[dropcap]The[/dropcap] busy streets of Dublin City can be overwhelming and sometimes you just need that cosy place to relax that feels just like home. Accents Coffee and Tea Lounge, a quirky café that has grown in popularity over the years, is just the place.
Located on Stephen’s Street, the coffee and tea lounge is only a short walk from Grafton Street, perfect for putting up your feet after a hard days shopping. The café offers excellent opening hours as it is open until 11 pm every day apart from Sunday when they close at 10 pm. Accents was designed specifically for Dublin’s multicultural & vibrant city, providing a service both day and night for the customers convenience and busy social life.
Donal and Deirdre, the owners of Accents began with a vision being an alternate to a pub in 2008 when the recession had just hit Ireland and has been huge success to this day.
“There aren’t many places where you can buy coffee late at night in Dublin. Sure, there are some amazing pubs in the city full of craic, but as the nights are long and the wind is bitter, sometimes you just want a coffee and a catch up with friends”. The owners say on the Accents website.
Accents Lounge is no ordinary coffee shop, it is kitted out with bookshelves galore so that if you go for a quiet coffee alone, there are many books to choose from. There is seating upstairs and downstairs with cosy couches and armchairs strewn with throws that you could melt into. The effort that the owners have put into the décor shows how much they really care about their customers time at the café, with flower pots dotted around the room and a large map of the world on the wall. There is a very homely feel to the café with warm lighting that really makes you feel at home or relaxing at a friend’s house.
Accents is probably best known for their hot chocolate that LovinDublin voted the best in Dublin and this is not an exaggeration. To enjoy their signature hot chocolate, you must stir in the Belgian milk or white chocolate buttons into your steamed milk.
The coffee in Accents is Fair-trade, Rainforest Alliance Certified and Organic which ensures that wildlife is protected, rivers remain clean and farmers look after the tropical forests where they live and work. For those cold winter nights and Instagram worthy snaps, Accents provide a range of loose leaf teas, chai teas and speciality teas including ‘Dublin Smog’, ‘Lemongrass and Ginger Twist’ and ‘Apple Loves Mint’.
In terms of food, there is plenty to choose from with savoury and sweet treats. Savoury treats include sausage rolls, bagels, scones and mouth-watering sandwiches from The Delicious Food Company. For those with a sweet tooth, there are cookies, brownies and cakes. Accents is renowned for its gluten-free snickers cake, vegan friendly pear and raspberry muffins and banana bread and what’s even better is that they take suggestions from customers with special dietary needs, so they really do go above and beyond in their work.
If that isn’t enough, they have many events throughout the year including their birthday which they celebrate every April and next year they will be turning four years old. Accents also love to celebrate their customers birthday, so you can email them with your name, your mobile number, your date of birth and you can drop in for a free slice of cake on your birthday.
Last April they had a selfie competition on their birthday and had plenty prizes to give away. Other events include stand up comedy, poetry gigs, jazz gigs, music sessions, Christmas quiz nights and even a night dedicated to learning sign language.
The atmosphere in Accents is calm and cool with music that is at just the right volume to have private conversations, have work meetings or even just discuss your weekend plans. It is so cosy that I have spotted some people dozing off on a number of visits.
The service is unbeatable in Accents as the staff really do enjoy getting to know their customers and they respond to every single review that they receive on TripAdvisor. You really do get value for money as an extraordinary hot chocolate or coffee in Accents is the same price as the ordinary one that you can receive throughout Dublin.
I honestly cannot find fault with Accents. If I had to find one complaint, it would be that there is not enough time in the world to try the entire menu.
Ratings
Atmosphere: 9/10
Food: 9/10
Service: 8/10
Location: 7/10
Value for money: 7/10
Roisin Maguire
Image Credit: Trip Advisor