ZEITGEIST café - vegan coffee & cake — Restaurant in Lyon

Really bad vibes from unpleasant/rude staff and expensive meals. I visited the place on a sunday for a brunch with my girlfriend & had a bad time. Because of traffic we arrived a bit later than what we announced on the phone at the waiter. The cafe was almost full, the staff managed to seat us on a sofa which was not ideal for eating but it was fine for us. We asked twice to have a jug of water at our table but our request was denied even though the water supplier available for customers was not easily accessible to us due to the crowd and disposition of the cafe (the glasses were really small so we ended up needing to get up several times and sneak through the crowd & furniture during our meal to fill them). We waited a long time for our meals that came without cutlery, that we had to get up and get for ourselves because the waiters didn’t notice (what a sportive brunch !). While we waited for our order, a lot of tables cleared and we thought that it would be fine to get to a different table that would be more practical than the little table by the couch. What a mistake… my girlfriend is autistic so we had to choose a seat at a table far from others customers, since it’s a struggle for her to eat near other people because of noises and chatter that can be overwhelming. As soon as we made our move, the waitress jumped on us and told us in a very unkindly way that it was not possible for us to move here since the table was on hold for other people (there were plenty of other tables available). She urged us to take another seat, which obviously was the nearest from a group of people with a baby toying around making noises 30cm from us. We decided to switch to another free table and got jumped on once again by the waiter for the same reason. He asked us in front of everybody "what’s the problem with the table she gave you" as if we were to explain him in the middle of the cafe the fact that my girlfriend is autistic and can’t stand being near too much people, which would have been rude to the other customers and embarrassing for her. So we ended up eating our really expensive and not really good brunch on the couch. The way the waiters spoke to us was really upsetting and unconsiderate. I’ve worked in this field too and we always made our best to make the customers feel confortable and to find arrangements to ensure that they have a great experience. All we asked was water at our table & a place for two were we could eat confortably and they made us feel uncomfortable and like we were the annoying clients -even if you find us annoying you’re not supposed to make it obvious to us in front of everyone-. Like how can you not realise that a carafe would be more practical when we ask you politely for it ?? When we explain our struggles can’t you move us to one of the many calmer tables that remained free until we left ?? For a place where the dishes are that expensive and that they sell as a cozy place to enjoy a meal it’s crazy not to be aware of your customer’s comfort and to treat us & speak to...

(Tldr: nice coffee shop but lack a bit in customer service. My cup was dirty with something white inside, contaminating my drink, were told but never offered to change either cup or drink.)

I'm sorry to write this review, I've been sitting on it for a month now and wasn't sure how to write it... I visited the café over a month ago, the ambience was lovely and the service friendly, the pastries looked beautiful, but...

We ordered a black forest cake, a juice and a cold brew. When they arrived, it turned out the cold brew was from a bottle, not homemade, I wish they had told me first. Then when I served it in the glass, I saw there were small white things (little globs) floating on top of my drink. I went to the girl who served us and told her there was something on my drink, and that I didn't know if it had come from the bottle or the glass. She came to check and literally told me it was probably something that had been on the glass already (dirt or old milk?) for me not to worry, but that she could taste it if I wanted, to make sure the drink wasn't spoiled. I said no, thank you and left it at that...I didn't want to make a fuss, but felt really uncomfortable, she had literally admitted the glass must have been dirty and never offered to change the cup or the drink...the bottle cold brew tasted really good actually, but I didn't want to drink it anymore.

Maybe I should have asked for my cup or drink to be changed, but I also feel it should have been offered without me having to prompt them?

The...

I would have given full 5 stars but: Welcome felt off Didn’t even let me finish my order and told me that they had a lot off reservation and I would have to sit at the bar which was ok but I saw many others sitting/working wherever they liked w/o being told that they have a lot of reservation

Dirty chai latte was good, pancake was average at best.

I would seriously recommend staff to not judge by customer on basis of their colour.

Prices are good but she cashier didn’t even offer receipt.

The cafe could do wonders if they worked upon customer handling skills.

I am part of Lyon vegan community and just cause of the service offered I won’t recommend the cafe...