Crann Beatha Café,
Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin,
37 Great James Street,
Derry,
BT48 7DF
028 7128 3693
Instagram @crannbeathaculturlann
Hurry up! Shut the door! Carrot! Toilet paper! Piece of toast!
I’ve been learning Irish. Well, I’ve been picking up bits and pieces, all of which are above, translated. In my defence, I’ve been learning it vicariously, via a friend whose classes in conversational Irish make you wonder what kind of conversations the tutor is having. Although you’d be surprised how often I’ve used all the seemingly random phrases above in the one sentence. I know I was.
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These lessons take place at Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin, Derry’s Irish language and arts centre. I was there myself the other day, along with this friend and my brother, to watch an afternoon performance, entirely in Irish, given by the Belfast Mummers to an audience consisting largely of schoolchildren. Everyone except me seemed to know exactly what was going on, although I managed to catch the odd word (agus) and also learned that the Irish for hokey-cokey is hokey-cokey.
It was great fun, although I might not have enjoyed it so much had I not had a lovely lunch beforehand, in the centre’s new café.
It’s not new, actually, but it does have new operators, all of whom have moved down Great James Street from their former home, the Eskimo café. Eskimo had a great reputation, so I had a feeling – call it inuition... – that Crann Beatha would be good.
The café occupies the building’s atrium, the space, full of light, stretching up four floors. The walls are textured concrete, which sounds cold but isn’t. The design is full of angles, so the space is fun and engaging, and the atmosphere is warm, especially as the café has proved popular, with the tables full, the queue at the counter long, and the chatter, both in Irish and English, punctuated by plenty of laughter.
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When it came my turn to order, I thought I’d try out my pitiful Irish, and had my sandwich request ready. Of course, knowing how to ask for something is only half the battle. You need to be able to understand the answer. Back when I was a teacher, I was once the token male member of staff on a school trip to Germany.
The German teacher taught me how to ask the way to the Rathaus, so I trotted off and asked the first local I could find. He gave me what I assume were the right directions, but, as I didn’t know my ost from my Elbe, I just stood there grinning like a dummkopf.
Same happened here. Luckily, the waitress switched to English, so I got my club sandwich on toasted white bread, rather than with a side of toilet paper.
It was good, with thick salty bacon, tender chicken, and a nicely-made coleslaw, just what you need for lunch on a Tuesday. Same with my friend’s soup, a lovely bowl of creamy tomato and roasted red peppers, nice and sweet and filling. Yes, they could have removed the tomato peel, and the chunk of wheaten bread was too dense, but it was highly enjoyable, full of flavour.
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My brother’s chilli was hearty and warming, with a nice hit of heat, perfect for a brisk November day. My sandwich was more than enough for me, but I still fancied something else. Tempted though I was by a bowl of Irish stew, bizarrely listed on the salad menu, I opted for the Spanish omelette. This was the pick of the bunch, a warm, well-seasoned egg and potato concoction, with a hint of charcoal bitterness, and a fresh and lively salad.
We took traybakes home, to eat after the mummers. I wasn’t so sure of the Biscoff Cronut, coincidentally the name of 007′s adversary in the upcoming Bond film, as the pastry was a bit soft and there was too much cream, but my daughter, back from school, inhaled it and talked of little else for an hour afterwards. The Bakewell tart was very good, the soft almond frangipane balanced very well against the sweet and sharp jam.
Crann Beatha is a lovely café, with great service and a range that makes it perfect for any time of day. The menu’s bilingual. The food speaks for itself.
The bill
- Club sandwich - £7.00
- Soup and bread - £4.50
- Chilli con carne - £7.00
- Spanish omelette - £3.50
- Biscoff cronut - £3.50
- Viennese cream biscuit - £2.60
- Bakewell tart - £2.80
Total: £30.90
