Insomnia

Meh. It’s insomnia — standard enough.

This bank holiday Sunday morning (before the Unilocal event at Bernard Shaw’s) I needed a cup of coffee to start the day off properly…
Anyways, the place: Being part of the Insomnia chain it has this Insomnia feeling, as it should. In that way we recognize the place and know what to expect, right? It was well packed for the Sunday morning, with hardly a seat free. Unfortunately the barista was on his own, which left him not much time to clear up all the tables after the people were gone; the result was dirty tables with empty/​dirty cups waiting to be collected.
Besides this it gave me a nice and comfortable environment to wake up while reading my book.

A distinctly middling, run of the mill coffee shop with below-​par food, drink and service. I ordered a Berries and Cream Icecap that consisted of berries and vanilla cream blended with ice topped with fresh whipped cream. As yummy as this theoretically seemed on paper the result was a lackluster, diluted adaptation.
I was really hungry upon arrival so opted for the Ham, Brie and Apple Chutney Sandwich. Hoping it would be somewhat more inspiring than my attenuated icecap I was left sullenly disappointed again. The thinly sliced ham and bland brie left me feeling massively disillusioned. It was served on thinly sliced white bread as opposed to fresh nutty granary that had been specified on the menu, the false impression given on the menu leaving me even more disenchanted.
Insomnia is in no way dissimilar to what I would consider other insipid coffee shops such as Costa and Café Nero. If anything Insomnia lacks even more individuality than the other carbon copies. In a city so vibrant with idiosyncratic coffee houses visiting Insomnia would just be a misuse of time and hard-​earned cash.

I stopped in here today to get a coffee on my way to work. I generally like to avoid chains in favor of the smaller independent shops, but there wasn’t one of those between where I was and my house, so I had to settle for a big olé company.
I got an Americano, which I found rather watery but potent enough. In fact, I’m still buzzing from it as I type this. While it did the trick, I didn’t enjoy it as much as I’d have liked. And for the kind of money they charge for coffee here in Dublin, you should be able to get an outstanding cup of coffee. I’d like to let everyone know that in the States this same item would have cost less than half the price. Such a ripoff, but I need it. Le sigh. Because there’s a lot of good coffee shops in this area, I will not be coming back to Insomnia.
On the upside, it is always fairly empty compared to other Insomnias, so you never have to wait long for your fix.