Tom Doorley EATS AND DRINKS A variation on a theme... Pulled Pork Benedict is the pick of the brunch!

IMENTIONED recently that the way we eat has been changing pretty relentlessly over the last two or three decades. Fewer people have their dinner in the middle of the day, a lot of us skip breakfast, not many families eat around an actual table, grazing is rife and restaurant menus now tend to reflect the fact that we don’t eat starter, main course and dessert. At least, not always.

The latest news about how we eat concerns breakfast. It turns out that it’s no longer thought to be unhealthy to eschew it completely and lots of people find that they can lose and maintain weight by eating in a 12-hour window.

Anyway, the reason I’m thinking about how we eat is because the Legit Coffee Co. is dedicated to brunch, a kind of meal that originated, not as many think, in America, but in Britain in the 1890s.

It was thoroughly disapproved of, of course, because initially it was a Sunday affair for late risers and therefore implied a lack of observance of religious duties. I’m sure it was read from the pulpit on occasion.

I like the portmanteau word almost as much as I like the hybrid nature of the meal and I really like the idea that Legit is dedicated to brunch. Of course, they also do sandwiches; these, I feel, are for those who don’t have the leisure to linger. They would appear to be fine constructions from what I could see but the reason we were there was quite simply to have a look at brunch in action.

I will also confess to having been lured there by one particular item on the online menu. It was headed Pulled Pork Benedict, the description reading ‘Toasted brioche|Pulled Pork|Two Poached Eggs|Caramelised Apple|Hollandaise Sauce’.

Now ham hock Benedict is common enough these days – where pulled ham hock replaces the conventional slice or two of cold cooked ham; and it tends to be over-salty once the hollandaise is applied.

Doing a version with pulled pork – however arguably overexposed the stuff is – seems clever.

And it proved to be a lovely dish. I didn’t notice much brioche-ness to the bread and the apple seemed raw and crisp to me, but I’m not complaining.

The eggs were perfectly cooked, the whites just set, the yolks exuberantly yellow and molten, the pork tasting of pork and the hollandaise pleasingly sharp yet silky. A tangle of seed sprouts and pomegranate seeds provided yet more texture and kick. I’d go back for this.

The companion had poached eggs with what the menu described as ‘greens’. This comprised two pieces of toasted sourdough with the eggs, crunchy spring cabbage, mashed avocado (almost a cliché at this stage), some spinach leaves and delightfully pink beet hummus. A topping of mustard cress added a bit of further green crunch. Healthy stuff and substantial enough to set you up for the rest of the day.

Desserts – or cakes, to be more accurate – were a mixed bag. An individual pineapple upside down cake was okay but rather dry and failed to deliver on childhood nostalgia. A ‘Bounty Bar’ was a brilliant idea – essentially dark chocolate and dessicated coconut (which, unlike virtually everyone I know, I adore); but it didn’t work: the coconut was too dry, the chocolate too dense, the whole thing proving impossible to eat.

But the salted caramel canelé was sheer delight.

This little pudding, tower-shaped, originally from Bordeaux is made from a thick batter and when it’s good, it’s glorious, as was the case here. Normally soaked in rum, this one oozed salted caramel everywhere. Full marks.

As you might expect, the coffee was excellent as was the Irish breakfast tea. We liked the grey concrete, industrial minimalism of the design, the pleasantly vague staff, less so the amount of time it took to attract sufficient attention to order. But that’s a minor quibble.

The bill came to €48.20.