There can be few things more pleasant than sitting by Dublin's Grand Canal on a sunny summer's morning, watching the world drift by. And, if you're anywhere near Baggot Street, you can order up a takeaway cup of coffee to be delivered direct to your seat.
"I'm sitting out beside Paddy Kavanagh," you tell the people on the nearby Barge Cafe, and within minutes your day will be complete. Unless, of course, you decide to stretch out the morning and finish on the barge itself for lunch.
Tara Burke and her business partner Clodagh Fields-Corbett opened the Riasc for business this summer after both of them had moved back to Dublin from San Francisco.
"I wanted to open a coffee shop of some sort," says Tara, "and Clodagh wanted to do something connected with water and so the floating cafe idea was born."
The barge was built in Bath and the shell brought over to Dublin where it was fitted out, 1930s style, with deep red upholstery and lots of brass. The floors are gleaming French pine and the tables mahogany. The portholes behind each table open and individual switches allow customers to control the music volume. There's seating for 50 below, with room for another 30 on the top, open deck. For private functions, the wheelhouse turns into a cocktail bar.
Tara - who manages the catering side of things while Clodagh deals with money matters - arrives every day at 7 a.m. by which time the bagels, fresh fruit and vegetables will already have been delivered. Together with chef Alan Christopher (23), they start preparing for breakfast, which can be a full Irish fry-up or coffee and bagels. After the first rush, Alan turns his attention to lunchtime gourmet sandwiches while Conor Doyle (16) goes to work on the brasses.
Working on the barge is a lot different from Alan's previous assignments. "It's a challenge," he says. "I have a two-ring hobgrill and a microwave and that's all. No holding oven. We have our own generator but it can't handle the grill and the dishwasher at the same time. I have to calculate exactly what I need, on a daily basis, because I have nowhere to store things. Everything is fresh. Hardly anything gets left over and if it does, we take it home to eat ourselves." The previous evening, he produced a meal for a private function for 52 people - a spatial miracle if ever there was one. The tiny galley is shipshape with a place for everything and every thing in its place. When both Alan and Tara are there, they have to shimmy past each other to get whatever they want.
So far, there have been few crises, "unless you count the generator breaking down," says Tara. "Then, we couldn't serve coffee and people had to settle for soft drinks, but no one seemed to mind."
Every evening, the barge is moved from the Wilton Terrace side of the canal across to the opposite bank. "It's easier there for deliveries because of the jetty. We switch everything off, turn on the alarm system and tie up for the night." In the morning, the barge is moved back to the other side again- "the sunny side," says Tara. Clodagh has a skipper's license and is responsible for moving the barge and, when necessary, taking it through locks. The main gangway is aft of the eating area, with another reserved for emergencies. Health requirements are the same as for any similar cafe: two lavatories for customers and one for staff. Rubbish is collected twice a week.
Apart from their regular trade - including bicycle couriers in their butterfly gear who order their mid-morning takeaway coffee from the Riasc, the Esat team from Baggot Street, the woman who likes her breakfast egg runny and overseas visitors staying at the Mespil Hotel - the Barge Cafe Company also does private functions, occasionally for brunch but more usually in the evening. In June, the Restaurants Association of Ireland held its inaugaral national awards ceremony on the Riasc. Among those who turned up for the "Chef's Oscars" were Patrick Guilbaud, and Conrad Gallagher.
"When we have to do something like that," says Tara, "we unscrew the tables and take them out to create more space." And where do they go? "In the back of Clodagh's jeep or my station wagon."
In winter, Alan plans good nutritious food like coddle and beef dishes - he won't be going up the pasta road - and an elegant, diesel-fuelled stove will keep the place warm.
But that's all in the future. For now, it's summer fare and sunshine. And a rush job - 11 people from the Department of Justice have just called to say they'll be in for lunch.
Barge Cafe Company, Wilton Terrace, Grand Canal. Tel: 088 265 4658. Open from 7.30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Riasc costs £600 to hire for an evening, excluding food and drink. The wine license applies only to private functions.