Aine’s Cafe
The Square
Easter Saturdays don’t get any better than this.
Walking around Tralee in the warm sunshine was a pleasure at the weekend. The Tir na nOg Children’s Festival brought a great family feelgood factor to the town centre, none more so than in The Square where a carousel kept the kiddies happy while the adults were able to sample some goodies from chef Mark Doe of Just Cooking who was holding a cookery demonstration.
The Square then was the perfect place for a spot of lunch with both Nightjar and Aine’s cafe offering al fresco dining options.
Sadly (for me) all the outside seats were taken so I took plonked myself down inside the cosy cafe. Aine’s is one of those places that I consider an ‘old reliable’. I don’t recall ever having a poor lunch there and I wasn’t disappointed this time either.
The menu is extensive with filled bagels and croissants served all day, speciality salads, wraps, sandwiches galore and coffees aplenty. Such was the choice it took a while to give my order. I eventually decided on the Chicken Wrappo (€6); a warm wrap filled with chicken, pineapple, sundried tomatoes, cheddar cheese, Ballymaloe relish, red onion and garlic mayonnaise.
It looks like there’s too much going on there on paper, but amazingly it works, especially the pineapple and chicken flavours. It comes with a well-turned out side salad and tortilla chips which filled out the plate and my belly.
A tasty cappuccino (€2.50) finished off the meal and I went on my merry way past all the people watchers outside who managed to nab the seats in the sun.
A satisfying visit to the old reliable.
