Coupa Cafe
Categories: Desserts, Coffee & Tea, Breakfast & Brunch [Edit]
538 Ramona StPalo Alto, CA 94301 (650) 322-6872
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 7:00 a.m.-11:00 p.m. - Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: No
- Good for Kids: No
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Wi-Fi: Free
- Good for: Breakfast, Lunch
- Alcohol: Beer & Wine Only
72 reviews
Redwood City, CA
"Alana's in Redwood City is one of my favorite spots for breakfast and lunch. The restaurant itself is in a darling victorian house,…" read more »
225 Reviews for Coupa Cafe
Man, what a classy joint. Leave it to downtown PA to house a one of a kind cafe that offfers the tastiest imported espresso and some of the prettiest and mouth-watering desserts around. Don't expect to pay a buck for a regular house blend. You get what you pay for, I feel. The location is great and the environment really sets it apart from any other coffee house. I've heard that their brunch and lunch specials are worth trying.
This is my new "hangout" joint. I used to frequent Cafe Barrone's, but I became an instant fan of Coupa Cafe when I discovered that it was close by! The menu at Coupa is insanely long - you definitely will not run out of things to order here. Among my favs are:
1. Corn and Black Bean Salad: refreshing, light and healthy!
2. Arepas: An interesting Venezuelan "appetizer" definitely taste and great if you just want "a little something"
3. Nicoise Salad: Easy on the dressing, but big on flavor
4. Mediterranean Platter: Not the best, but great if you're craving LIGHT mediterranean food.
5. Vegetarian Empanada: Nice tasty crusty filled with sauteed veggies. A great dish for vegetarians!
6. Elephant Vanilla Chai: This drink is a MUST try if you come here. Yes, it's sweet...but oh soooo comforting esp. when you're in the mood to sit back and relax and enjoy a cup of tea.
I absolutely adore this place and while the food isn't amazing and the prices are slightly high, it's definitely a great place to find GOOD food and hang out with a friend or two. It's cozy and definitely a place where the locals hang out on those lazy sunday afternoons. It's become my new comfortable hangout in the midst of all the frou frou restaurants that have popped up in Palo Alto.
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Nice place to come and have coffee and a chat. Had a meeting here on a Thursday night and it was packed with people on their laptops (around 7-11pm). First timer here of Venezuelan coffee and it was not bad, but I must say, the dishes there can get quite expensive for what you're getting. An earl grey tea chocolate bar costed me $6! But you get free wifi, so I can't complain too much.
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What a great find! I met a friend here for breakfast around 9:30 am on 7/14/08, and can't believe my luck!
The menu selection was vast, and we had trouble deciding what to get. This is an " order-at-the-counter-pay-and-put-a-number-on -your-table" place. We ended up ordering Nutella pancakes (mine and WOW!), banana strawberry pancakes, fruit with yogurt, a side of bacon, a medium cappuccino and medium caramel macchiato. Everything was delicious! Pancakes were light and fluffy, and the portions were generous (except for the bacon -- see below). You have to look at my photos of the pancakes.
I agree with other Yelp reviewers that the price seemed a bit high for what we got -- especially the price of the coffees and the side of bacon. $3.50-ish for 3 strips? Seriously? I could buy a pound of bacon at the store for that price! But I guess that's what you get when eating near University Ave.?
BUT, the atmosphere was bright and relaxed, and I enjoyed sitting in the raised area in the back. The area in front of the entrance and cashier seemed a bit cramped, and the tables were definitely occupied by lots of people with laptops.
I'm returning this Sunday for brunch. Can't wait.
Great coffee drinks, great atmosphere, many great breakfast goods and desserts on sale.
My beef may be primarily with the cashier. Maybe its just my knee jerk reaction to all the glowing reviews. I got the sense that I was supposed to know the drill. She pretty much ignored my questions about the menu and about what I wanted to order and asked her questions in her way so she could get what she wanted out of the interaction.
Later, when she saw the uneaten, crumbled up bran muffin on my plate, she asked if I was finished. I told her that I was finished because it was dried out and thus inedible, she seemed to be saying "oh" to herself and walked away. I brought the plate up to the counter and got the attention of a guy who seemed like a supervisor. "Okay, fine. I'll bring it to the manager's attention." I wasn't expecting anyone to comp me a year's worth of free food or anything. I was just hoping for an acknowledgement that I had a less than decent experience.
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I'd give another half star if Yelp would let me. This place made a really terrific, but very small and somewhat overpriced, spicy maya mocha. The spiciness of the cayenne pepper (?) was just enough to wake me up and get my morning started. Service is a tiny bit slow too. And the eye candy in the corner? Yum!
Coupa Cafe rocks!
If you come here, you must try the French Toast which are made with yummy challah bread!! Damn, my mouth is watering just thinking about it! :) Coffee is awesome too...very strong which is how I like it but my friend swears the hot chocolate is awesome because of the little chocolate bits you find at the bottom off the cup! The breakfast crepe & breakfast arepa are both delicious! Both are stuffed with scrambled eggs, bacon, with gouda cheese!! Yummmm! I love gouda!! If you want something light, I highly recommend the Greek Salad.
The only bad thing I have to say about this place is that they charge you a $1 for coffee refills! The prices aren't cheap so one would think coffee refills should be free...oh well, I love this place and will still go back! :)
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Coupa Cafe sure beats the windowless office cubicle, especially on a sunny day when it's 80 degrees outside.
With its free wi-fi, great selections of pastries, cute rustic interior and Andrea Bocelli as the soundtrack, working here actually makes me feel good about myself... albeit only for a short period of time. For a couple of hours I could pretend that I am a freelancer who is able to work anytime and anywhere, instead of an audit bunny trying to run the perpetual Firm's rat race AND at the same time climb the corporate ladder with gusto.
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Delicious spicy hot chocolate, salads, and paninis! And nice that they offer wireless internet. If bringing a laptop, best place to park seems to be along the wall on the left side by the entrance. They have electrical outlets there. Not sure about the other tables in the back. Car parking is easy in either of the lots across the street or down the street.
Coupa heaven.
Since there are 200+ reviews already, maybe someone already said that since it's a little cliche, but it's what I thought the minute my lips hit that warm cup and the mexican hot cocoa scent wafted up my nose.
This place is CUTE. Intro'd to it by a friend after a big meat dinner, he said it was a great place to chill and have cocoa. I vaguely remembered something on Yelp about fab mexi hot cocoa in PA, so I said YES please...it's my fave warm drink.
We found seating inside, it is a cramped space for how popular it is, but even on a Saturday night at 10pm we still got a spot. There was seating outside, super cute..I could see how in the warm summer nights that this would be a very busy place. Apparently, people come here for hours to park their booties with their laptops and take advantage of the wifi w/yummy drinkie ambiance.
Quickly ordered up some hot cocoas and a few desserts from their overloaded glass dessert cases. Sweets were hit or miss, the dark chocolate tart was amazing, but the german chocolate cake was a little too thick and dry. However, both were quickly consumed accompanied by the loud draining of hot cocoa cups.
Wonderful space, wonderful company, wonderful spicy cocoa...a wonderful end to a fun Saturday night in PA.
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Coupa Cafe used to be my favorite cafe, until it became everyone's favorite cafe, and then it was nobody's favorite cafe.
This is a pretty kickass Venezuelan cafe. I love the red walls, couches in the back, fireplace during the winter(!) And of course, the spicy hot chocolate. I've very authoritatively conducted a rigorous study of the menu (aka sampled everything) and can unequivocally say, just get the spicy hot chocolate. Skip the desserts (I rarely say this, so I really mean it, they are not special and are probably not made on site).
But then the problems started:
- I grew up, which is not really a problem, except that I could no longer stand the undergrads at neighboring tables who loudly gossiped more than they studied for Humbio;
- The place got so popular that I could no longer find any tables to sit at, so I stopped making plans here with my friends;
- The quality of service got diluted as they had to hire more people;
- Facebook employees started taking over the place, as their ranks on University Ave swelled;
- Coupa got on Valleywag as the new Buck's, which of course was a realization made too late. Kind of like Time's Man of the Year, or the NYT on most tech trends. But I swear, I started seeing a lot more people talking business plans and term sheets after that.
The spicy hot chocolate is still very much worth going for. You just won't be seeing me there.
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LOVE this place! Although it's a tiny place, the ambiance, food and people are all great! They have tables in the front for those who want to study or chit chat. In the back they have couch-like chairs along the sides and one couch in front of a fire place. My fav drink here is their spicy hot chocolate. I haven't found a place that beats it! Great place to study, just a bit dimly lit.
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Any serious coffee person (of which i aspire to be, but am not) will tell you that when in downtown Palo Alto and looking for a good latte or cap you have two options: Cafe del Doge and Coupa Cafe.
Coupa is most definitely the yin to Doge's yang. While they stand above all of the other coffee shops in Palo Alto, they are very different. I love them both, but for different reasons.
On days when i feel more in touch with my road bike racer self; when i feel like i just might give into my desire to buy a red vespa, or on days when i wax poetic about previous trips to europe and how i want to leave my engineering job and go live there for a few years and live in some quaint town where i don't speak the language, shop at the local market, and ride my bike everywhere, thats when i go to Cafe del Doge.
Everything about Doge is Euro. The people there rarely converse in English, the guys all have greasy hair, wear tight pants and leather jackets, and have a confidence with the ladies that i at the same time envy and find repulsive (lucky for me i have a girlfriend that isn't going anywhere and i no longer have to worry about that). The espresso is fantastic though. They have many different blends to choose from and you can really tell the difference between them.
When i've spent the day commuting to work in my subaru station wagon, cruising the streets of downtown Palo Alto in my ratty jeans, flip flops, and patagonia pull over, getting in touch with my NorCal hippie self, i go to Coupa.
Everything about Coupa is NorCal. People sit at tables and talk liberal politics and how they love their new prius while people around them wield the newest laptops while rocking out on their iPods and checking their blackberries and iphones (which are sitting next to their laptop on the table) constantly. Everyone here has a tech job, or is married to someone who has a tech job, or dreams of having a tech job, or at least has some business plan that is bound to make millions.
The coffee is also great here. They don't have the variety of espresso blends that Doge does, but they make up for it with creative drinks (spicy hot chocolate), and substantially more and better food than Doge.
I've eaten breakfast here once, and it was more expensive than i was expecting. Mostly i just come here to get a latte and hangout at night.
Seats inside can be hard to come by. Luckily the weather is almost always perfect in Palo Alto and they have ample outside seating that is usually quite nice.
If you haven't been to both of these places, you're really missing out. The two best latte/caps i've ever had are just blocks from each other. Who would have thought?
Coupa is a great neighborhood coffee shop. I like their cappuccino and spicy hot chocolate. The hot chocolate has a deep rich chocolaty taste with a slight spicy bite. You should try their almond croissant warmed up. The server warmed it up in a toaster oven. When it came out, it was piping hot and the croissant was crispy/flaky on the outside. I was so flaky, I had to eat it with a knife and fork.
Coupa is also a great place to work or to kill some time. I am always a bit conscious about working in a coffee shop because I feel like I am taking up somebody else's table. I didn't get that feeling at Coupa because there are so many laptop users.
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On a Thursday night, this place was jammed with students, friends just hangin' out and a bunch of couples looking for a place to indulge in good conversation, dessert or a quick bite.
I had their Spicy Maya hot chocolate and Tiramisu. My friend had the same but with the Triple layered chocolate dessert. The hot chocolate was
exquisite, full of flavor and a spice kick that put warmth right in your chest.
Tiramisu was good, a cup lined with espresso soaked lady fingers with the typical marscapone cream and cocoa on top. The Triple Layer chocolate dessert contained white chocolate, mousse, and dark chocolate. Whoo! A lot to taste there, almost too much,but for you chocolate lovers its damn good.
For the price, it would be nice to have better service. Being so loud when its busy, we sat outside and didn't know when to get our drinks.
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The Best Vanilla Chai. Ever.
The space is warm and beautifully decorated. Seating is usually a bit tight, but worth it. It's a classy place that hasn't lost the coziness of a coffee shop. Some complain that it gets cramped, which it does, but I actually like this. The baristas are friendly. The service is good. The place is full of life.
The food/desserts on display are immaculate and always look fresh. The variety treats from healthy to decadent is almost overwhelming at first. All the more reason to come back.
And then there were crepes. (Insert Homeresque Drool) With a selection covering Sweet and Savory, how can you go wrong?
I've also heard they have really good coffee but I made the mistake of trying a Vanilla Chai first and can't bring myself to get anything else :p
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Downtown P.A. has some great little spots and some not so good ones. But this cafe is one of them! It is a lovely little cafe. They have an enjoyable selection of goodies and the coffee is good. My spicy hot chocolate was amazing! A nice change from the average hot chocolate that you want to keep you warm and fuzzy in the winter! You can also plug in your lap top to get some work done if need be.
A nice change from your local Starbuck's or cafe. Each time I'm in P.A. I like to stop in for a little treat!
Highly Recommended!
Not a bad place to kill a few hours in downtown Palo Alto. I had an early afternoon meeting and was waiting for the first caltrain back up into The City. They've got free wifi, and high end drip coffee. Lots of seats but they were still pretty close to full with a sea of laptops. A large selection of pastry and food that looked pretty good, but I resisted those.
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5 stars for ambiance
3 stars for food and beverages
1 star for customer service
I have been there 4 times and each time have have received consistently bad service with rude and argumentative staff. The food was OK but I kept coming back for the space hoping I would eventually receive decent customer service.
It didn't happen and I refuse to go back again until I hear the place is under new management.
Coupa Cafe is an ok place to hang out and meet friends. The internet is on and off which is frustrating at times. They don't have a lot of power outlets available. They have a wide selection of cakes, cookies and salads. Overall, I thought the pricing was a bit pricey.
Nice location with special art shops all around. They make beautiful leaf-like patterns on top of the latte. Also liked the almond croissant and regular coffee.
when i'm trying to focus on surfing the internets here and ignoring the conversations of undergrads who're going on and on about how much they drank at last night's kegger, and
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Ok, after my disaster at the University Cafe yesterday, I was looking for something new. My colleague, Vanessa, recommended Coupa and how refreshing! Coupa has wifi, an intimate/cozy feel, good coffee, crepes, yummy fruit...yay! I am so stoked! I have a new favorite cafe in Palo Alto. The staffers are sweet , whistling along to the lightly playing Jazz overhead.
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I've been here a handful of times and have to admit I always end up ordering their winter hot chocolate. The price is what you would expect from Palo Alto, but the delicate complimentary of cinnamon spice and rich hot chocolate is a winner. If you decide to sit down with your order, they top your drink with cute little designs as well. As far as the ambiance goes, it is very relaxing -- they play good music and don't send you evil glares for holding a table for hours on end. They also have a decent amount of space for a cafe so overcrowding is not so much of an issue.
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In a perfect world, I would come here with my buddies and we would just sit and chat.
I know...... its not asking for much right???? BUT.... such a simple request is hard to gratify @Coupa. There are too many people on their laptops!
Five stars for the food. Theres a great selection of healthy, fresh goodies and I never have to wait too long for it despite the crowd. The prices are decent too.
Five stars for the ambiance. I dig the fireplace, cozy tables and even the lighting. It is a very pretty cafe.
One star for being too crowded of people on their laptops. But since that is not really Coupa's fault, I won't count it against them.
and shame on this lady using up two tables. One for her laptop, and the other for her papers. I almost dont feel bad for tripping on that electical cord.
if anything, try the spicy hot chocolate.
I don't fully get the appeal of this place other that they are one of the few late night places in Palo Alto. I have had breakfast here three times now and found it mediocre to downright crappy e.g., not especially fresh or tasty. I don't know what the deal is with their house salad dressing but it tastes like hot boiled farts. It is always really crowded too with the seating so close it's hard to have a private conversation. It amazes me to see so many students in there because I would not be able to concentrate in such a crowded, claustrophobic space. The staff taking your order has often seemed a bit clueless but perhaps there is at times, a language disconnect.
On the upside: The coffee drinks are really, really good which is why I gave it 3 stars.
I probably wouldn't go back there for food but definitely for coffee drinks and preferably at a time when it wasn't so insanely crowded.
4.5
So what makes a great cafe, coffee, having multiple roasts, dark, medium, light, individually drip, fair trade product, where your beans are from, if you give a shit about anything, the cacao used in the mocha or hot chocolate, mexican chocolate, scharffen berger, joseph schmidt, hersheys or maybe its the latte art, homemade chai is always good, food is always good right, freshly baked pastries, freshly delivered, how about day olds, got ambience, character, patio, sidewalk seating, free wifi, how about the crowd, is it a hipster hangout, oh wait this is palo alto, senior citizens, the self-employed, the unemployed, student destination....whatever the case maybe its about uniqueness that makes a cafe something special, like Coupa its all about Venezuela.
19th Century Venezuelan Green Bean Coffee Selector in the front, which says its made of mahongany, but who knows? Its a 4 foot wooden coffee bean selector artifact. Maybe its fake, maybe not, but how many cafes have a 4 foot mahoganey coffee selector in their cafes? zero.
By the way they have a bangin selection of coffee and food. I'm a fan of things you just can't get anywhere so try their, guayoyo, venezeulan americano, mmmmmmmmm!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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It's really a shame--this is a really beautiful, charming, high quality cafe with lovely tables, wood decor, great chocolate (expensive at $2+/piece for tiny squares, yet great and unusual flavors like cardamom), well-prepared espresso drinks in nice porcelain, a cute little back room, and warm lighting. An especially nice touch is that Coupa serves its chocolate squares on little saucers, and they have a decent wine selection as well, so it's *that* kind of cafe. However, the non-aesthetic atmosphere is obnoxious! Lots of irritating pretension, a "check me out" and "hear my conversation" kind of vibe that makes it difficult to have a pleasant cup of coffee over an interesting book. Of course, if that is your scene, you will love Coupa. If you are used to places like Au Couquelet or Cafe Strada in Berkeley, you will find Coupa ridiculously pretentious and culturally sterile.
The other interesting thing about places like this in Palo Alto--Coupa is particularly guilty of this-- is that there is something about the atmosphere that is unfriendly and asocial--there is more icy posturing than a sense of enjoying your fellow company, which is probably residual of the area at large. The music played (some sort of "hip" ambient stuff) is also kind of irritating, but relatively neutral and non-invasive, just so long as you tune it out. Despite its being frequented by college students and being the go-to place for coffee in a college town, the cafe has a decidedly non-college-y vibe, since it is too clean, too gourmet, too picky, and too snobby in its presentation--not to mention the aforementioned uncollege-y music selection, which is neither fun nor stimulating. Sometimes the cashiers are a little mean, but based on the way I've seen cafe-goers around these here parts treat those waiting on them, I would be, too.
This is definitely not my kind of sit-down cafe, but for chocolates and coffee to go, it is quality.
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Coupa has delicious drinks--their spicy Mexican and Abuela hot chocolates are god-sends. And more importantly, they have free wifi on weekdays. The free wifi is part of the reason they seem overpriced (and.. the other part is that they're located in downtown PA, but that's neither here nor there).
So why the three stars? The problem is that they're ALWAYS overcrowded. Probably three out of the last five times I've gone there, I haven't been able to get a seat. Literally every seat--inside and out--was taken. And Coupa isn't the kind of place you pay for your drink to-go. You're paying for the wifi, the smiling under-thirty set, and the homey, relaxing atmosphere.. and uh, you need a seat to do that.
This place would be an easy five stars if they'd just expand..
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Free WiFi not available on weekends.. hence 4 star :(
Best coffee in the 50 miles radius! try authentic Venezuelan coffee imported by Coupa! they also have a nice selection of wine and great desserts! it's very busy on the weekend may take some time to find a table but the environment is like no other coffee shop in the area.. they have great booths to lounge on and a sofa right in front of the fireplace for a cozy night with a hot cup of java.. my kind of place ! Highly recommend it
If this place could manage its volume better - in terms of the line, seating, even just getting to your table for that matter - it would probably be a five star joint. But the bustle is a bit worse than many a popular cafe.
The cappuccino and the Mayan chocolate are on point. The decor is legitimate, including outdoor seating, a cozy back room, and passable music. The bakery selection is big.
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I've been here a handful of times now and have enjoyed a wide assortment of desserts, lunch specials (the arepas are tasty!) and drinks (definitely try the hot chocolate). Prices are in line with downtown PA but of course, its all relative. The free wifi and being able to hold a table hostage for almost 2.5 hours without being made to feel that you should pony up to buy additional treats... it balances out and I'm happy to support a local joint.
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Came here after a long bike ride and enjoyed some delectable arepas. It was slightly busy on a Sunday afternoon. We had a little trouble finding a table for six.
I liked the environment. A little noisy for studying (people who tried had headphones on) but great for lounging and relaxing.
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I love there Tiger Spiced Chai (you can purchase the powder at Mollie Stones. It's called David Rios Tiger Chai!!) ! It tastes exactly like the one from the Canvas Gallery in SF.
I dont like the fact it is CROWDED and CRAMPED with lots of chatter and people.
Perfect spot in downtown Palo Alto to catching up with friends over a cup of coffee/tea/hot chocolate, people working there always have big smiles on their face, so are the friendly patron/customers, check it out if you have not done so already.
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Wow. What a great place. They have a great variety of food, from crepes, to arepas, to pastas. When you're done with that, they have a wide variety of coffee, and tremendous desserts. Ambience is great, with all kinds of interesting and comfy seating.
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A delightful cafe to bring your laptop and work while sipping on exotic teas. Coupa cafe offers a variety of unique dishes, savory desserts and fantastic spicy mayan hot chocolate. I enjoy coming here on days I'm feeling couped up at home from studying. I always meet interesting individuals who are also studying or working on some creative project. The customer service isn't the best Ive experienced although that isn't the reason I go. If you're looking for a place to get a good snack and work on projects or study amongst others in a cool environment, I would definitely recommend coupa cafe.
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I know!! How can I give it two stars?! Well, having gone there quite a lot, and it being the best place to meet a friend for lunch, or to drop by for spicy hot chocolate and gossip over laptops... the service has severely gone downhill. They used to smile and be charming, take the order and produce it. Now, they forget things, snarl, don't even make eye contact (this isn't just me, my friend almost lost it after half an hour of waiting for her food and then they brought her the wrong thing and accused her of lying about her order!!) - Coupa! What happened!
Came here for lunch recently. I was impressed by the large selection of menu items. Of course, I was already won over by the hot chocolate a few doors down at Bistro Maxine so the hot chocolate here doesn't compare. Plus, I was little irked that I wasn't told that the hot chocolate was waiting at the end of the counter and I was halfway done with the meal before I went to check.
The ordering process is a little frantic - our order was partially messed up so that chicken was not added in one entree. It is also quite loud in there when crowded, which I didn't care for.
Overall, the food was decent - I'd return if a friend suggested it but not on my own accord.
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I've only gotten the chai (with soy and Tiger Spice) here, but I've been very satisfied with it every time.
It is always crowded when I go in no matter what time of the day... with students studying or people working on their laptops. I have yet to sit down or eat there, since I always take it to go.
Seeing these other reviews, perhaps I'll try the food or dessert there sometime in the near future!
