ShopEatSleep

Soup, salad and bread at The Pepper Pot in Dublin

Conveniently located just off the main shopping drag of Grafton Street, The Pepper Pot in Dublin, Ireland, is the perfect place to rest those weary feet with some lunch, tea or sweets.

I ate here twice last fall during a week-long trip to Dublin. Must have been good, right? The main reason my husband and I decided to return was for the brown soda bread, an Irish staple. Pepper Pot’s version is the best I’ve had: thick yet fluffy, with a nutty flavor that comes from the baked-in whole nuts and seeds.

The restaurant, which is located inside the Powerscourt Townhouse Centre on the second floor underneath a large, airy skylit roof, serves seasonal salads, soups, sandwiches and tarts, as well as cakes, teas and all-day breakfast. I had a salad of field greens, figs, almonds and burrata that was light and fresh. Rory had an apple and parsnip curry soup that hit the spot on a chilly fall Dublin afternoon. The adorable mismatched plates and tea cups don’t hurt, either.

Enjoying a spot of tea

I also had a breakfast dish, housemade granola with yogurt and berry compote. While the flavors were great, this was a lot of granola for me at once. I would have preferred more yogurt, but my sister-in-law said she liked the dish as it was. To each her own! Also, Pepper Pot offers various toppings for its organic porridge — not just the usual single option.

Granola and yogurt

It’s worth nothing that the restaurant makes gluten-free and dairy-free bread for those who request it. Angelenos should have no problem finding something they’ll like here.

The Pepper Pot

The Clarence Hotel in Dublin, Ireland

Ovation Global DMC (that’s “Destination Management Company”), an Ireland-based travel company, has introduced a new customized travel series called Designer Destinations, which focuses on hip locations and activities, making some of the oldest cities in Europe feel new again. You can choose the length of your tour, which cool hotel you’d like to stay at, and which stops you’d like to make — and everything (meals, transportation between sites, admission fees, etc.) is included in your price, except for airfare.

For example, the Designer Dublin tour can include three days filled with educational, fun and trendy stops. Ovation will arrange to have you picked up from the airport and taken to your hotel of choice, which could be either The Morgan, The Morrison or The Clarence, owned by U2’s Bono and The Edge. You’ll tour some of the most famous sites of Ireland’s literary and musical icons, including the birthplace of James Joyce, George Bernard Shaw, the Dirty Old Town area and the U2 Wall. There’s also a sample day that could possibly be my perfect ShopEatSleep day: A morning visit to the Powerscourt Design Centre to meet up-and-coming Irish fashion designers, followed by a manicure and a master styling class OR trips to the Jameson whiskey distillery and the Guinness Storehouse, to compete in a pull-your-own-pint competition. Lastly, get a cooking lesson from The Morrison’s head chef Richie Wilson. I may have to go back to Dublin just for this day!

These Designer trips are actually created for large groups (Ovation specializes in corporate team- and morale-building trips, which it calls “incentive” trips), but if you wanted to do something like this with just a few friends, Ovation would be willing to work with you, but the price per person most likely would be higher. For reference, a three-day Designer Dublin trip costs about €850 ($1,079) per person based on a group of 40 sharing hotel rooms.

If Ireland isn’t your thing, there are also Designer Brussels and Designer Hong Kong trips available.

Full disclosure: Ovation Managing Director Patrick Delaney is my future uncle-in-law.