Cafe Sol

Noooo, devastated. While I know this is a chain so quality can be hit or miss, I’ve experienced good coffee from their other branches in the past. This time however I couldn’t be more let down.
This place is right beside my apartment but the opposite route to my commute. I had an extra 15mins to spare this morning so decided to give it a shot. On their menu they’ve a 4 SHOT flat white — sounds like a heavenly caffeine kick to me so forked over a little extra than I would normal spend on a coffee. Here’s why I shouldn’t have.
First of all — the cup was filled to the brim. More coffee for your buck? Nope. It spilled everywhere. Takeaway coffees need to move at least a few centimetres. This poor fella couldn’t manage. I tried to drink a few gulps so I could walk to the train… Nope. Waaay too hot. So hot the coffee had a burnt taste to it. Not good. So I brought a few tissues with me to counteract the spillage on my stroll.
I’m now sitting on the train to work. The coffee has cooled but the taste is now the overwhelming factor — and it’s not good. I expected a hugely intense coffee taste, what with the 4 shots of espresso, but it’s not even close to 2. Terribly watery, murky taste and colour. It reminds me of something you’d poor out of one of those free coffee jugs at a hotel reception. Something you wouldn’t pay for.
I don’t like leaving bad reviews for businesses but just had to flag this. I’ll give it one more shot and see if it was just a bad day or barista. I’ll update the review if it’s better but right now I’m not looking forward to it.

The coffee and tea are good and always a real pleasure between classes when falling asleep ;).
BUT the scones and cakes tend to be to dry and that’s my big negative point because they look appealing and then i feel frustrated. The croissant’s good though, give it a chance.

This café is in a really great location and when I first moved into the area I thought that this place was great. It is not evident when walking by but they have a HUGE basement seating area which runs slightly under the sidewalk outside. I imagined the possibilities of sitting down here, reading a book, enjoying a coffee in the quiet café basement area and enjoying their decent fast internet as well.
They also have a special for 3.50 for a muffin/​scone and coffee/​cappuccino/​latte. This is typical for other places in the area as well, but I think is still a decent special.
Unfortunately, I think they are now only open during week days and not on weekends. This is unfortunate as my weekday coffee typically is «coffee on the go» rather than «relaxing coffee». Weekend hours may be a victim of increased competition, tougher economy or any number of things.
I am sure this place is grand during the week, however not being open on the weekends makes it really tough for me to drop by.

This place has gotten a serious makeover since I was there last!
Downstairs is now covered in really funky teal floral wallpaper and there are new comfy couches. The little «caves», as I like to call them, have been painted nicely and have new padded benches, and are perfect for casual meetings or potential loud groups of friends chatting as they are quite enclosed (and fit 6 people comfortably).
The food is still great as usual. I had almost forgotten how tasty the chicken noodle salad is (and it’s so affordable at only € 3.95). If you are after a big feed, the hot curries are very filling (€ 5.50). I’d particularly recommend the Chicken Masaman with noodles. Yum yum yum.
I always liked the food here, but used to get it to take away all the time. Now, due to the new décor, I’d be much more inclined to sit in. :)

This Café Sol is a little ray of sunshine in Lincoln Place. It affords a handy location if you want to grab a quick bite and have your lunch in Merrion Square, as well as ample seating downstairs in a bright, windowed basement, if you want to bask in a bit of quiet (Shhh, this is our little secret) and the free wi-​fi (FREE WI-​FI!). They offer heat as well as light (the name IS Café Sol): you can get hot coffee or ask them to heat up your panini. Shame they can’t cool your drink. (They have an extensive selection of WARM beverages in the cold case.) Prices are fair, service is with a smile, and you can pick from a very nice selection of the usual Café Sol prepared salads and sandwiches, in addition to fresh-​baked scones and muffins.