WATCH Sodalicious is a cafe and bakery focused on celebrating Irish heritage with a modern twist

Sodalicious is a soda bread bakery and cafe located in a beautiful red brick building on Cecil Street, Limerick. Owner Jane Conlon pictured above with her husband and five of her seven children. Picture: Olena Oleksienko/ilovelimerick

Sodalicious Cafe and Bakery on Cecil Street opened its doors in 2018 and has been celebrating Ireland’s iconic soda bread and evoking “happy childhood memories” ever since

In 2018, Jane Conlon set out to transform her passion for Ireland’s beloved soda bread into a thriving family-run cafe, which has become a staple for locals and visitors with Sodalicious on Cecil Street in Limerick City Centre.

For Jane, the inspiration behind Sodalicious runs deep, inspired by memories of home cooking from her childhood, where her mother, a self-taught baker, kept the kitchen filled with stews, casseroles, soups, and the most impactful for her: baked scones and soda bread.

Jane told I Love Limerick, “ Sodalicous was born out of a lot of childhood memories. My home was steeped in cooking; my mother is an absolutely fantastic self-taught cook and baker. There were always stews, casseroles, and soups on the go at home and with every meal, a fresh batch of homemade scones and soda bread. Soda bread just evokes a lot of really, really happy childhood memories. It was the nourishment of it, the comfort of it, and  all of it made with so much love!”

advertisement
advertisement

advertisement
advertisement

advertisement
advertisement

advertisement
advertisement

By the age of 18, Jane knew she wanted a career in food when she decided to study at one of Ireland’s most well-known cookery schools, as well as perfecting her trade further afield.

Jane said, “ I’d heard of the Ballymaloe Cookery School, and I decided that’s where I was going to go. After finishing in Ballymaloe, Jane travelled to London, where she got a brilliant apprenticeship under an Italian pastry chef. It was he who introduced me to the idea of infusing bread with different flavours.

“He used to put sun-dried tomatoes, herbs, cheeses, nuts, and seeds into all of his beautiful Italian yeast breads.  The result was amazing. So when I came home to Ireland, I applied all that I had learned in London to soda bread, my favourite bread of all. That’s where the initial concept started.”

After training and gaining experience, Sodalicious was created and in Jane’s own words, was a way of celebrating soda bread.  “ I just thought, ‘How amazing would it be to create a business entirely out of soda bread,’ and that’s really where the inception of Sodalicious came from. I wanted to celebrate our Irish indigenous bread the way other countries and cultures do around the world.”

The Sodalicious menu reflects both innovation and tradition, putting the country’s best produce on display, with a commitment to local suppliers. Customers can enjoy an all-day breakfast, grilled and cold sandwiches, and a fresh salad bar stocked daily with locally grown greens. Every dish features a soda bread element, from vegan and vegetarian options to hearty meat-lover favourites.

One of the favourites is the Cuban sandwich, layered with home-roasted pulled pork, baked ham, caramelised onions, Irish mozzarella, and Irish Dijon mustard, all served on grilled soda bread of the customer’s choice, with a side of cucumber pickle, with Jane saying that “every part of it is made with so much love”.

The mouth-watering food available at Sodalicious is accompanied by its quality coffee experience, “ You can’t have amazing food and then be let down by your coffee,” Jane says, adding, “Our coffee is specially roasted in Trim, Co. Meath.”We stock all the plant milk as well as  a really good quality matcha, and serve all of those drinks over ice, also.

Along with all the home-cooked food, mouth-watering soda bread and great coffee, Sodalicious boasts a beautiful playlist featuring Irish artists across all genres, creating a truly unique café experience.

As Sodalicious celebrates its continued success, the love for the food has helped the family-run business grow, as in recent years they opened a second location at Park Point, Dublin Road in Castletroy, where lovers of great homemade food can experience the food which put Sodalicious on the map!