Keogh's Cafe: "What we do, we do it right. It’s hot, fresh and served with a smile"

For over thirty years, Keogh’s café on Trinity Street has been a family-run gem, serving hearty breakfasts, freshly baked treats and coffee with a dollop of genuine Dublin hospitality.

The city has changed quite a bit since they started out. Still, Keogh’s remain committed to what has always worked.

Their delicious and generous full Irish is a bestseller. Their lauded scones and muffins, baked fresh throughout the day, are equally popular. The coffee meanwhile, brewed from Bewley’s roasted beans, adds another flavour of local tradition.

“They’re recipes that are tried and tested,” explains co-owner James McKenna. His father started the business in 1994 alongside Catherine Keogh, who can still be found charming customers at the till and on the floor.

“Trends come in very fast and they go very fast,” James continues. “For us it’s about keeping it simple and consistent. There’s comfort in that. People don’t want to come and get a great breakfast one day and an okay breakfast the next.

“We’re always up for introducing something new, but we’ll never put all our eggs in one basket. We have a few vegan options, but we try to do one or two and do them right, as opposed to trying to do everything.”

That consistency is one of the reasons Keogh’s continues to thrive.

“You’re only as good as what the customer is willing to pay,” adds James. “It’s really a big thing for us – to give value. We hold off on increasing prices and I think we’ve done a good job on that.”

Also doing a good job are the people behind the counter, on the floor, and in the kitchen.

“We’ve great staff. Tom, the manager, treats it like it’s his own place. He’s a character in himself,” James smiles.

Tom’s story very much reflects the spirit of Keogh’s.

“He got his Irish citizenship in the last few years,” James begins. “We went to the ceremony, then we went for a meal. I said: ‘Oh Jesus, Tom, we’re after being broken into. We better go round.’ It ended up being a big surprise party for him.”

“The guys in the kitchen, they’re terrific too,” James acknowledges. “Myself and Catherine know well that a bit of respect and appreciation goes a long way.

“You can pick up a lot of skills here that you bring with you through life, like talking with people and listening to them. We’ve no problem with the guys sitting down and grabbing a chat with customers. People appreciate it. It’s those little things that make a difference.

“We’ll hire on personality, but they’ll get it from us too. Everyone has those qualities. You just have to bring them out. Our rule here is just to be happy. It’s a place of work. So we have to make it as joyful as we can.”

Catherine agrees.

“They’re all terrific. Even when they have to leave, they cry. Because we run it like a family.”

The café is pretty much always packed with hungry customers all day, with the team also serving up sandwiches and a tasty lunch menu. Running this place isn’t for the faint-hearted.

“All the little things you do just to get someone a breakfast,” James says. “The deliveries come in at six o’clock. You have to be here at 5.45am. And then you’ve got your prep. The guys are in from maybe 5am for the scones and pastries, all that stuff is baked fresh every morning. Then doors open at 6:30am.”

It’s a routine honed by decades of dedication. Catherine, who’s done every job there is to do at Keogh’s, recalls the café’s early days.

“It was very tough in the beginning,” she describes. “We did it seven days each week. And it was a quiet area, nothing like what the city is now. It was all about getting to know people and their businesses, bringing them in and making them feel good. And to this day we still have customers going back to that time.

“The local businesses have been great. Even through Covid, everyone pulled together. It’s nice to have that close-knit community, especially in a city.”

Catherine notably embodies that wholesome, old-school Dublin warmth.

“Catherine’s great. She’s great at talking to tourists,” James says. “We get a lot of tourists from all over the world. They’re coming straight here from the airport. What’s nice is that if they’re here for a week or so, we’ll have them a few mornings, and most of them will always come back with a little gift for her.

“Anyone can sell a cup of coffee. But when you get personal, that’s what they remember. We get so much tourism. This is Dublin, you’ve got to be proud of it, you’ve got to welcome them.”

“We’re very proud of what we have. You have to enjoy what you’re doing,” Catherine nods. “I love dealing with people. People love a little compliment. It’s not rocket science and it works for us.”

“Word of mouth is important too,” James continues. “I think that’s one of the reasons why we are busy. We have a steady flow of customers who’ve gotten a recommendation from a friend or a local hotel.”

For all the homely tradition, Keogh’s have modernised where it counts. In the office, James has a screen connected to cameras covering every nook and cranny. Using walkie talkies, he can let someone know if the line is getting long or a table needs clearing.

It’s about using new methods to make them do the old things well. Despite the upgrades in tech, you’ll never be forced to order off a QR code.

“If you do that, you’ve lost the interaction. You’ve just done a transaction,” James says. “You have to talk to them at the counter, meet and greet the customers, then drop them their food, as opposed to just scanning a code at the table. You’ve got to have a rapport with them.”

It’s a friendly-faced mentality they’re expanding to the new takeaway hatch facing onto Dame Street

“We’re really working on that at the moment. We’re trying to get the staff to know the importance of not leaving a customer waiting,” James explains. “The whole idea is to grab your coffee and muffin quicker in the morning. And it takes the pressure off the other side of the café.”

It’s still worth sitting down for a little while if you’re lucky enough to land a table. The interior is gorgeous and eclectic, the walls adorned with drawings of Irish literary icons like Oscar Wilde and W.B. Yeats.

It all ties into the cosy sense of familiarity. Regulars are recognised and their orders are remembered, which comes in handy when there’s a rush.

“If we know they have to be back in half an hour, we prioritise them,” Catherine says. “You’re just trying to accommodate where you can. There was a man who works in Trinity this morning, I saw him at the end of the queue. I know what he gets because he’s a creature of habit, so I started making his coffee as soon as I saw him.”

What it all comes down to is a pretty simple Keogh’s formula.

“What we do we do it right,” James says. “It’s hot, fresh and served with a smile. If you do those things you’re halfway there. And the big thing for us is to give customers something that the other places can’t: a bit of a chat.”

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