Happy Goat Coffee Co. (Sandy Hill) — Restaurant in Ottawa

This is a lovely coffee shop from a local chain and this particular location is open and friendly with lots of seating. I cannot eat gluten, so the limited gluten free options disproportionately influences my review here and is the reason I put 4 stars instead of 5.

The only gluten free option is a peanut butter cookie, and if you have people in your life who have anaphylactic allergies to peanuts, this can be risky and cause anxiety. I have politely given customer feedback at multiple locations over the years, asking for more gluten free options, and have been told more than once that there isn't enough demand for it. I think that this may be a self-fulfilling prophecy, because a lot of people with gluten intolerance or celiac check reviews to see where they can safely eat something. Since all the Happy Goat locations have the same food options, every location will be avoided after going to one and being told their only gluten free option is a peanut butter cookie. I am emphasizing this because it is important to me and to many others who look for this sort of information.

I definitely want to commend them for their commitment to sustainability and getting involved in the Huskeecup network. I was incredibly excited about this. Unfortunately, the pandemic really undermined a lot of these reusable mug initiatives. I hope to see it gathering momentum in future.

I am quite happy to meet friends here for coffee, and it is a great place to work, but I cannot stay there for a long period of work because of the restricted food options. I can spend several hours in coffee shops, purchasing drinks and food to keep me going when I am focused and motivated, so if you require a gluten free diet, this is a place I would choose when meeting up with people for a great drink, but perhaps not several hours of work.

Side note: I noticed how clean their bathroom was when I was last there. I really appreciated it and it stands out...

In October, I had a business meeting at the Happy Goat in Sandy Hill and had cause to make a complaint to a staff person. The staff person responded with what I considered to be an inadvertently tactless comment. As a result I wrote a reasonable, non-confrontational email to the owner through the website outlining my original complaint and the staff person's response suggesting these were areas where improvements could be made. I asked for a response. Instead..nothing, crickets. So two weeks later I followed up, included the original message and asked for a response once again. Yet again, I was ignored. More than two weeks have gone by since my follow-up email and no one at Happy Goat has shown even the smallest courtesy to reply, adding insult to injury and confirming to me why the original problems happened in the first place. I notice that based on the Google Reviews, the owner has no trouble responding to customers when the reviews are positive. Too bad the same can't be said when comments are critical, even in a constructive way. This is a case study for poor customer service. No one likes to be ignored and good businesses make sure they at the very least respond. So if you ever have any sort of a problem at the Happy Goat...you may find yourself leaving as one...

Happy Goat has recently removed their self serve cream, milk, sugar and cinnamon. Staff will now ask you what you would like in your coffee and add it for you. Because of this, I no longer enjoy going to the Happy Goat and find it frustrating having to ask to add a little more of this or that, and sometimes too much cream is added to my coffee and it is never how I want it. I asked a staff member why customers are no longer allowed to add cream to their own coffee and he told me it was for sanitation reasons. Could someone please explain to me how adding cream to your own coffee is unsanitary? Also, he said that people were having a hard time distinguishing between the clean and dirty spoons. If that's the case provide stir sticks. The staff member didn't mention covid, however, I have observed that it is being used as an excuse for many things. I would now rather go to Bridgehead and don't anticipate I will find myself at the Happy Goat...