I visited Ireland's first Pret A Manger and one thing sets it apart from other cafe chains

Pret A Manger is a hugely popular chain of coffee shops in the UK and they have recently expanded into Ireland, opening its very first store here on Dawson Street last week.

The cafe is the first of the chain's 20 new shops planned for Ireland over the next 10 years.

Huge queues formed when it opened on Dawson Street as hungry Dubs were eager to get their hands on the free lunches being given out on opening day.

Read more: Phibsborough cafe voted best brunch spot by Dublin Live readers

We headed along to the cafe on its opening day last Friday to try the coffee and food offerings for ourselves, and one thing really stood out and set it apart from other large chains in Dublin.

Firstly, coffee was on the agenda and two lattes were ordered, one with regular milk and one with coconut milk. Both were satisfactory and enjoyable, and we feel safe in the assumption that any time we order a coffee from Pret A Manger while on the go, it will be up to scratch.

Pastries at Pret A Manger in Dublin (Aoife Raeside)

The cafe also sells a range of pre-packages sandwiches, wraps, salads and soups, so something from the fridge had to be sampled.

We went for the Classic Super Club. It was full of flavour, but for €5.95, we wouldn't be making this purchase very often. Although it was tasty, there are fresh delis around Dublin that would fill you up for around the same price.

Classic Super Club from Pret A Manger (Aoife Raeside)

In saying that, the price would be around the same if not cheaper than other large international coffee shop chains in Dublin.

Now, for the standout event. Pret A Manger's pastries are baked fresh there daily, and our chocolate croissant was still warm when we were served it. It was gloriously flaky when pulled apart and the filling inside oozed pure chocolate goodness.

Chocolate croissant from Pret A Manger (Aoife Raeside)

While the coffee was pretty good and the sandwich was tasty, the real treat at Pret A Manger for us is the fresh pastries.

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