Caffe Gatti — Restaurant in St. Catharines

I initially left a four star review, but after my recent experience there I was compelled to write a new one.

The first time I visited this place I got the turkey sandwich and a cookie. The sandwich was good, the cookie was very stale, and the price was high. Overall I was satisfied.

Unfortunately this past weekend my experience was much different. On the 27th my Partner and I had to be in town for an appointment at 9:30, so we figured we would stop here for some breakfast. Unfortunately, at 9am they were still not open. We knocked and waited a few minutes and no one showed up. It's not a good look. But every business makes mistakes so we brushed it off and went elsewhere.

Then we decided to go back the next day again for breakfast. We figured we'd give the place a second chance, and I really wish we hadn't.

This time they are open on time, and we got a bagel, a breakfast sandwich, coffee and a bottle of orange juice. They only had one bagel choice, plain, which was surprising but I'll take it. We get the drinks and are waiting for the food, and I see that on the orange juice bottle that it expired three weeks ago!!!! Immediately I ask for a new one, and the lady did apologize, but I was appalled. But the disappointment didn't stop there. We took our food to go, and the bagel was so small it was comical. Same goes for the breakfast sandwich. And considering all that cost us $25, we were hoping for some more bang for our buck. Honestly, the bagel wasn't much different to something you get at Tim's, just double the price.

It's safe to say we will not...

If I could give this place 0 stars I WOULD!! The service here is ABSOLUTELY HORRENDOUS, DISRESPECTFUL and DISGUSTING.

Today my friend and I were out for breakfast when an individual in need approached me asking for money for food. Instead I offered to buy them a coffee and a sandwich from the cafe. Before I was even able to enter the cafe, an employee stepped out and blocked the entrance. When I asked what he was doing, he said that the individual was not allowed to enter the cafe. Even though I was puzzled by this, I said that if she is not allowed in then I would like to come in since I will be purchasing the meals. The employee looked at me and said no and stated “if you care so much about people, why don’t you just drive them home” this is absolutely the most DISGUSTING behaviour I have ever witnessed from an employee, AND who even says that…like how heartless and selfish can you be.

I reiterated to the man that I’m not sure what his problem is with this individual, however I am a paying customer and I would like to buy the food. Once again he refused to let me in, and said that if we didn’t leave he would be calling the cops. Additionally stating, “I can’t let you buy food, because I’m scared you’ll give it to her”.

Once again the service here is absolutely disgusting, and for an employee to speak to a paying customer that way, just because I was trying to buy an individual in need a meal, is...

This was my 1st time here, and it's possible that it was simply one of those unfortunate days, but I was disappointed overall. The regular coffee and croissant deal for $6+ tax for a medium mild or dark roast coffee and choice of either plain, chocolate, or almond croissant was somewhat acceptable given current pricings. Mine was the dark roast and not the quality I was expecting from a coffee-focused business. My friend and I were informed that the coffee would be brought to our table, as the mild coffee had to be brewed. We were halfway through our croissants and still no coffee. Now numerous people were coming in, so my friend went to the counter, and she was asked to wait while they finished with the person that just came in. Instead of offering all options such as milk/cream types or milk alternatives (if any), I asked for my preferences, which weren't available, and the woman hesitated in confirming if they had 1% milk. Although the ambiance was cozy and clean, the service was chaotic. The one washroom didn't have complete instruction (printed instruction broken off) on how to lock the door, and I'm pretty mechanically inclined, but I could not figure it out. It felt like they had just started the business, and new employees getting used to...