Coffee Culture Cafe & Eatery — Restaurant in Ajax

Coffee Culture (Salem & Hwy 2) – The right culture for students!

As a student, one of the most important determinants of success, in my opinion, lies in where you study. The ‘where you study’ includes the food available, coffee blend, white noise, energy of the staff and even the proximity of chairs to the table. Other factors of importance include study surfaces, internet access, and a menu that welcome a student budget. You also don’t want to feel less of a patron because you are a student so the study site should feel welcoming for those who love the books. This ‘Culture was the one for me.

The overall feel for this Coffee Culture was that it will give the student a chance. The floor layout highlights the fixings of café with the comfort of the family restaurant. Small tables tell you that space is for small eats but the chairs say stay awhile. With this said, the student seems welcome as long as they follow the seating signs for tables reserved for the more-than-one. The volume of other eaters can easily be quieted by a standard set of headphones and the volume of patrons rarely create cause for the interruption. There seems to be reliable parking, however, accessing the cafe from 401 traveling north on Salem - the median separating traffic does not allow direct access off Salem northbound. This detour is easily corrected by making a U-turn further north. Easier access is gained if you travel on south on Salem after Hwy 2.

The service is fairly quick and is 100% correct 95% of the time. The staff is always smiling but not in an ‘I am smiling because THEY said I have to’ way so you know it is somewhat genuine. The staff also know when to interrupt your studies (i.e. letting you know your chicken wrap is ready) and when to leave you alone (i.e. when you just did a practice test for a board exam and you are about to flip your table because you didn’t get the mark you thought you were going to get). The doors are limited to a 7 am - 10 pm patronage time but with some scheduling, the timing seems somewhat appealing to the student.

The internet access seemed a little shaky during the fall months but with minimal complaining from yours truly, the staff were able to rectify this in a few days suffice to say that the Christmas season brought with it the gift of zero interruptions or slow down. To complement the access to Wifi, the available study surface is workable was it, comfortable hosts, a laptop, textbook and a cup of Jo - it turns into a balancing act if you want to eat and study at the same time. And you dare not sit at those reserved tables! You will be kindly asked to find somewhere else to sit. There are lots of electrical outlets situated safely within reach and without obstructing other patrons. The lighting supports a calm tone but easily illuminates those hard-to-read chapters. There is no lack of natural lighting with right heating during the winter months (unlike some of those other shops that seem to strategically adjust their temperatures to move the student along...just saying)

The food situation is decent. Sandwiches, wraps, and soups reinforce and support the student budget with a ‘not so bad’ reward program. The limited options in meals and drinks make it very easy to decide what snack is needed for the next few hours of cramming. At the end of each study day at this spot, I was able to study with a full stomach for $20. The coffee works but those Pistachio muffins though...mmm (ask them to warm it up)!! My ‘go to’ at lunch is the Mango Chicken Wrap at $8.99 with a small raspberry lemonade Chiller - they’ve never failed me yet!.

Summary Service = A Internet/Study Surface = B+ Food = B+ Overall = A-...

READ TO THE END. MAR2024: Went on a Wednesday for lunch and to change my view for work. It wasn’t too busy and enough tables to sit with nearby plugs. Had the steak, egg and cheese wrap which was really good. Iced vanilla latte was good as well. My sister had the PiriPiri Chicken wrap with the thai chicken soup, both tasted great and good portions. Customer service 5/5 too. Would definitely come back to this location.

EDIT NOV2024: Changing my review as per new recent experience. Food and drinks are still good but it’s the customer service that baffled me. I came in with my sister in the morning and sat by the window, booth seats. A sign was there stating, seating only for 2 OR MORE PEOPLE during busy business hours (approx lunch time and afternoon rush). So I figured me and my sister are considered 2 PEOPLE and we were ok to sit there. Come around lunch time, a staff member (seems like the manager/owner), we were being asked to move to a smaller table because “more customers are coming during lunchtime” but when I looked, there was no one in the line. I brought up the sign on the table and I said this says “ 2 or more people” but no explanation was given by said staff member and told me to move again. Mind you, my sister and I both bought breakfast AND lunch WITH drinks so it’s not like we’re only taking up space and free wifi. We decided to leave in the middle of our lunch and decided to head elsewhere. As I was walking out, I did bring the table sign to the same staff member and requested for it to be changed so paying customers are not being told otherwise. This what makes businesses terrible - sometimes it’s not the product but poor customer service/management. Never coming back again and will make sure friends and family...

Out of electricity due to the thunderstorm, house has been cold and no way to work from home, so decided to work here for the week. Came to coffee culture yesterday and there is a reserved sign on the bigger booths saying to avoid sitting during peak hours 11am-2pm. So I avoid sitting there. I nearly froze sitting at the other side of the café and noticed a lot of people who were only one person taking up booth seats for themselves despite of the reserved sign. I did not notice any staff members saying anything to them so I decided to take up the booth today.

Came again this morning and staff is pleasant and food is good. Aside from the one staff member who came over to tell me the booths are for two people or more during busy hours... I did see the sign there ... The only reason I was sitting in the corner booth is because it's freezing cold in the rest of the café.I didn't make a fuss about it and moved but to find out he didn't tell any other people who was only one person and had a booth to themselves. If you are going to tell one person to move I'll respectfully do so BUT don't go and just pick on the one lonely girl sitting by herself minding her own business and trying to work.. There's other people who are doing the same thing so please ask them to move also.. I spent nearly $25 yesterday because I'm not going to mooch of your internet unlike some other customers. I always tend to buy things every three hours or so for breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea..

The other staff are nice so not going to complain about them but this dude needs to treat people EQUALLY the same! I will be going to Starbucks tomorrow, can't be bothered in being...