Attendant Coffee Roasters - Shoreditch — Restaurant in London

I usually don’t write reviews, but I had such a frustrating and ridiculous experience that I felt I had to share it.

The café was quite crowded since it was the weekend. I opened my laptop at my seat because I had something to discuss with my companion, and we placed our order. Only after ordering did a staff member come over and inform us that this was a free laptop zone and that laptops were only allowed at the bar seats. Since all the bar seats were occupied, we decided to wait until one became available while waiting for our drinks.

Then, suddenly, a female staff member came over and told us that, since it was the weekend, laptops weren’t allowed at all. (It seemed like even the staff weren’t on the same page.) At that point, we were about to leave and find another café, but our drinks had already been served. Then, they changed their story again, saying that due to the weekend rush, seating was limited to 1.5 hours. I asked if that applied even if we ordered food, and they said they were too busy on weekends to make exceptions.

If they had informed us beforehand that laptops weren’t allowed, we would have gone somewhere else. I asked if they could let us know when a bar seat became available, and they agreed—but when seats did open up, they didn’t notify us. We eventually noticed that two bar seats were empty, so we moved our belongings there ourselves.

Even though I had been using my laptop for less than an hour, the same female staff member came over and told us that our time was up and that we had to leave. I can confirm this with my receipt: I sat down at 2:05 PM and left at 3:14 PM—clearly less than 1.5 hours.

To make matters worse, I ordered a cola (£3.30) and a batch brew (£3.60), which should have totaled £6.90, but I was charged £7.76. They didn’t even give me a receipt, and when I thought about it later, I realized they had probably added a service charge. It’s honestly shocking that they would even think about adding a service charge after providing such terrible service.

I have no intention of ever returning. I had visited a few times during the weekdays and had a decent experience, which is why I brought my friend along this time—but after this, I won’t be going back. You shouldn’t run a...

A group of 4 of us went. Luckily there was a table free and we could just sit down - got fairly busy shortly after. Our table was under their floating plant pots, which at first seemed cool but then got annoying as the condensation meant water regularly dripped on us, our food and in our drinks. Three of us had the salt beef sandwich (was pretty much the only sandwich they had left by 2pm) and the other the brown rice congee. The sandwiches were a bit lack lustre - was supposed to be served with kimchi and, upon asking, was told it was in the sandwich but all I could find were wilted rocket leaves and a scant few shavings of carrot. That is not kimchi and any Korean would be insulted you claiming it to be. The bread was nice though.... 🙄 The brown rice congee looked great but for £7 for a small bowl rather overpriced for what is traditionally peasant food. But this is Shoredicth after all. I also tried the carrot cake (average) and protein balls (bland) so I'd recommend neither of these. The lemon polenta cake was delicious though. The coffee was nice. So overall a bit hit and miss. Came to £15 each for two courses plus two drinks each (more or less). Handy if you're walking by but don't go out of your way...

Sat in for a coffee and to do a little work. Usually enjoy this and the other Attendant coffee shops but on this visit, it had a weird vibe. Greeted at the door to be seated and when I stated I was there for a quick coffee and to do some work, I was told "I don't really care about things like that". Didn't really know what to say. Service was fine. But, music was blaring out (think of a Christina Aguilera megamix and you're in the right genre), with a couple of people working there singing along with it and dancing around. I'm all for people enjoying their work but was unprofessional and awkward when you're standing paying and the waitress is dancing along with the music whilst you wait for your card to process. Just a bit of a weird atmosphere that didn't match the type of coffee shop I know it to be. Think about the experience of your customers rather than personal preferences...