Close to home this time. My home that is. Foam is on Terenure Place, just next to Terenure crossroads. It’s been open for, what, maybe a year and a half now and seems to have become a very popular breakfast/brunch spot mainly, but not exclusively, for families with young kids.

Terenure is a funny place. It’s principally a crossroads and, I suppose, was important in the past as a tram junction, with trams heading off towards town via either Harold’s Cross or Rathmines, and out of town towards Rathfarnham or Blessington. It still has remnants of the tram system, with Aldi on Terenure Road East occupying an old tram shed. Terenure used to be called Roundtown, and this old map shows why …

Now, it’s a curious mix of shops (including an exceptionally good butcher, The Brown Pig), restaurants, hairdressers and other services. It suffers a bit from not having an identifiable centre and from being a place that people travel through to go elsewhere.

Yet, it has some interesting features: Harry Clarke stained glass windows in St Joseph’s Church, for example …

And here’s a picture of Harry Clarke in his studio posing for the Christ figure in the glass …

And it has one of the few remaining synagogues in Dublin. It’s not a pretty building but it has this rather stunning window inside it …

It has a few interesting buildings. This one, for example, with lots of angles and curves …

… which you’ll see in the backgorund of this photo from the very early 1900s of pipe laying on what was then called Terenure Road South and is now called Rathfarnham Road.

On the far right, you’ll see the edge of a blue sign. This was the sign for Terenure Laundry and the road leading up to it was called Laundry Lane. Now, as a result of the ridiculous fashion for replacing names that had meaning and historical significance with names of random trees or non-existent hills, it’s called Beechlawn Way, and now houses this not unattractive Lidl, notable for being maybe the only Lidl without a big free standing sign signifying its presence.

Right, enough local history. Well, almost! The unit that now houses Foam was, until just over two years ago, an architect’s office. Prior to that it was vacant for ages but about 15 years ago it was a really nice vegetable and fish shop. Here it is now …

And here’s the inside of it …

It’s a big rectangle but it’s nicely done out with seats for about 30 people (I’m guessing: I didn’t count) and it feels spacious. The music was modern pop but not at a volume that would upset anybody.

We were greeted upon entry and an attempt was made to usher us to the smaller tables on the right hand side. We resisted this and sat on the left where it feels a bit roomier. We got our menus and pondered. (You can click on these to make them bigger.)

I chose the Eggs Royale (with a flat white) and my breakfast partner, Christine, …

… chose the Blueberry Pancakes with maple syrup and tea. We were asked, which was nice, whether we wanted the beverages with our breakfast (rather than before).

We didn’t have to wait long. Here are Christine’s pancakes …

And here are my Eggs Royale and flat white …

We tucked in …

The pancakes were BIG but light, sweet because of the syrup and, as you can see, were generously laced with blueberries. Eggs Royale are like Eggs Benedict but with smoked salmon instead of ham.

The eggs were perfectly poached, with a runny yolk …

The Hollandaise was smooth and thick and there was a generous helping of smoked salmon on the soft toasted buns. Some dressed leaves garnished the plate and provided a nice vinegary sharpness against the salty creaminess of the eggs, salmon and sauce.

We ate and chatted and then we were finished and we felt handsomely breakfasted. We were one of the first there when it opened at 9am (it was a Saturday) but, when we left about 40 minutes later, the place was filling up and a variety of dishes were emerging from the kitchen, all nicely presented and seemingly being eaten with some relish by hungry customers.

Foam is a pleasant place to eat breakfast. We’ve been twice. It was very busy on our previous visit but the service was equally pleasant and the food equally tasty. Foam opens on weekdays at 8am, and on Friday and Saturday evenings does evening dinner.

Our bill came to €22.60. We’ll go back.