving alcohol and offering the greatest service of all time – breakfast in bed delivered to you if you live in the area. In fact, the popular proprietress, Michelle Darmody, in her infinite wisdom has set up Slice as a bit of a catering/delivery service, realizing the potential of the neighbourhood and area for such business. Rumour has it they will be opening during the evenings soon, too.

In the meantime, visit on the weekend if you want to see what a community of cast-aways look like when they finally see signs of civilization. It’s almost moving. My top pick would be the sausage scramble, involving scrambled eggs, sausage, and avocado served on some type of very fresh bread I can’t remember. And always end with a slice of something sweet.

Roisin Agnew @Roxeenna