Pallet Coffee Roasters - Semlin Drive — Restaurant in Vancouver

So, in the mood for a good chai, some breakfast sandwiches and maybe a baked treat, we headed here. We bought a ham and cheese croissant sandwich, a coconut mango muffin which we were told was a new item, the BYO sandwich, an iced London fog and of course to satisfy my chai craving, one chai latte with oatmeal “milk”.

I know what you’re thinking “lucky guy” right? Great start to a walk on a beautiful day. Unfortunately Pallet under performed on all accounts except for the patio, which my partner and I both agreed was the best part of the experience.

Here’s the down low on each item;

London fog Latte, made with tea it’s expected to be a bit bitter, However, with a properly engineered recipe there should also be balance. The viscosity was watery with a strong bitter caramel background which in itself doesn’t sound so bad, if there was 40% sweet increase, longer steeped tea for depth then maybe it would be close to what one traditionally expects.

Chai latte, again, lacked depth, and I’ve come to expect this with recent chai experiences. It’s as if the makers are afraid to commit. I can almost hear the conversation “let’s not make the flavour too bold because people don’t like too much spice”. If you’re going to offer something that is expected to be full flavoured with those deliciously slightly toasted notes of cardamom, cinnamon, allspice and cloves or whatever woody spice ones family secret recipe contains then go for it! Commit, be one with those deep notes of healthy deliciousness. We demand full flavour! :)

The mango coconut muffin, now we were warned that there’s only a sprinkling of coconut on the muffin, again with the commitment. Call it coconut mango then there should be coconut throughout? There were mango pieces but they were as large as a nickle, but as any great baker knows, you either reduce the size to “peanut” size or wait until the batter is half cooked and then poke those chunks in the middle after some of the batter has set. Otherwise, like in this instance the mango chunks all went to the bottom. And it wasn’t the only technical error, they also overcooked it and their wasn’t the appropriate amount of fat to support the dryness. Try using coconut fat, compensate your moisture of the chunks and adjust your cook time.

And now the piece de resistance ... the breaky sannis

The Ham and cheese croissant arrived room temp, fresh for sure and a very good croissant but it needed an oven or panini blast for two minutes to melt the cheese and add a thin layer of extra flakiness. The big thing was again commitment issues, it only came with one thin slice of ham folded in half, covering only the midsection of the croissant, one slice of thin cheese cut in half subway style and one inch on both ends missing both cheese and ham :( if you sell a ham and cheese commit and make it a ham and cheese or make a smaller croissant or take it off the menu and if it’s a cost issue then charge $10 and not ) $8.50 and do it properly. The other issue was it was drenched in mayo, classic consistency challenge.

The BYO sandwich, full, fresh and your best bet from the two we tried. The only complaint was it wasn’t warm, just room temp, so our word of advice, start blasting your sandwiches for two min, it will bring out the flavours, add texture to your bread and melt your cheese to offer extra creaminess.

All and all, the food we tried was amateur at best, but for $40 we deserved better. They have the tools and what I hear they have the resources, invest more into training, avoid short term “solutions” to food cost, commit more to your decisions, and re-evaluate and audit your recipes and specs.

To the customers, stick to the croissants and perhaps what they are known for or lower your meal expectations or custom your order with our words of caution....

One of the worst coffees I’ve ever had. I ordered an oat milk latte, but it was so watered down that there was absolutely no coffee flavor and no oat milk taste—really disappointing, especially for nearly $7. The staff that who took my order was clearly stretched thin, as she was responsible for both taking orders and making the coffee. It felt like the cafe was severely understaffed, and her rushing attitude reflected it. She seemed unprofessional, unfriendly, and definitely not happy with her job - probably due to the stress of managing multiple tasks on her own.

While the space itself is nice, the tables are packed closely together, making it hard to have a quiet moment or get work done without overhearing everyone else’s conversations. Additionally, the smell from the in-house baking was overpowering—I left smelling like butter and pastries all over my hair and clothing. Overall, not a pleasant experience, and I won’t...

Despite this being the closest coffee shop to my house, and finding their food and drinks delicious and high quality, I won't be going back for two reasons. First, they refuse to allow for clean reusable mugs to be used for their coffees under COVID protocols, which I could be understanding of if every other coffee shop in the area hadn't found a way around this where they don't ever touch the cup (it's not hard!). I suspect it's mostly because they want their branding to be visible, or at minimum is hygiene theatre. Secondly, last time I went in the barista made a comment about my body shape, and while I think they meant it as a compliment, they seemed to just keep talking about it and it was inappropriate and made me...