When was Capel Street in Dublin pedestrianised?

Capel Street in Dublin became traffic-free on 20 May 2022. The car-free stretch runs about 400 m from Parnell Street and Ryder's Row to Strand Street, making it the longest traffic-free street in the city. Delivery vehicles may enter from 06:00 to 11:00 daily, and all car parking was removed.

Where can you get an early coffee near O'Connell Street in Dublin?

Brendan's on Mary's Lane opens at 06:00 on weekdays, and Roasted Bean Coffee Company on Talbot Street at 07:00. Both are a short walk from O'Connell Street. Full Circle, an Irish roastery set up in 2014, has its counter at 3 Talbot Place, east of the street.

Which coffee roasters have cafés on Capel Street in Dublin?

Farmhand Coffee began in 2018 as a roastery in Brother Hubbard's original kitchen on Capel Street and now has its own counter at 153 Capel Street. Brother Hubbard North is on the corner of Capel Street and Mary's Abbey. Full Circle roasts in Dublin and has a counter at 3 Talbot Place.

Cafés in Capel Street & O'Connell Street, Dublin

North of the river, this area runs from Capel Street east past Henry Street and O'Connell Street to Talbot Street and Amiens Street. Sir Humphrey Jervis laid out Capel Street in the late 17th century on abbey lands he bought in 1674, and on 20 May 2022 it became the longest traffic-free street in Dublin.¹ O'Connell Street, with the Luas running along it, was the stage for the 1916 Easter Rising, when republicans seized the General Post Office.²

The café mix here is wide: specialty counters, bakeries, bubble-tea shops and plain cafés that open before 07:00. Brendan's on Mary's Lane opens at 06:00 on weekdays, and Roasted Bean Coffee Company on Talbot Street at 07:00. On the quays, Bachelors Walk has a run of small cafés, from Póg at No. 32 to the Bakehouse at No. 6.

Local tip: Walk Capel Street after 11:00, when the delivery window closes and the bollards go up.³

At a glance

77Cafés listed

13With opening hours

06:00Earliest opening

23:00Latest closing

Opens earliest: Brendan's, from 06:00 (Mon–Fri 06:00–15:00 · Sat 07:00–15:00).

Closes latest: Mind The Step, until 23:00 (Mon–Fri 09:00–23:00 · Sat 10:00–23:00 · Sun 10:00–18:00).

Most listed streets: Bachelors Walk (8), Talbot Street (6), Parnell Street (5).

Most common features: indoor seating (22%), outdoor seating (18%), wheelchair access (16%).

Capel Street without cars

The traffic-free stretch is about 400 m, from Parnell Street and Ryder's Row down to Strand Street. Deliveries are allowed from 06:00 to 11:00, after which bollards close the street, and all car parking was removed.³

The street is now longer car-free than either Grafton Street or Henry Street. Older businesses stayed: Lenehan's Hardware has been here since 1890, and Louis Copeland, the tailor, opened a workshop in 1908. On the corner of Great Strand Street, Real Brasil sells brigadeiros, empadas and coxinha.⁴

Brother Hubbard and Farmhand

Garrett Fitzgerald and James Boland took over a former restaurant on the corner of Capel Street and Mary's Abbey in autumn 2017 and called it Brother Hubbard North. In 2018 they turned the original Brother Hubbard kitchen on the street into a coffee roastery, Farmhand Coffee, with their head barista.⁵

Dublin.ie describes Brother Hubbard as known for simple, interesting food made from scratch, and Fitzgerald has published a Brother Hubbard cookbook.⁴ Farmhand Coffee now has its own counter at 153 Capel Street, and Brother Hubbard also has a café on Liffey Street Upper.

Markets and bakeries off Henry Street

Moore Street's open-air fruit and vegetable market is Dublin's oldest food market, and the terrace where Patrick Pearse's Volunteers surrendered on 30 April 1916 stands on the same street.⁶ Bakery counters cluster around it: Pulido's Coffee & Bakery at 22 Moore Street, Anne's Bakery on Mary Street, the Filipino Bakery at 20 Liffey Street Lower and the Bagel Bar on the same street.

West toward Smithfield, Elliot's on Arran Street East bakes seasonal sweet and savory pastries, such as a Guinness beef and mushroom pie, and has a few tables. Its founders also run Oxmantown, and the coffee is from Cloud Picker.⁷

Roasters and late hours east of O'Connell Street

Full Circle, an Irish roastery set up in 2014, has a counter at 3 Talbot Place.⁸ Vice Coffee on Middle Abbey Street, near the GPO, opens at 11:00 every day; in August 2026 its flat white cost €4.20, and Central Brew on Talbot Street charged €4.00.⁹

For the evening, Mind the Step on Great Strand Street, a block from Capel Street, is open until 23:00 from Monday to Saturday and 18:00 on Sundays. Ella's Heaven on Talbot Street stays open until 19:00 every day.

Cafés in Capel Street & O'Connell Street

At a glance

Blas café

Ella's Heaven

Irish Potato Cake Company

Jay Kays

Mind The Step

Muse Cafe

Póg

The Bakehouse

The Coffee Bean

Vice Coffee

Brendan's

Roasted Bean Coffee Company

The Pantry

Arran St East

Art Café

Cafe Crema

Café Lisboa

Caffe Cagliostro

Castle Tea Rooms

Coxinharia Coffee & Co

Ea-Tea

Farmhand Coffee

Flört Coffee

Fooderia Dublin

Full Circle Coffee Roasters

Guud Day

Guud Day Four Courts

Hot Bubble Cafe

Il Fornaio

Jay's Cafe

koffee and kale

Laine, my love.

Lemon Jelly

Like A Coffee

Lovinspoon

Mish Mash

Coffee chains in Capel Street & O'Connell Street

Insomnia Coffee Company

Starbucks

Butlers Chocolate Café

Caffè Nero

Costa Coffee

Café Sol

The Art of Coffee

Esquires Coffee

Oxmantown

Capel Street without cars

Brother Hubbard and Farmhand

Markets and bakeries off Henry Street

Roasters and late hours east of O'Connell Street

Sources

More of Dublin

Temple Bar & Dame Street

Portobello & Camden Street

Grafton Street & St Stephen's Green

The Liberties

Smithfield & Stoneybatter

Docklands & Grand Canal

Rathmines & Ranelagh

Capel Street & O'Connell Street cafés: questions

When was Capel Street in Dublin pedestrianised?

Where can you get an early coffee near O'Connell Street in Dublin?

Which coffee roasters have cafés on Capel Street in Dublin?

Own a café in Capel Street & O'Connell Street?