At first, I hated Starbucks. I resented that it was taking over the world, and I feared that my home city, Dublin, would have its lovely café culture destroyed and get taken over by Starbucks.

Thankfully, however, that has not happened. There are a few Starbucks places in Dublin, but not enough to pose a threat to the lovely little cafés. And to be honest, since moving to London nearly a year ago, I have embraced the Starbucks phenomenon. There is one on almost every street corner, and to me this has become a good thing.

Why? Well, you always know what you're going to get with Starbucks. You know the drinks, the food, etc will be the same in each one you go to. You know there will be comfy chairs and a nice atmosphere. And if, like me, you are a vegan, you know there will be a nice falafel panini waiting for you in every decent-sized Starbucks you go into (which at £3.95 is a great bargain, especially as it is quite large and filling).

Their prices are quite reasonable (in the UK that is, in Ireland their prices are a bit less reasonable). To be honest, their tea does not taste that good. I have never tried their coffee, not being a coffee drinker, but everyone does seem to rave about it so it must be all right! You can always get nice fruit salads and lovely little bars of chocolate (which taste yummy), and all in all, it's a great place, especially when in an unfamiliar area. It's good to know you can always rely on Starbucks. I just hope it never fully invades Dublin!

Thanks for reading. This review is also published on ciao.co.uk under the same username.