Best Coffee in Doolin & Beyond
A good coffee is important. Especially when you’ve got a day of walking, driving, island hopping or generally making the most of the west coast ahead of you.
Luckily, we’re fairly well looked after around here.
There are some brilliant independent cafés and coffee roasters dotted around Doolin, North Clare and a little further afield. Some are worth visiting for the coffee alone, others come with fresh pastries, chocolate, sea views or a very good excuse to take the scenic route.
So, from the places just down the road to a few we always keep in mind when heading to Galway, here are some of the Doolin Inn team’s favourite places for a good coffee in Doolin and beyond.
In a rush? Download your coffee guide to your phone below! Otherwise, read on…reading is good for you.
Interactive Coffee Trail
Doolin Inn
We’ll start very close to home. Downstairs, in fact.
At Doolin Inn, we take our coffee seriously. Our coffee comes from local speciality roasters Anam Coffee, based right here in the Burren, and you can pick one up daily from reception.
Very handy before heading out for the day. Also very handy when you’ve just come back in.
Anam Coffee
If you enjoy the coffee at Doolin Inn, you can go and meet the people responsible for it.
Anam Coffee is a small speciality coffee roastery tucked away in the Burren, where the beans are roasted by hand in small batches.
It’s well worth a visit if you’re properly into your coffee – and you can pick up a bag of beans to bring home too. Although, speaking from experience, one bag has a habit of becoming three.
Visits are by appointment, so don’t just appear at the door looking for a flat white.
Sean Nós
Arriving early? Or up and about before the rest of Doolin? This is where to get your coffee first thing.
Sean Nós opens from 7am, serving Anam Coffee alongside breads, pastries and sandwiches baked fresh on-site.
There are also shelves of Irish books, records, prints and bits and pieces to browse while you’re there.
So whether you’ve an early start planned or you’re simply one of those mysterious people who’s naturally awake at 7am, this is a very handy one to know.
Coffee, a freshly baked pastry and a nose through the records. Hard to argue with that.
Rocket House
Heading for the Aran Islands? This is a handy one to know.
Rocket House sits right at Doolin Pier and serves coffee made with Calendar Coffee beans alongside sourdough sandwiches and sweet treats.
It’s ideal for grabbing something before the ferry or a Cliffs of Moher cruise.
Our advice: get the coffee before boarding the boat.
Moher Cottage
There aren’t many places where the view competes quite this hard with the coffee.
Moher Cottage is a family-run café and gift shop near the Cliffs of Moher, housed in a converted 150-year-old cow shed overlooking Liscannor Bay.
There’s barista coffee, locally baked treats and their artisan fudge — plus that view from the terrace.
On a clear day, you’ll want to sit outside for a while. On a typical west Clare day, you’ll probably still want to sit outside for a while. Just bring a jacket.
The Aloe Tree, Ennistymon
Now, you might not immediately think health food shop when someone asks where to get a really good coffee.
But trust us on this one.
The Aloe Tree in Ennistymon is a brilliant independent health food store and they also make a seriously good coffee.
It’s a handy stop if you’re wandering around Ennistymon or passing through. Have a browse, pick up a few bits and get a coffee for the road.
One of those slightly unexpected coffee stops that deserves to be on the list.
DODI
If you’re heading for Lahinch, DODI Bakery & Café is well worth knowing about.
DODI brings together Irish and Lebanese influences with a menu built around fresh, seasonal food, great baking and very good coffee.
It’s the sort of place where you go in planning to grab a coffee and somehow find yourself sitting down for brunch.
We’ve all been there.
Hugo’s
Also in Lahinch, Hugo’s is another one that’s dangerous if you have a weakness for good pastries.
Their naturally leavened sourdough, viennoiserie and pastel de nata are all made on-site, with excellent coffee alongside them.
Our recommendation? Don’t stand at the counter pretending you’re only there for coffee. Just accept that you’re getting a pastry too.
Hazel Mountain Chocolate
Technically, this is a chocolate factory.
We’re including it anyway.
Hazel Mountain Chocolate is tucked away in the Burren and is home to some seriously good artisan chocolate.
You can stop into the café for coffee and something chocolatey before having a look around the shop.
And if coffee isn’t doing the job, there’s always the hot chocolate.
No judgement here.
Mondo Coffee Shop
If your travels bring you to Ennis, Mondo Coffee Shop is one to have saved.
They serve 3fe speciality coffee in their lovely handmade pottery cups, alongside pastries, desserts and breads.
It’s small, independent and exactly the sort of coffee shop we like finding when we’re away ourselves.
Just be warned: you may leave wanting one of the cups.
Coffeewerk + Press, Galway City
And if you’re going as far as Galway (only an hour or so away to be fair!), we’ll send you to Coffeewerk + Press.
Tucked into Quay Street in the heart of the city, it’s a small speciality coffee shop where coffee, art and design all come together.
If you’re properly into your coffee, try the Chemex. It’s a slower pour-over method that gives you a really clean, bright cup and makes a nice change from your usual flat white or Americano.
Grab one and then head off for a wander around the Claddagh.
Just don’t blame us when your regular coffee starts tasting a little less exciting afterwards.
So there you have it – a few of the places the Doolin Inn team genuinely recommends when guests ask us where to find a good coffee.
Some are on our doorstep in Doolin, some require a spin through the Burren and a few are worth remembering when you’re heading towards Ennistymon, Lahinch, Ennis or Galway.
And that’s really the best way to explore this part of Ireland anyway. Take your time, stop when somewhere looks interesting and never pass up the opportunity for a good coffee and something freshly baked.
If you’re staying with us at Doolin Inn, you won’t have to venture very far for the first one.
We’ll have the Anam Coffee ready.