Coffee Lab — Restaurant in Região Imediata de São Paulo

Quality coffee and nice atmosphere.

Overall, the quality here is very nice. We ordered a variety of items to try and all were very good. Only item that we truly did not enjoy was the espresso and panna. Espresso was burnt and once that happens, even the sweetness of the panna can’t cover it. All other coffee drinks were good however. I ordered the biscoito, which was very good. The other dish, bread and butter, was so so honestly. I think ultimately it would’ve been paired better with a different bread than brioche, which isn’t what you typically expect for a bread and butter.

Also love the way the place is decorated, and the outdoor space is very nice. Two thumbs up for that.

A few small downsides for me: the menu is a bit confusing. We didn’t really understand the first several options prior to getting to what appears to be the main menu. Overall, I think the menu could be clarified more, including food option descriptions (maybe pictures?).

Other small downside is they seat you, which is possibly in order to effectively fill their space. However, for me, it gives more of a restaurant feel, rather than a casual, cozy café. As far as this point goes, I don’t really take away from them, as I believe this is more of a personal preference when grabbing café.

#sãopaulo #sp #sampa #café #coffee #coffeelab #caffeine #espresso...

Once upon a time Coffe Lab was a reference of coffee in the city. In my last visit it became clear it is no longer reference and not even a good coffee place anymore. The place is more focused in showing it’s LGBT and inclusive policies than serving good coffee or presenting a good service. The capuccino my wife ordered was served cold. My expresso was offered with a special coffee being offered that day. Accepted the offer and bad surprise: it was a terrible acidic and strong roast one. Impossible to drink. Ordered a regular, basic coffee to avoid surprises. It took hours to be served and when it came I realized it was made with the same coffee strain offered in the expresso. (?!?!) Asked the lady serving about it and only at that point she told me it was the only coffee type available that day. (At Coffe Lab you offer just one Coffe strain, roast ?!?!). If it was not enough, the service was terribly slow and lazy. The place was dirty and messy, with empty cups and trays left behind by costumers and taking ages to the staff to clean. Terrible experience, expensive and unpleasant. Look like the owners are not present to check the service and quality. Don’t think I will...

They had a nice selection of varietals, which I can appreciate.

However, when asking for two coffees, a bourbon in aeropress and a catuai in v60, the pour on both was done recklessly, from a milk pitcher (kettle, anyone?) with NO CARE for the turbulence generated, and with ZERO preinfusion time. On the v60, it didn’t matter because while pouring, the barista inserted a stainless steel spoon IN the v60 and stirred it quite harshly. In the aeropress, she actually left the poured water in contact with the coffee for less than 30 seconds (and again, no preinfusion time at all), which i doubt helped the brew quality. And i’m aware some baristas prefer no preinfusion time, but it seemed to me this was more of a lack of knowledge thing than a preference.

I had high hopes for this place, and my disappointment can barely be measured. If you’re serious about specialty coffee, i’d recommend...