RiggersD8 has been in Inchicore longer than I have, but that’s not saying much. I only moved into the area in August 2021, but I grew to love Inchicore very quickly! It’s lively, noisy (sometimes), a little edgy (on occasion), very mixed (in all sorts of ways) and has its own football club (Saint Patrick’s Athletic), a brewery and a distillery. Also, a collection of mini supermarkets, butchers, pubs, bookies, charity shops and awesome take-aways. And, of course, three fancy coffee places.

Riggers D8 is on Emmet road that runs from Kilmainham to the centre of Inchicore (to the actual Golden Bridge, which used to the the name of the townland on which Inchicore stands), situated pretty well opposite Saint Michael’s Church, which acted as the garrison church for Richmond Barracks back in the day.

It’s beside Frontline Bikes (click on this – it’s worth it). Not your run of the mill bike shop. Frontline repairs and sells bikes that have seen better days and, in doing so gives jobs and purpose to people who have had addiction issues. It’s a social enterprise that does good in so many ways. I love that.

Just across the road is Flower Pop, a funky, bright, fun florist (where I once got a hug from Heather, the owner), and Small Changes, a lovely, well stocked, whole food and fresh produce shop, where, last year I bought Inchicore allotment rhubarb for my rhubarb jam.

Inchicore has pretty well everything and more and, as a place to live, it’s awesome.

My breakfast companion last Sunday was my delightful, energetic, fun friend, Samantha.

(Those of my vintage who watched US TV sitcoms in the late 60s and early 70s might guess who she was named after. Her dad was a fan.)

I had taken the precaution of reserving a table, and I’m glad I did. When we arrived, at 10:45, the place was heaving, in a good way. We were shown to our table near the back and given menus.

RiggersD8, seats about 25/26 inside, with further tables outside for about eight. Tables are various sizes which is good, and seating is on cushioned benches and loose chairs in a pleasing mix of styles.

Music was low enough to chat over, and the lighting was subdued and calming, mostly provided from suspended bulbs, the ones with the filaments showing. The colours are calming too – a green I recognise from my house and some dark pink/lavender (Samantha and I bickered over the colour) accents.

We took our time choosing and the variety on offer was good for such a small place.

RiggersD8 opens most mornings at 9am (10 at weekends) and stays open till 3/4pm (with some dinner nights, later – see the link above for details). I’ve had takeaway sandwiches from here before: OMG – delicious.

Samantha ordered a Croque Madame, and asked for her egg to be well cooked and served on the side. She thought this might be an issue, but our delightful server listened, and assured her that it would be served, as ordered. I ordered a Shakshuka with extra Nduja added. Tea for Samantha, and a flat white for me.

(I’ve cooked Shakshuka, and blogged about it here.)

The clientele was mixed. Friends, couples, families – a constant murmur of chat. Lively, but at the same time, consistent with a sunny spring, Sunday morning in lovely Dublin 8.

Our tea and coffee arrived. Fab teapot, and I think Samantha was a tiny bit jealous that I got the nicer cup.

Food came then, and my indecision about whether to have butter with my toast was taken out of my hands by some sort of whispered conversation between Samantha and our server.

The well-done fried egg that Samantha had wanted on the side was indeed well-done and served on the side. It was a generous serving of food. She dived in. And enjoyed it. Expressing some additional satisfaction about the use of authentically thin slices of ham rather than doorstop, thick country Irish sanger ham. 

I liked the look of my Shakshuka – a lovely, deep red of tomatoes, peppers, and spices. Eggs in Shakshuka are usually cooked in the sauce. Mine, here were poached and added later, but that’s not at all an issue for me. Cutting into one revealed a delightfully satisfying deep yellow ooze. I love that. The sauce was sharpish (vinegar or maybe the harissa or, indeed, the Nduja), But thick, with aromatic vegetables and chickpeas. The feta created a good contrast to the richness of the sauce. Together with my toast (and, yes, conspiratorial butter), this was a satisfying, tasty, filling morning plate of food and I was well pleased.

In fact we both were.

Conversation flowed, and we watched several people come and go while we lingered over our brunch, me prolonging things further by ordering another flat white. 

I know I normally do a pic of empty plates and the bill, but on this occasion, I forgot.

We did empty our plates and, including a generous tip (the staff couldn’t have been nicer or more obliging), the brunch came to €40. That to me was well worth it, considering the ambience, the staff and the food itself.

I’ll definitely be back – not a hardship as it’s literally a three minute saunter from my front door.