Rituales Compañía de Café — Restaurant in Medellín

I would not reccomend this place for remote workers. Its obvious that they don't want people to work there. I understand its cafe not co-working space. They have a rule that after one hour you have to buy more items or they are going to charge you a bonus fee which is unclear on how they enforced that. I understand that it's not okay to sit in a coffee shop for 6 hours and only buy a $2 coffee nor is it fair to expect custumers to buy hour on the hour just to keep their table. I had a particually rude interaction with a waitress that I've described below.

I came in around 9:30 and ordered a coffee. At 10:20 a waitress asked me if I wanted something else I said I'll order later she proceeded to give me a sign that said "THIS IS NOT A COWORKING SPACE". I was suprised she gave me this sign being that I had stated that I was going to buy something and I had only been there for an hour and a half. She said nothing to the other people who had also been working and some who had been there longer than me. At 11:30 I ordered lunch I thought after ordering lunch I'd be left alone. I got my lunch around twenty minutes later. The food was okay the potatoes were a little hard and lacked flavor. I finished my food around 1pm. I found myself drawing out my eating so that no one would say anything to me. I wanted to stay just long enough to take a quick 2pm meeting and then leave thinking that buying the food should get me 2 hours of work time. I was wrong. In the middle of the meeting the same waitress came to me and asked if I wanted anything else. I said no, thank you she proceeded to tell me how I needed to leave if I didn't buy anything and the fact that this was not a co-working space. Not only did she interrupt my meeting for something that could have waited but its not as though the cafe was full to the brim there were still seats available. The waitress was increadibly rude and there were other people inside the cafe who had also been there for a while yet I was the only one being scolded and I was also the only one who was black, which doesn't feel like a coincidence to me. Fair to say I will not be heading back, not for the racist rude waitress, mediocre coffee nor overpriced bland food. There was one waitress who was very kind and that is the only reason I've rated them two stars...

It's with a heavy heart that I write this review. This is the second time we visited whilst in Medellin. The food and coffee were great however a language mix up during ordering was very badly handled. The café has separate English and Spanish food menus that is only accessible through a QR code. 2 of the French toast options have similar names in Spanish (which are used in the English menu) which are in hindsight are easy to mix up across a language barrier. There was such a mix up and I was not brought what I had ordered. I explained this and the dish was eventually replaced. The café still tried to charge me for both dishes depsite the incorrect dish being taken away and the server was rude to me when I explained that I would not pay for the additional dish. I ultimately only paid for what I ordered.

This would be easily avoided in future by using clearer names for the dishes or by providing physical menus so if the café are in any doubt the customer can be asked to point to what they are ordering.

The food and coffee was 5 stars however the service...

I have a complicated relationship with Rituales. There is no questioning that the atmosphere is excellent. It's a beautiful hideaway, perfect for work (which you will see from the quantity of remote workers). There is a comprehensive English menu too. But this is a coffee snob haven. If you're not that bothered by what flavours a coffee should have, and don't need a card explaining this, you're not going to pick up what they're putting down. I don't care enough about tasting notes to get much from this place... But my personal hell is that drinks are served in cups with no handles. Coffee, close to boiling, in cups with no handles. We had to drink it by crouching down to the table. Cappuccinos are served in water glasses, which have the same problem.

Rituales is the perfect example of the phrase "your milage may vary". You'll know if it's for you pretty fast. If you're a coffee snob, or want to learn, then check it out. If you want a cappuccino and not much else, I think you'll move on...