Blue Bottle Cafe (Re)Visited
I am a big fan of Blue Bottle Coffee, but I am disappointed with the my experiences at the new Cafe at Mint Plaza after 3 visits.
The siphon bar and food service don't open until 9 AM, which strikes me as strange. Been there too early, so still haven't tried the coffee from the siphon bar.
Stopped in with my family this past Sunday at 8:50...still too early to wait for coffee from the siphon machine. (It seems to be a 10 minute process at least.) Right at 9:00 AM we ordered the toast with butter and jam, a waffle, and the popeye eggs. We were served the toast and wafffle at 9:20, and I did not get my popeye eggs until 9:30 - no explanation, no apology - just seemed like this is par for the course?!
The food was good - they use Acme bread, and the waffle was tasty - but not worth putting up with the slow and poor service.
Is my experience unique?
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Tripeler
May 8, 2008 12:13 AM
Pardon my irreverent sarcasm, but "siphon coffee" is so 70's Japan. There ARE better ways of making coffee, which are actually in use in Japan now. But likely no better way of wowing customers who have never seen a coffee siphon. Get thee to the House of Coffee at 23rd and Noriega to get a good cuppa Joe. And check out the owner's museum of Coffee Siphonalia.
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My husband and I have only gone once so far, but our experience was so great that we're already planning our next visit (we live in Berkeley).
We went on a Sunday morning, I don't remember what time, and it was packed. I remember having to wait for a seat, wait to order, wait for our siphon coffee and wait for our food. However, having said all that, we never actually felt like we were "waiting". The place is so visually stunning, and watching the siphon coffee being prepared, along with general people watching, kept us busy enough that we didn't really notice how long our order took to arrive.
I'm sorry about your bad experiences... I hope that you'll mention something to them and give them another chance.
