Café Castel — Restaurant in Montreal

I truly appreciate the atmosphere of this place – it has the charm of a small, cozy Italian café. My London Fog was delightful, though I found the food to be a bit too oily for my taste. However, my experience was somewhat overshadowed by the service.

When I ordered the London Fog, I was informed that it would not be served in a cup to avoid extra cleaning, which I completely understood. The issue arose when I asked a senior staff member, kindly, if it would be possible to clean a table so I could sit with my friends. Instead of a polite response, he waved me off and said, “No, we are only two,” before walking away. Thankfully, a younger staff member stepped in and assured me he would take care of it once he finished serving his current customers.

While waiting, I overheard the senior staff member complaining to the younger staff about being too busy to accommodate us. The younger staff member reassured him that it wouldn’t take long.

I must admit, I was disappointed by the interaction. While I understand that staffing can be challenging, especially during busy hours, it seems unwise to have only two staff members available when it’s clear there will be high traffic. This left the staff under significant pressure, which ultimately impacted their ability to provide basic customer service, such as keeping tables clean.

I hope that, in the future, the senior staff will recognize that maturity and professionalism aren’t solely defined by age, but by the way one handles situations and...

I never ever leave bad reviews for places, I simply don’t go back if I don’t like it. Unfortunately I feel the need to say this… I’m not sure how this place is even open. I chose it based on reviews, which seemed alright. Mixed feelings, I thought that’s normal. However, as soon as I stepped in I was very confused. It didn’t look clean, the tables and chairs looked old and like they were falling apart. Nothing like the photos. Still I ignored the signs because they can be misleading. Ordered a latte and a bagel with cream cheese. The coffee was okay, barista’s latte art very cute. The bagel was not edible. It was old. It tasted bad. The cream cheese had something black on it from I assume a dirty or rusty knife used to cut it. There was also something green on it that I don’t even want to guess what it could possibly be from. The staff were nice, it’s not their fault. I’m not sure what went wrong here but this was the first time I was so grossed out and upset that it ruined food for me for the entire day. I’m not writing out of spite or revenge but as a warning to anybody that might be looking at reviews and photos on here. Just go somewhere else. Trust me on this one. It’s that bad. As for the management, something has to be...

Worst experience ever. The owner was completely disrespectful. He threw the loyalty card towards us and onto the floor simply because we wanted to accumulate the points on one card. We didn’t know he would have a problem with this. No cafe ever had any problem with this! Who would have thought. It’s just an extra cup of coffee after you make eight purchases! Seriously? You get mad because customers made eight purchases and simply wanted accumulate points? You could have explained if it annoyed you! That you could do and we are not unreasonable. We would even care? All you had to do is to explain your store’s rules. No you didn’t. What did you do? How did you choose to explain? You chose to throw the card towards us and onto the floor in the most contemptuous manner we wouldn’t have expected in a thousand years. What’s all this about? Seriously? You had to insult your customers this way? What we tipped you was way more than the cost of an extra cup of coffee! A cafe that simply didn’t care to lose a couple of customers because it’s at a convenient location and people would come anyways no matter how you treat them! They think they can treat you in whatever way they like and still get...