Mr Viral
Mary O’Halloran opened the shop in November 2024, and it’s been the talk of the town ever since, attracting crowds to its small storefront in the East Village. The shop is only open Thursday through Sunday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., and with its limited hours, there’s no doubt you’ll see lines forming out of the store at all times of the day.
It turns out O’Halloran started baking Irish soda bread scones — based on her mom’s recipe from County Mayo, Ireland — back in 2021, after COVID restrictions forced her to close her bar, Mary O’s Irish Pub. To keep busy amid the shutdown of her pub, she started baking her scones and sold them to former pub customers. By early 2022, O’Halloran had sold over $1 million worth of scones, allowing her to use those funds to partially reopen her bar. Now, she sells her scones at her brick-and-mortar Soda Bread Shop.
Crumbly and tangy, Irish soda bread is a quick bread leavened by baking soda instead of yeast, hence the name. The first published soda bread recipe dates back as early as 1836, but it wasn’t until the famines of the late 1840s that soda bread took off as a staple in Ireland thanks to its simple and accessible ingredients, including the previously mentioned baking soda, flour, salt, and buttermilk. Over time, though, recipes have expanded to include butter, eggs, and sugar for sweeter and more decadent results.
Since I had seen so much about Mary O’s soda bread scones online, I was determined to try one for myself.
The inside of the shop smelled amazing and buttery, like something heavenly was in the oven.
After waiting in line for about 20 minutes, I was able to order. The shop only has two baked goods on its menu: Irish soda bread scones priced at $6 each and a $30 Irish soda bread loaf.
The shop also sells a handful of Irish groceries including Barry’s Tea, Odlums Self Raising Flour, McDonnells Curry Sauce, Chef Brown Sauce, and more.
Since every scone is cut in half and served with Irish butter and homemade blackberry jam, I ended up waiting another 10 minutes before the scones were actually in my hands.
One thing to note is the shop is pretty small so there aren’t many places to sit. There is a small counter near the front of the shop and a two-person bench outside, but they were both occupied, so I enjoyed my scones on a building stoop close by.
Here’s my review:
Every part of this scone impressed me. The scone itself was crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. The homemade jam was tart, and the consistency was perfectly thick, with noticeable pieces of blackberry throughout. The butter was so silky and flavorful that I probably could’ve eaten it by itself, but alongside the scone and jam, it was one of the best scones I’ve ever had.
The tastiest part was the middle, where the butter and jam melted into the scone, which made it extra moist and tender.
I don’t know what kind of magic Mary O is putting into these scones, but it’s working, and I will be back to purchase more.
Was this scone worth the over 30 minutes of waiting? Definitely.
As a scone-lover, I’ll say Mary O’s Irish Soda Bread Shop is a must-try. I’ll admit that $6 for one scone isn’t cheap, but these are so worth it. My one complaint is the lack of seating, but it wasn’t too big of a deal because there were a decent amount of places to sit on the street.Â
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