01/06/2026: SOMA was our final planned café stop in Cork, and given the strong reviews, we arrived with fairly high expectations.
I'll admit that seeing multiple locations initially made me assume it was more of a commercial coffee chain, which usually lowers my expectations a little. In reality, it feels much more like a small specialty coffee group that has simply expanded successfully.
We visited on a weekend afternoon and it wasn't overly busy. A few of us grabbed takeaway coffees, and I went for an iced black Americano. The coffee was well made and clean in profile, leaning more towards bitterness than acidity. There wasn't much in the way of fruit or citrus notes, and on a warmer day I think it might have felt a little heavy for my personal preference, but it was still an enjoyable cup.
We also picked up some protein balls. Fair play for offering healthier snack options, but let's be honest, protein balls rarely win any awards for flavour and these weren't the exception.
Service was probably the weakest part of the visit. The team came across a little cold and transactional, although it was only a brief interaction so I wouldn't read too much into it.
One thing I really liked about this location was the setup. It's clearly very laptop friendly, with plenty of seating and lots of people working away on their computers. If I lived in Cork, I could easily see this becoming one of my regular work cafés.
Overall, a solid specialty coffee spot with a good setup, competent coffee, and a space that encourages people to stay awhile. Not quite my favourite café in Cork, but definitely one I'd happily visit again.
03/05/2026: Don’t usually post much but owners need to know.
If you want to be greeted early morning by a particularly grouchy girl - this is the place! Asked for savoury food and was given another gruff response. We were the only people and the loud punk music was very annoying in the morning. Had to move to the front.
The coffee was good. Shame about the service.
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