StoHo. — Restaurant in Hamilton

I really wanted to love this place & was so excited to have a coffee place opening steps from me.

But my visit was extremely disappointing. I'd looked at their menu online, and decided I was going to get a decaf latte with a flavor shot. My husband asked me to bring him back an espresso.

The place does look very upscale - more high-end salon reception vibes than coffee house, but they're eventually doing cocktails at night so this seems suited to that. Overall a very well styled space. And the staff were very pleasant, if somewhat scattered despite only 2 occupied tables in the place at the time.

The product itself was the issue. The only decaf/non-caf option was just a regular decaf cup of coffee. They said they couldn't make a decaf latte option. I get that they normally make them with espresso - but as someone who has worked as a barista, I was confused that they didn't offer to make a comparable alternative with the decaf. And since they don't even carry any herbal tea bags like every other coffee house, I simply was left without an option.

I then ordered the espresso to go. As they handed it to me, I was informed they didn't have to-go cups or lids yet. So I walked back home trying not to spill the tiny cup.

My husband was excited for his shot, but quickly made a face & poured the remainder out. He said it was unbearably chalky. Guess perhaps the grind or water temp/flow was off? Still very unfortunate.

So, we won't be going back. The menu is too limited & they don't seem to have any real expertise in what few things they do offer. All the hype seems manufactured for social media, sadly, and focused on aethetics over quality experience.

RESPONSE TO OWNER: It's not a customers job to tell you how to do yours, or dictate to you how you pivot in such a situation. It's such an odd expectation that a customer should instruct the staff in how exactly they should be accommodated at a new establishment.

The obvious solution to the latte was offer the drip decaf with the frothed milk & flavor shot. I was not offered that, and I wasn't going to presume to demand or instruct the staff. You currently have a very small menu, you're newly open, and I have no idea what you have behind the bar there. But I'm supposed to initiate a discovery session & problem-solving discussion over what should be a quick transaction? I'm sorry, what?

And I wasn't informed you didn't have takeaway lids until after I was handed the espresso in the small cup. There was no offer to put it into a bigger cup, either when I ordered it to-go, or after it was handed to me. So again, your response is that it was my responsibility to know all of this info ahead of time, so I could direct the staff in my alternative preferences in order to have a positive experience.

I went in, excited to try the place, as it would have been my daily spot as I wfh just steps away, and the initial buzz was enthusiastic. I had an experience that resulted in my having no reason to come back. I write a fair review of said experience - saying the staff was nice & the decor was beautiful, but the interaction was inexpert - and your response is to tell me I should have just tried harder to like it.

You've completely validated my experience & overall...

Edit; their coffee is good, I advise against the food. Went for their thursday night special after a bit of a break. Got arancini, truffle fries, and wings. Wings were smaller than prior and crunchy. First batch of arancini was a bit overly crispy but okay, until I discovered some tinfoil on the bottom. The server got me a replacement order, which was crunchy, and in what tasted like ragu sauce with how acidic it was. Fries were solid, feels like the fourth variation of what base fries I've had going there since they opened.

Done trying with them for now.

StoHo is easily an outstanding gem of Stoney Creek. I've frequented the place since it's initial opening and even enjoyed a cup from them back in their first showing during 2023 Boots in the Creek.

The atmosphere is impeccable, with the interior design picturesque from almost every angle. With a gorgeous interior and a patio that is second to none to top it off. The ONLY nit I can pick in this category is that sometimes the music is a touch loud for my tastes, something that is entirely personal preference.

The staff are energetic and a delight in all ways, clearly giving their all and ensuring any needs you may have are met and exceeded.

StoHo's food is where some cracks start to show; when they make something right, it is incredibly tasty and top notch for quality. The restaurant's consistency is where I've had issues. I've had several cases of ordering lunch to recieve the wrong side (salad instead of fries) when I made sure to clarify that with the staff. Likewise, I've ordered hot drinks to be given the cold version instead. Twice now I've had a salad where I believe they put a balsamic reduction of sorts on it rather than the normal dressing as it was much sludgier than I expected.

Whenever I bring up an issue to staff, they have no issue correcting the problem and in the case of drink mix ups, even letting me have the mistake in addition to my ordered beverage. With the prices they charge, I honestly expect a fair bit better.

When the cheapest coffee you can get is $3.60, a croissant is $5, and the cheapest starter on the menu is $12, I don't want to wonder if I'm going to have balsamic dressing down the side of my sandwich, or if the fries are crunchy rather than crispy.

I still enjoy going there and grabbing a cup with my dad or a friend, but I really want to see them improve that last little bit to make StoHo an absolutely stellar 5-star experience for what it costs...

My friends and I went for their labor day party and I think it was the worst service I've ever had at a restaurant. We ordered our drinks and sat outside, beautiful patio area, and there were maybe four tables taken including ours. No one came to us to ask if we wanted food, I had to call the waitress over. She was talking to and serving every other table, but continuously skipped ours. When I asked if we could order food, she said she'd go find someone else to take our order. We figured maybe we weren't in her section so we understood. She came back saying she couldn't find the other person and took our order. The food was SO good. We had misjudged our table size, so we switched to a larger table at the waitresses offer.

Ambiance was good, the DJ was alright, he went from playing music to turning up the volume on some beats but that's a personal thing, it isn't affecting this review at all.

No one came to check on us. Not to see how the food was, to see if we wanted another drink when ours were empty, to take away the plates when we had them stacked to the side of the table. We were at the restaurant for about 3 hours and no one came to check on us. In the meantime, it did get busier. We only saw one waitress and she was going from table to table, but again ignoring ours. She even went to the table we left, so it was obviously in her section. When I was ready to go, I flagged her down asking for a mango matcha to go and my cheque separated from my friends. She seemed confused, asking who our server was, we said we really haven't had one. She got more confused asking who took our order and brought us food, we said she did. She was startled and clearly forgot about doing so and left to get my drink and cheque. When she came back, she said the people making drinks said they couldn't make a matcha because they were too busy making alcoholic drinks.

I paid my cheque and left.

I won't be going back honestly. I don't know if she was new, if she was overwhelmed, or what, but that was the worst service I think I've ever received at...