This tiny Dublin Café is a regular lunch spot for business people frequenting the Harcourt/Camden Street/Dublin 2 area and they have perfected ‘the art of the sandwich’. They have a small menu that changes daily (usually 4/5 sandwiches per day, a hot pot and a couple of salad options) and everything on it is delicious. Their trade is mainly mid-week lunches and they don’t open weekends unfortunately.
It’s a bit of a stretch to call it a café when there are no seats either inside or out. The ‘Green Bench’ is a reference to the green marble shelf to the front of the store that has been there for years, before even the previous owners. There are usually queues of 20-30 people if you go at lunch hour but believe me they have it down to a tee and you’re never waiting more than 5 minutes. It’s hidden down a small lane beside world-famous Copper Face Jacks bar. Blink and you’ll miss it.
They use locally sourced meat, bread and fillings where possible and everything is freshly made to order and can be customised to be vegan and gluten-free. I’d recommend almost everything on the menu but a personal favourite is the pork sandwich; it’s ridiculously tasty. The prices are quite reasonable considering the high-priced area and the high demand.
Prepare your stomach for a mammoth feed and don’t expect to eat anything else for the rest of the day.