Ethica Coffee Roasters — Restaurant in Toronto

I will start by saying the coffee is quite delicious and is of higher quality than the average café. They are certainly expert roasters. My issue is more with the service/environment. I asked for a cold brew and was given an iced pour over, which I didn't realize until I got the drink. I didn't mind that, but I did make sure to tell them I wanted the drink more bold in flavour. I also said it's for here but somehow got a plastic cup anyways (which I guess is common in many places, so not exclusively this place's custom). Anyway, the message about the flavour wasn't relayed and the coffee was so weak it basically tasted like water. I went back to ask if they could add more coffee to the drink and the barista didn't say anything except that it would be an extra cost. I was shocked considering the drink already cost almost over $7.00 and I could not justify spending over $10.00 for what seemed like a 300mL cup of coffee. At any other café, they always make the drink stronger upon request or simply add more espresso at no extra cost. After explaining this, the barista just replied, "What do you want me to do?" She then took the drink, spilled it, threw out the plastic cup, and remade the drink with less milk, which seemed more wasteful than just adding a shot of espresso. Guess the 'ethica' concept stops at the environment. The whole interaction was terribly unnecessary and instead of arguing with me for almost 5 minutes (during which she explained the process for making a pour over and how to properly request it stronger by asking for less milk), she could have just added a small shot of espresso.

The environment itself is also not great for those who want to sit and relax for a few minutes. They had a live performance, which was nice, but the music on top of everyone speaking, the coffee machines, combined with the washrooms right near the counter, made it incredibly loud.

tl;dr: The service is patronizing, the environment is loud, and the great coffee doesn't make...

First of all, if you don’t know why I rated 1 star, a good manager would start by asking to understand the reason before sending me message. Respecting customer feedback is essential to improving service quality.

While I was reviewing the letters section (under the “Tomorrow” sign), my half-finished drink and food were removed from my table without permission, and without consulting my friend who was still seated there. To add to this, the same staff member came to inspect the letter section, as if suspecting I had taken something without paying. This behavior is disrespectful and implies a lack of trust toward customers.

When I ordered, I was asked, “Do you want to stay a little bit or to go?” Such a question comes across as intrusive, as it’s not within your right to decide how long a customer can stay. Customers deserve equal and fair treatment, free from bias or assumptions. Discrimination, in any form, is not only unprofessional but goes against basic human rights principles of respect, equality, and dignity.

I urge you to review your security cameras. If my account is proven inaccurate, I am fully willing to retract my review and apologize personally. However, if my experience is accurately represented, I believe a sincere apology is warranted from your business. Treating all customers with fairness and respect is not only ethical but is also at the core of...

Soooooo Ethica will be my new go to in the neighbourhood coffee place, absolutely loved the physical space it was modern and lots of natural light with ginormous windows and very high ceilings…I absolutely love the lattes here made with their Brazilian beans. The depth of flavour is over the top!! Thank-you Michael for the wonderful conversation about coffee/espresso and the chemistry of making a spectacular latte, Michael was very friendly had wonderful personality, professional and interpersonal skills were top notch and is an effective listener, Michael is VERY knowledgeable about coffee/Ethica beans and answered many of my questions because I’m not a barista but love espresso, and he never made me feel I was asking a dumb or 2 many questions…Michael and the other 2 baristas were very friendly and had great communication/customer service skills and made our first visit to Ethica a very memorable experience, if you are in the neighbourhood or even a distance away Ethica is worth the visit and I guarantee you won’t be disappointed…Please keep doing what you’re doing making palettes happy one at a time.

Ethica uses a La Marzocco Espresso Machine…need I say more, just seeing that they use the best Espresso machine on the market that is handmade in Florence Italy 🇮🇹 shows they are bang-on about the product they are...