Cafe Ciel — Restaurant in Coquitlam

I almost never write negative reviews but I was pretty disappointed with my experience here. The atmosphere is very cute but unfortunately service could use some improvement and could be more polite/friendly.

I arrived with my sister and we were briefly acknowledged by the barista who was distracted by the television not working (which was frustrating to not be able to read menu) but they didn’t communicate with us so otherwise so we weren’t sure if anyone else was working. We were okay to wait and understood they had to fix the tv menu.

Upon ordering, they were very short and almost rude—very quick to dismiss my sisters order as they were out of matcha that day. They could’ve communicated more politely vs. “No. We’ve been out of matcha for 2 hours.” in a rude tone. We had to repeat our order because they initially rang it in wrong.

After receiving our orders, I received a hot latte with no flavouring when I asked for an iced vanilla latte. I asked to confirm if it was my order as it was no big deal to me if it was hot but didn’t want to accidentally take someone else’s drink. The barista didn’t make any eye contact with me, looked frustrated, sighed, looked away and said “yeah.” I did mention it wasn’t what I asked for but it was fine because I had to leave for an appointment so I just left.

They also wore an AirPod the entire time and seemed very rude and dismissive to the other customers behind us. The attitude overall felt very checked out and negative, not what I typically expect from a coffee shop that is usually warm and welcoming. On top of the attitude towards us and the other customers, not being able to ring in the order properly initially, and giving me the wrong order, I unfortunately will not be revisiting this location for a while but hope there will be some improvement so I can try again...

My first time trying this cafe, I have been living Tri-cities for about 15 yrs or so and have seen previous coffee shop but never attempted to go into that one somehow however today I needed a coffee so bad and something to munch. Hence I decided to go in to Ciel and since my doc appointment at Care Mart was reasonably about 40min waiting, I went to in and saw a right away sort of serious barista and pastry display. The barista was the only employee at the time of morning when I visited. The barista was politely apologize for keeping waiting. Which is good sign. I ordered regular Americano and a Matcha coconut cookie which were very tasty. I always check what kind of a espresso machine and grinder are used to make coffee but I didn't check what kind of beans is used perhaps next visit I shall find out about it. Overall experience was great and shall visit more frequently. I am wondering what happened to the previous coffee shop? Just ownership...

Today as I was getting my coffee I noticed that they were charging me for ice for an iced drink. This is insane. I think it’s important to note that as a customer, choosing an iced drink over a hot one already means you’re paying for less product since they will be using less milk with the ice in the cup. To use less milk and then to also charge the customer for ice is a scam. I was always wondering why my drinks here would cost more than other cafes in the area and how it makes sense. I will not be returning here as this makes me uncomfortable as a consumer. Many other cafes to support in the area.

In response to the owner: Pappa Roti down the street along with other cafes charge the same price for iced and hot drinks. It’s okay if you charge more, I just do not agree with it since you end up with less product. I will support cafes that charge the same...