The Butlers Pantry

I recently decided to go on an impromptu picnic, and happened to spot this place whilst driving through Castleknock. We stopped in to have a look and were delighted to find a small yet perfectly formed little deli/​gourmet food store! We stocked up on some fresh salads (2.50 each! amazing!) and some cheesecake (3 slices for 6 euro? amaaaazing). I was only sorry this hadn’t been my first stop off, as they also stocked gorgeous looking bread & a selection of Sheridan’s cheeses. Plenty of taster samples out too, which was nice. I was amazed by the quality vs. prices of the items in The Butler’s Pantry, particularly the cakes and pastries. I had to actually do a double take when I saw these huge quarters of cake (coffee, carrot, chocolate) for 2.50 each. We got the carrot one and it was was basically the size of two slices, and lovely!
Super impressed, will certainly be back.

You’d be hard pressed to find much evidence of roasted vegetables in a lunchtime tub of orza and roast veg salad. Big on orza, then, you’d rightly guess. The cous cous looks equally thin on non-​bulk ingredients. And the sandwiches are a bit of a joke for a shop that markets itself as producing gourmet food: two small slices of white bread with a thin layer of filling which unfortunately didn’t fill me up while it lightened me of € 4.50.
Skrimping on taste and good ingredients is the sense I come away with, less so on prices. I think that the marketing buzz (with its carefully styled frisson of middle-​class aspiration fulfilment) of this chain of gourmet food stores lends it an air of exclusivity that I’m not convinced it warrants — definitely not on its lunchtime fare anyway which just doesn’t cut it.

Amazing is the first word that comes to mind. Bright and cheery colors welcome you as you walk in, drawn closer and pulled inside with the smells of fresh baked bread and sweets. A selection of cakes, Danishes, tarts, homemade dressings, take away meals and healthy food options. All made fresh daily in their kitchen in Bray. The pastries and breads are delivered into all of the 12 locations 2 – 3 times a day!!! Everything in the entire café is homemade! What a hidden gem and I don’t want to keep it to myself.
I was served by Lorraine who was knowledgeable about all of the baked goods that lined the shelves. She was so passionate about these cakes and treat that she had me very excited about them as well. It reminds me of bakeries that we have back at home which totally excited me. I love the fact that everything is made locally as I think it’s so great to be able to support your local businesses. They have lovely coffees to go as well. They don’t have any tables for you to enjoy your delicatessen in house but it’s certainly worth taking away. Treats from The Butler’s Pantry is bound to bring a smile to anyone’s face. Oh and on Thursday-​Sunday they have a selection of croissants, pan au raisins and pan au chocolate, etc. One word… YUM!