The Quintessentially Irish Beehive Craft and Coffee Shop
One could make a very strong case that the Beehive Cafe and Craft Shop on Achill Island is one of the most authentic and uniquely Irish cafes in Ireland.
What boxes need to be ticked to make the perfect cafe?
One box for me, which rarely gets ticked well is the ability to be able to sit outside.
Having coffee, breakfast, or lunch is meant to be a relaxing experience, and nothing makes the experience more relaxing than being able to sit outside.
Whether it be a sunny day or under an awning with rain drizzling around you sitting outside while enjoying a coffee is a beautiful experience.
Most cafes fall at the first hurdle. If a cafe does have outdoor seating, they usually have very few seats, and this few seats will either be
a) Out the back of their cafe so you’re looking at a wall,
or b) At the front of their cafe, so you have a few seats looking at a busy high street.
When it comes to the Beehive Cafe, you have many seats, and you are overlooking a Bay!
Of course, box number 2 which needs to be ticked, is the food and coffee the cafe serves.
You would love your cafe to have an extensive menu using locally sourced and organic ingredients, but in cities, this is a lot to ask for with usually smaller menus of the same overpriced items.
Lots of cafes will fall at this hurdle.
The Beehives standard of cuisine and ingredients is of an insane standard. No reason the Beehive Cafes makes the award-winning Gourmet Greenway list.
Their meats, cheese, fish, breads and more are all locally sourced on essentially an organic island! nevermind organic food.
Sheep and cows roam the Island of Achill, while fish comes off the boat directly from the pier. Even their seasoning is local and award-winning.
What about alcohol? This is a small box which, again, many cafes can’t tick.
The odd fancy cafe in inner cities may offer you wine or an overpriced bottle of beer, but given that the Beehive is located on the west coast of Ireland and an island! You can enjoy whiskeys, cocktails, beers, pints, or wine, any time of the day with your lunch or coffee.
The decor and furniture of the Beehive Cafe are pure Achill and a beautiful mix of Irish craft and local authenticity.
Everything about the cafe just seems “real”. You sit at real furniture made of real wood surrounded by real Art made by real people. Locally made crafts and ceramics are on display while Irish candles give the cafe a wonderful aroma. Everything is Achill, everything is Irish, everything is genuine and sitting in this wonderful cafe, you realise how rare that feeling is.
The Beehive Craft and Coffee Shop
To then just take the piss the Beehive Cafe also has an in-house craft shop selling a wide array of extremely high standard art, crafts, ceramics, textiles and clothing.
Coming to the west of Ireland simply to enjoy lunch here would be well worth the trip 🙂
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