Intermission Coffee — Restaurant in London

Note: have updated my initial comment to reflect the rude reply from the owner.

I will NEVER EVER set my foot in this place again. Here is the story: I came in, AS A REGULAR CUSTOMER, earlier this morning and ordered espresso - as I always do - with a little bit of hot milk (we even joked about the way I pronounced 'hot' as the girl that was taking the order thought I said 'oat'). Anyways, she charges me what she charges me and I go over and start talking to my wife, who was waiting for me and had already ordered her coffee.

I get my order after a couple of mins, from the same girl, and take a look at the paper cup and ask can I get just a tad more milk. She of course does it immediately without any questions, and ads the tiniest bit of milk. Then, at that moment, the guy who is at the espresso machine turns towards me and says: "for future reference, just so you know, you have to state that you want more milk as we charge different". I reply totally confused (as I have never been said something like that - for a milligram of milk), that I asked for coffee with milk (at the same time, I take a look at the price-list on the wall and see that espressos are 3, macchiato and piccolo 3.30). He again, doesn't budge, but continues the pettiest of remarks to a customer ever, and replies yes, but we charge different between espresso and piccolo, and macchiato. As the two of us were moving out, I reply that I ordered with milk and along the lines that I can't believe someone is talking about this, and at the door say 'for future reference, I probably won't come here again'. And I wan't to correct the statement: I will never come come again.

I don't know who the owners are, whether that person is, or what the owners teach their staff, but this is the saddest, pettiest and strangest conversation & topic I have heard from any coffee place.

It is such a petty thing, especially coming from a coffee house that has almost doubled prices over the past year, that doesn't have a milk/quantity pricelist, because for ANY coffee - from the smallest macchiato to the largest latte, a customer can ask for a tad more milk; and for someone to ACTUALLY comment about that in the context of money is sad. My wife and I have literally spent hundreds of pounds there, and even if we haven't a dime...to say something like this to a customer is so sad and ridiculous that I am out of words.

Well, you certainly won't get any visits from me, and I urge everyone to check out coffees around, as they are much better for a better price where you'll never experience anything like this.

REPLY TO THE OWNER BELOW. I’ll reply this way because Google doesn’t seem to allow reply on reply. The fact that an owner takes time off to write a 1,000 word reply: A) without actually reading thoroughly through a customer’s specific & detailed comment, B) whilst being angry (infuriated) at a customer for telling how it was in front of 5 witnesses C) and without ever apologising or even saying something as simple as that ‘it was probably a misunderstanding or come over and we’ll make sure something like that is never repeated’ All that speaks for it self, but mostly about the rude owner and his rude employee. You are showing publicly on front of everyone here what someone should never ever think, say or...

A long overdue review for the worst customer service that I can’t believe just continues at this place. There is one guy in particular who is the SNARKIEST, PETTIEST man I have met in a long time. I was introduced to intermission (and simultaneously warned about this rude guy)by 2 friends who are regulars there. I thought it would be easy to ignore but really his manner is truly deplorable. On a few occasions now, I’ve gone in and had to tolerate him huffing when I come up in turn to order my coffee. One I heard him say “please just wait” when I hadn’t said a single word - just came up as the next person in line for a coffee and kept distance from the till even!!!?! I responded and said sorry, I’m just at the front because the lady moved. I’m happy to wait.. he said “ok. Great” And rolled his eyes!!?!? … I decided to just ignore it and carry on to work without ruining my morning with his bitterness.

Following this, I had many more unpleasant episodes with him being rude directly with me and other customers that I just ignored or pretended not to hear with AirPods in. I have even avoided going in when I’ve seen him inside. There are a couple of women and another man there who are just normal and kind with customers so I try only going when they’re around…

However, this morning was genuinely the last straw of having to experience this bitter, rude and angry man. He was late to open & there were about 4 of us at the door waiting for him to finish setting up. If you have any sense of dedication to your business you would be so pleased people are happy to wait to get a coffee from you! But this chap couldn’t have been more disgruntled. He brought his stools to place them outside, no greeting to the customers waiting or apology for the delay… just banging around… he Looked past all of us and said aloud, while landing the stools on the floor “can you make some room guys?”. All of us stayed exactly where we were as there was plenty of room ..there could have been 5 more people there and he still would have been able to put the seats down, and even finish with a twirl and a kick… He then went inside and came out once again and shouted (as usual no hello, no greeting of any kind just a grumpy bitter face) “our machine isn’t working and will take another 5-10 mins or so… so you can wait or go or… ” My husband and I could hardly believe the rudeness — I mean… what in the world is this !?! It’s Saturday morning and people have chosen to wait for your coffee and this is how you choose to deal with returning customers? We’ve decided today to never to go back here again…. The coffee is good but truly the way they treat paying customers is absolutely disgusting.

If you haven’t been to WIRED just down the road, try them instead!! They have a team of people who are just nice and so grateful to have customers come back.

I hope Intermission makes a change or has some interpersonal skills training for their staff. The man I’m talking about is white, big built, has black hair, a beard, wears glasses and has a bunch of tattoos. I don’t know his name… but I do really hope he can change to being a more pleasant...

Intermission roasts some excellent coffee beans at very reasonable prices. If you’re into pour overs, I highly recommend their Colombian Geisha “One More Time” — it’s a standout.

I’ve tried their house blend in a flat white and sampled two different single origin batch brews. All were enjoyable, though none particularly blew me away. One thing I find disappointing is the £1 surcharge for using single origin beans in espresso-based drinks. While I understand specialty beans cost more, it feels like a missed opportunity to showcase their fantastic roasts — especially at nearly £5 for a flat white, which often pushes me toward the more affordable batch brew just to taste their beans.

The staff are generally friendly. However, their website could really use improvement — it’s rarely up to date with their current bean selection, and the online shopping experience can be frustrating. Since I can’t check availability online, I’ve reached out via Instagram a few times to ask about beans or get brewing recommendations, but rarely receive a reply. They’re quick to repost stories, but seldom respond to comments or DMs — which is a real shame, especially because I’ve spoken to one of their baristas at an external event and found him incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about their coffee. That kind of expertise would be so valuable to customers, and it’s disappointing that it isn’t shared more widely. Even a simple post with brew recipes or bean guides — as many other roasters do — would go a long way in improving the customer experience. They could even add brew guides directly to their website on the product page for each bean. Roasters have access to far more of the coffee than the customer does, so it would be a great courtesy if they could experiment and share how to get the most out of each roast. It would make brewing at home feel more approachable and help customers brew with confidence.

Atmosphere-wise, the shop is okay. Seating is limited and it can get quite crowded, especially during peak hours, so it’s more of a grab-and-go spot than a sit-down café.

Overall, despite these issues, Intermission is the best specialty coffee shops in the area, especially if you’re looking to buy beans for home brewing. A few improvements in communication and digital experience would really elevate them to...