Queen of Tarts, Dublin

Dame Street,
Temple Bar,
Dublin 2

Queen of Tarts is a small cafe/cake shop on the outskirts of the Temple Bar part of Dublin. It is situated on Dame Street opposite the entrance to Dublin Castle.

Lonely Planet says that the Queen of Tarts is the mother of all cake shops, and they're not wrong.

The cafe itself is quite small, only eight or so tables, but if it's full when you get there it's well worth waiting. The counter is absolutely packed with one of the most amazing array of cakes and pastries that I have seen. They also do snacks and light meals, including what sounds like a great veggie breakfast.

We went there twice and I had soup and cakes both times. The first time I had a carrot and fennel soup followed by a chocolate and pear tart. The second time was lentil and vegetable soup followed by apple crumble. Both soups were nice and thick and beautifully tasty and were accompanied by home made bread. The desserts were sublime, expecially the apple crumble which was served in a tart case making it a perfect single serving dessert. Apparently the blackberry and apple crumble and the victoria sponge were delicious too.

If you're in Dublin, then the Queen of Tarts is a must see - it should be on everyone's list of places to go.