Kaffeehaus Riquet Café — Restaurant in Leipzig

Our visit to this cafe was such a mistake. The appearance of the cafe looked enticing and novel. We Were expecting this to be a lovely "experience" so had gone in with great hopes.

We found an unoccupied table but then had to wait quite some time to have our order taken. I ordered a slice of cake and showed the waitress a photo of it that we'd taken. The wrong cake was presented to me!!! We then had to show the photo again to prove that we'd been given the wrong order!! My cake was delicious but my husband's choice - sachertorte - was dry. Definitely nothing like any sachertorte he'd ever eaten before!!! My café latte macchiato arrived and it was in a tall glass but was too hot to handle - even with having wrapped a napkin round it. Mind you..... I've never, ever had such a watery latte EVER. It was absolutely tasteless. I stirred it just in case the coffee was at the bottom - ever hopeful!! - I took another couple of sips but it was like watery hot milk with a slight hint of very weak coffee. My husband and I tried several times to attract the attention of the waitress and although the cafe wasn't busy she didn't make any attempt to come over to us. I ended up going up to the counter. I was given an apology and offered an alternative. I thought I'd better just go for an Americano as I wanted to taste coffee. One was brought down but it was just about warm and again exceedingly bland and unpalatable. We ended up paying and leaving. In spite of returning two virtually untouched coffees I was charged for the more expensive one.

As I said, such a disappointing experience. Bad service -. Unpalatable, tasteless & expensive coffee -. Hit or miss with the cakes -. A delightful looking cafe but such a let down!!

Thank goodness I've had 20 years of visiting towns & cities all over Germany so this won't cloud my view of German hospitality.

I always say "Germany never disappoints"

....... but...

The café itself is undeniably beautiful, with a charming atmosphere and an impressive display of cakes. At first glance, it looks like the perfect spot. Unfortunately, the reality does not match the appearance.

The cakes, although visually appealing, were extremely dry, dense, and not moist at all, far from the quality one would expect. The bruschetta was also very disappointing: just a slice of bread with chopped tomatoes on top, not even toasted.

The service was, unfortunately, one of the worst parts of the visit. If you are not from here, do not trust the positive reviews. The staff was very unfriendly and unhelpful. When they did not understand what we wanted, they sighed loudly and made us show photos of the cakes instead of simply allowing us to point to them in the display. When we tried to describe the cake, the staff refused, saying they only accept orders by the exact name. Even then, when they didn’t understand the name, they eventually allowed us to point, but only after much insistence. To add to this, when ordering bruschetta, the staff corrected our pronunciation. This was ironic since we are descendants of Italians and know the correct pronunciation, which makes us wonder how other guests might be treated if they happen to pronounce something differently.

It is also important to note that the café was almost empty at the time of our visit, with only three other tables occupied besides ours. We were there before 9 a.m., so the poor service cannot be explained by the place being busy or overwhelmed. And even if the café had been full, that would not excuse the lack of courtesy and professionalism we experienced.

Overall, while the setting of Kaffeehaus Riquet is beautiful, the food is of very poor quality and the service is unwelcoming at best. A disappointing experience that we would...

After a stroll through town, we decided to stop for a quick indulgence — and this café, with its tempting pastry display, drew us in.

We ordered a slice of the house specialty and one of the nougat cake, accompanied by a cup of tea and a coffee. The house cake was excellent — well-balanced, creamy, with a subtle sweetness that didn’t try too hard. The nougat cake tasted just fine, but it arrived broken into two pieces, and this was simply ignored when served. At these prices, one would expect more care and attention to detail — especially when it comes to presentation.

The drinks were decent — nothing remarkable, but they did their job. What left more of an impression, though, was the service. While one or two staff members were pleasant enough, most of them moved and spoke with the kind of energy that made you feel like placing a second order was an inconvenience. There was a noticeable lack of warmth.

The interior leans into a French-inspired aesthetic, which could be charming — but the space felt a bit cramped and overfilled. With some thoughtful adjustments, it could become far more inviting.

That said, if you’re here strictly for the cake, you’ll be just fine. But if you’re expecting a memorable café experience from start to finish, you may leave wishing for a bit more hospitality and a little...