Best of the fast food / fast coffee places

Khannie

So.....you're out and about....you want a coffee. Which of the chains do you rate / which is the best of a bad lot? I'm thinking about fast food chains, garages, etc.

LoanShark

If I'm out in the car and Dying for my fix, I go to Applegreen Petrol stations they serve very good coffee..
I also like coffee from Esquires coffee houses..And Just the odd time I go for a Starbucks...Also Gloria Jeans is really good althought I dont know if ther is ony of thier outlets still in dublin? (It got me around the world)..

Gran Hermano

It's like asking "Cancer or AIDS"

Best option, bring a flask.

Mr Magnolia

I wouldn't bother with coffee if I'm out & about normally, I'll go for a tea or a water.

Khannie

Harsh lads. Harsh.

Yeah, I'd definitely prefer to bring my own, but I generally wouldn't turn down brewed coffee. Statoil (or whatever it's called now) have a brewed coffee that's not the worst in the world (I'd rather have it than not have it). I'll check out the applegreen one.

My experience is that out and about coffee tends to be very very weak. I suppose they're trying to save money.

Sea Devils

If I'm out I usually bring a flask. My College is right near a Topaz and Barbarista but personally don't like either of their Coffee so a flask for me is the most convenient option

missmatty

Butlers ftw. And the free choc is nice too! Expensive but worth it, in my opinion, and I rarely buy coffee out.

Khannie

Butlers on my way home. Gonna give it a lash. Cheers.

eclectichoney

gah, i hate butlers coffee! i think costa is a better bet imho.

Sea Devils

missmatty wrote: »

Butlers ftw. And the free choc is nice too! Expensive but worth it, in my opinion, and I rarely buy coffee out.

Not sure if it still applies since I haven't been there in ages but the secret to getting a good cup of coffee there is to decline the Free Chocolate offer. Usually I found it tasted better.

Must go in tommorow and see if it still works

trishasaffron

Butlers definitely best coffee in town!

leahcim

Costa would be my establishment of choice if I wanted a coffee when out and about.

Khannie

Where is this costa place?

eclectichoney

There is one in Dun Laoghaire above Hughes & Hughes, that's where I go if I'm out. I have to say it's actually quite nice as big chain type places go. Italian coffee *apparently* though they are british owned I believe??. And usually nice Italian boys working there as well I think there is one in Dundrum maybe, or that Park shopping centre too.

But try and resist the nyom chocolate twist pastries, trust me, they are way too fattening :o

Sparks

Butlers???
And costa have lovely mugs. I'd buy that big two-handled monster and take it home happy. And then put some decent coffee in it...

Carluccios gets my fast food/fast coffee nomination. Walk in, order a macchiato, walk out with a little paper cup of goodness that never lasts long enough

IsThatSo?

Khannie wrote: »

Where is this costa place?

To add to what eclectichoney said..............

There is one in Blanchardstown Shopping Centre, Citywest Shopping Centre, and Liffey Valley. I only know the ones in my part of the City, but there must be more

AARRRGH

I gave up coffee/caffeine a while back, but here is what I loved:

Insomnia. So smokey and strong. Delicious!

Butlers. Tasty but too small. And they don't do large.

Everywhere else is either too weak or too pissy for me. Although I admit I haven't tried every chains coffee!

eclectichoney

AARRRGH wrote: »

I gave up coffee/caffeine a while back, but here is what I loved:

Insomnia. So smokey and strong. Delicious!

Butlers. Tasty but too small. And they don't do large.

'Large' americanos are generally just a regular with more water - so avoid at all costs! A regular has two shots and they *very* rarely add a third to a large one.

Insomnia used to be better until a couple of years ago when they went fair trade, now they are absolutely awful imho.

Sea Devils

AARRRGH wrote: »

I gave up coffee/caffeine a while back, but here is what I loved:

Insomnia. So smokey and strong. Delicious!

Butlers. Tasty too small. They don't do large. And they are overpriced

Everywhere else is either too weak or too pissy for me. Although I admit I haven't tried every chains coffee!

Fixed the Butlers for you

Anyone know what happenned to Insominia Coffee Shop in Galway. Went there a few days ago and was pleasantly surprised to find it was now called Tiki Cafe. ?

AARRRGH

Yeah, I find that funny: people think you get a "free" chocolate with your Butlers coffee... nope, it's all part of the high price/small coffee you get.

AssaultedPeanut

It's worth it in my opinion (Butlers). Just the right amount of coffee and not too over the top pricing.
I used to like O'Briens but they are god awful now. Large coffee with an extra shot (nearly always too cold even when you request extra hot) €4, and tastes like watered down muck. (and even worse if you use soya milk they use the unsweetened stuff that tastes like clay)

Butlers all the way for me:pac:

IsThatSo?

We were in Burger King today and got a cup of coffee with my lunch. I had one sip and swapped it for my husbands fizzy drink :pac:

His opinion..............."muck".

I have him spoiled making him good coffee at home.

We only have our home setup 2 months or so, its amazing how fast expectations rise.

Mr Magnolia

Yup, that's one of the pains about enjoying good coffee at home.

coffeeee..lover

Hedgeys Cornish Pasty Shop and Cafe have great Coffee .

ferdi

Harry's Cafe in Dun Laoghaire.

dancingqueen

Hey guys, relatively new to the food/drink forum

There's a fab little Italian coffee place in the Epicurian Food Hall and I can't for the life of me remember what it's called! They sell pasta and other Italian foodstuffs there also..... amazing coffee.

*Drools

Slaphead07

dancingqueen wrote: »

Hey guys, relatively new to the food/drink forum

There's a fab little Italian coffee place in the Epicurian Food Hall and I can't for the life of me remember what it's called! They sell pasta and other Italian foodstuffs there also..... amazing coffee.

*Drools

That's La Corte, part of the Dunne and Crezensi group. Superb coffee alright and lovely Italian staff.

Queen-Mise

coffeeee..lover wrote: »

Hedgeys Cornish Pasty Shop and Cafe have great Coffee .

omg where is this place. I love cornish pasties, really hard to find good one over here.

is it a dublin cafe

alansweeney100

Java Republic has a great selection of coffee, from cheap as chips to Kopi Luwak, which is the coffee bean which is prepared by going through the digestive system of a cat, whatever you're into I suppose. €50 for two cups of that!
They opened up a roastery in blanch 6months ago with a cafe beside it and you can look into the roastery through a glass wall.
I was impressed with it, met the owner and he gave us a tour of the place as well.

MissHoneyBun

This usually shocks people but McDonalds do pretty good coffee! Now obviously it aint the best you're gonna get and the surroundings leave a lot to be desired but it offers decent coffee that's reasonably priced and convenient. It often depends on the branch but in general if you can't get to your usual haunt or you just want something quick, I find they're a pretty reliable option!

Gran Hermano

MissHoneyBun wrote: »

This usually shocks people but McDonalds do pretty good coffee! Now obviously it aint the best you're gonna get and the surroundings leave a lot to be desired but it offers decent coffee that's reasonably priced and convenient. It often depends on the branch but in general if you can't get to your usual haunt or you just want something quick, I find they're a pretty reliable option!

No shock at all, taste tests in the USA in 2007 ranked both McDs and Dunkin Donuts ahead of Starbucks.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003554556_coffee03.html

McDs have long seen their McCafes as a nice little earner and a way
to diversify away from their usual MRM on a bun offering.

It amazes me how people view Starbucks as a proper coffee establishment.

MissHoneyBun

Gran Hermano wrote: »

No shock at all, taste tests in the USA in 2007 ranked both McDs and Dunkin Donuts ahead of Starbucks.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003554556_coffee03.html

McDs have long seen their McCafes as a nice little earner and a way
to diversify away from their usual MRM on a bun offering.

It amazes me how people view Starbucks as a proper coffee establishment.

Ya know it's interesting you say that about Starbucks because the more coffee I drink elsewhere, the more I'm starting to wise up to that crowd. I still love buying the beans there to use at home in my french press but I'm increasingly disappointed with the stuff they make themselves. Lately I've found their coffee very mediocre.

I think with them it's all about Starbucks "the brand" as opposed to the actual quality of the coffee. I reckon the reason they do so well is largely because it's trendy to be seen in Starbucks or carrying one of their cups around. Kinda sad that people are that concerned with appearances but there ya go.. Capitalism at it's best huh.

Lafortezza

If you are in Dublin airport the Centra-type shop in the short term parking building opposite the Arrivals door does pretty good cappuchinos and black coffees. Preferable to any of the Starbucks and others upstairs at the food court.

Sparks

MissHoneyBun wrote: »

I think with them it's all about Starbucks "the brand" as opposed to the actual quality of the coffee. I reckon the reason they do so well is largely because it's trendy to be seen in Starbucks or carrying one of their cups around.

Actually their marketing plan is to produce the lowest common denominator of coffee, as consistently as possible with the lowest amount of training for their staff, and to saturate the areas around coffee shops with their shops. The idea is that if you have to walk for an extra three minutes to get to coffee shop A, you won't do it if you can just immediately walk into a starbucks and get a cup of coffee that'll taste 70-80% as good as in shop A.
The only way for shop A to compete is to have better tasting coffee, and since taste is so subjective, they can't appeal to as broad a base that way (you might get 10% of the market to think you have the best coffee on earth, but the other 90% will be very meh about it and some may even hate it).

The other thing is, starbucks is the Sunday World of coffees. Places like Caffe di Napoli might be the Irish Times. And while the Irish Times is what everyone wants to look like they read, the Sunday World has several times the sales that the Times has. Commercial reality versus actual product quality

Slaphead07

Sparks wrote: »

if you can just immediately walk into a starbucks and get a cup of coffee that'll taste 70-80% as good as in shop A. (

But it's not. It's similar, or worse, to instant 'coffee'.

Gran Hermano

Slaphead07 wrote: »

But it's not. It's similar, or worse, to instant 'coffee'.

Most Irish people think instant coffee is 'coffee'.

Sparks

And most people think the floor sweepings in Barrys is 'tea' as well. *shrug*. It's the nature of things - the number of people who want a good cup of coffee or tea or for that matter a good anything if it involves effort, is always going to be a minority of the overall group.

jam_mac_jam

Butlers is nice, Caffe di Napoli would be better. I dont really get the Starbucks thing at all, very weak and crappy, and I hate their stupid names for things, anywhere that needs instructions for you to order is just wrong.

leoly

24th August 2015.

This morning I went to Café Java in Sandymount Village and ordered a Full Irish Breakfast, it includes a Large Latte and other coffees or tea. I asked for a flat white and was very disappointed when a small coffee in a glass with no handle arrived (this glass is very unsuitable for hot coffee).
I always try not to complain so I decided to let it pass, however when it came time to pay I was charged an extra €2.75 for this miserable small flat white.
I asked about this and was told that only Latte etc were included - this is really in very bad spirit as there is so little difference in a flat white and a latte.
I work for a large multinational company and I will not recommend Café Java to any of my fellow workers and send them elsewhere.

Thanks,
Leo.

Mr Magnolia

leoly wrote: »

I always try not to complain...

But yet here you are. You'd be much better served speaking up at the time then coming to post about it here.

Your post has nothing to do with original topic and has bumped a 6yr old thread.

Please don't bump old threads needlessly. Closed.