We found Brew Lab weeks after it opened. Now it ranks among Europe's best.
City Guide · 3 min read
Four Dublin cafes in one week in March 2023, and the one that had only just opened is the one we would send you to first.
We walked into Brew Lab on 11 March 2023. Sprudge's Dublin guide dates its opening to that February, which makes the room a few weeks old. We ordered flat whites made on Yemen beans, and they tasted of blueberry and rose. The latte was brilliant and the pastries were exceptional. We scored it 9.1 and made it a Steep Pick.
A few weeks old when we ordered a flat white there. In July 2026 it ranked 25th on Europe's 100 Best Coffee Shops list.
Brew Lab on Redmond's Hill is run by Arvind and Renata Khedun. Arvind was the 2018 Barista Champion of Ireland, and Renata is a five-time Irish Latte Art Champion. RTE reported in July 2026 that the cafe ranked 25th on the Europe's 100 Best Coffee Shops list. We did not know any of that when we sat down. We knew the staff were friendly, accommodating and coffee-centric, and that the coffee was crafted around single-origin beans.
The rest of that week
Brew Lab was one of four Dublin cafes we reviewed between 11 and 15 March 2023.
- Brew Lab Steep PickChrist Church / Portobello · Dublin · Steep Index 9.1/10
A clean, vibrant specialty cafe in Dublin 2, with single-origin coffee, a brilliant latte and exceptional pastries, run by Irish barista champions.
- RóCo Café Steep PickChrist Church / Portobello · Dublin · Steep Index 8.6/10
A small, quaint two-storey cafe beside Christ Church Cathedral, with a smooth flat white, breakfast burritos and the best seats on the second floor.
- Boca CafeSpencer Dock · Dublin · Steep Index 8.0/10
A clean, spacious specialty coffee and sandwich shop at Spencer Dock, with friendly staff, a good piri piri sandwich and a flat white worth the stop.
- Brindle Coffee & Wine Steep PickChrist Church / Portobello · Dublin · Steep Index 8.8/10
A coffee shop by day and an organic wine bar by evening in Portobello, with a tucked-away back room, an excellent flat white and staff who make it feel like home.
RóCo Café, beside Christ Church Cathedral, is small and runs over two floors. You order downstairs and the staff bring it up to the second floor, where the best seats are. Boca Cafe, out at Spencer Dock, is a spacious room with a sandwich menu. It is also the one where the barista could not tell us which beans were in the flat white, although its own listings name Full Circle Roasters. Brindle Coffee & Wine in Portobello is a coffee shop by day and an organic wine bar in the evening, with a back room tucked away for reading alone.
Dublin keeps office hours
Most of the cafes we reviewed close by late afternoon on weekdays, and Boca is shut at weekends. If you want to sit down after work, Brindle is the one that stays open into the evening, and it is the only one of the four that pours wine. Plan your coffee for the daytime, and save the glass for later.
How far apart they are
The three on the south side sit on one line that you can walk in about eighteen minutes. Brew Lab and RóCo are about 650 metres apart, and Brindle is about 760 metres beyond Brew Lab. Boca is a separate half-hour walk across the city. Our itinerary, Dublin, Monday to Friday, strings all four together, and the neighbourhood page for Christ Church / Portobello covers the three on the line.
Where this fits
Dublin's coffee story is usually told from Bewley's, which has served from Grafton Street since 1927, through 3FE, which opened in 2009 and is usually credited with starting the city's specialty scene, to the World Barista Championship coming to Dublin in 2016. We have not reviewed 3FE yet, so we will not pretend to have an opinion on it. What we can report is one week in March 2023, and that the cafe that had only just opened was the one that scored highest.
If you only have time for one cup in Dublin, make it Brew Lab. Order a flat white on whichever single-origin they are pouring, and take a pastry.