Kafka's Coffee Roasting — Restaurant in Vancouver

Let me just get to the point right away with this cute little coffee/eatery. If service is important to you and you're watching your $....then you may not want to try this place. If you're looking to grab n go with money to spend then....sure check it out.

This place from afar looks quite enticing. The decor, architecture and open patio is luring and that's what happened to me. I was looking to grab lunch and this place called me over.....the place not the people....keep reading...

When I walked in, there was a cold reception from the front staff. They were clearly overwhelmed, but it was more than that....they were just not very friendly. The lady looked like she didn't want to be there, was annoyed and wanted to go to the beach. The guy working next to her at the coffee section was of the same energy and attitude. Clearly looked at me and not a single smile, no hello, no have you been helped...nothing. What made it even worse, in terms of service, was when his buddy walked in there was the disposition he should've had with every guest that walks in. Anyway, moving on..... Also they didn't know their own menu. I ordered the Glory Bowl and asked the lady, other than Chicken and fake meat were there any other proteins I could add? and she recommended egg, which I later found out it came with already, so if I had listened to her suggestion I would've paid for and had extra egg on the bowl.

When my bowl was ready a kitchen staff member came up and called my name, set it down and just left...without making sure that it got to the right person and the girl who took my order was still in a trance and the coffee guy...well he was clearly busy entertaining his buddy. I grabbed my bowl and left....with no thank you for coming..have a nice day....hope to see you soon.....I could've grabbed the wrong one and left and none of them would've been the wiser.

The Glory Bowl itself was pretty good. Daring pairing of fresh ingredients that surprisingly worked nicely together. The only suggestion I would have for the bowl is to increase the portion of the quinoa as it is an ingredient not a garnish. The bowl was $14 and with added chicken it was an extra $4, so it's quite pricy compared to sit down restaurants and their entree salads and health bowls in the area. But, I think what struck the most for me was this: When you look at the place from across the street, you get a sense of a trendy, relax, summery, fun and light place in beautiful Yaletown to grab coffee and a bite, but when you walk in you feel a stormy cold chill.....simply coming from staff, that I'm sure mean well, but might want to warm up the place a bit with some adjustments in their service and attitude.

It's a shame that a place would sabotage repeat business merely due to staff service. When you're charging those prices the guest is entitled to more than...here's your order...do you want a receipt? To be frank, I've gotten better service from MacDonalds.

Everything considered I...

With an outdoor park on the spot, the space is especially nice when the accordion doors are wide open and the cafe is merged with the park in the summer. But it's a great option in the winter as well because it is always possible to find a seat. The staff is quite welcoming. Before I became a vegan, I was quite addicted to their Hammer Time breakfast sandwich which they made with my favourite over – the MerryChef. We like that because the sandwich is made to order and not just heated up. The vegan meatball sandwich is now my new favourite. I find the salad very hard to eat because the bowl is so small I couldn't toss the content into a proper salad. As eggs cause eczema flare ups, I now have to avoid eggs, as the salad is already contaminate with an egg inside the bowl, I no longer order the salad. Kafkas make their own sour dough rye bread, and it is very good, but the take away loafs are not always available. We like coming here for lunch because they have a decent menu and a decent oven. But sometimes, you can't get food after 3:00 pm. As for snacks, we think they have a lot to improve in their bakery display. Unlike Analog or Milano Coffee where their food displays are always fully loaded, Kafkas food display shows minimal quantity and options – perhaps that's because they make all their own food, and prefer to bake the cookies and bars fresh as needed. But when the display is not full, it is not as attractive. From what I can see, they don't have carrot cakes or vegan very berry muffins, so we tend to ignore...

Great location and beautiful space. A bit of constructive feedback: there was one barista working this afternoon when I stopped in for a coffee on my way to work. She was busy making drinks for other customers, so I waited for her to become available and take my order. I was the only person waiting to order, everyone else was seated and presumably waiting for their drink or already had it. She did not make any eye contact with me nor did she greet or acknowledge me whatsoever. Even a brief “hello, be with you in a moment” or “thanks for your patience” would have more than sufficed. I’ve worked in food service and retail and I’m a reasonable person so I get it, it’s hard keeping up when you’re the only one working. But at $6 for a small latte and a cafe that was hardly bustling, I don’t think it would be unreasonable to expect some acknowledgement that she’d seen me waiting to order and would be with me as soon as she could. I decided to keep walking and get my coffee elsewhere along my route. Shame, I always seem to have odd experiences like this every time I try to give this...