Sadly I think I will have to downgrade Dineen from the 5 stars I gave it before and it all has to do with the coffee. Dineen was a place to get consistently excellent and pretty lattes but this is no longer the case. Months ago I wrote to them on Facebook and expressed my disappointment that their quality of latte had dropped and no one bothered to do latte art anymore (or even had the ability to). And that the constant changing of staff was noticeable and problematic. To their credit they replied and sincerely thanked me for my feedback. They also told me if ever my coffee was sub par I could have it remade. But given the location and atmosphere of this place I find the prospect of returning said hypothetical coffee daunting and socially unacceptable.
I visited again today after a long break and alas it was still the same. The place is beautiful, often packed and very very expensive. For very very expensive I want a good good coffee. (And by very very expensive I mean I once ordered a dirty chai latte with almond milk and it cost me $6.70!!). The pretty floor tiles and Friday afternoon jams are not enough if you're burning a hole in my pocket. I hope you can lift your game on the core bread and butter of your business. There are tons of indy coffee shops downtown these days and more and more are cropping up in the FiDi. Even with increased competition I have no fear of Dineen continuing to be hugely successful. But it would be such a shame if it were also mediocre.