Pink Lane Coffee — Restaurant in Newcastle upon Tyne

I really like the coffee from here, and it's one of the only places that serves a long black. However every time I ask for a long black they say "we have a batch brew instead if you'd prefer?", why? A batch brew is nothing at all like the specific espresso drink I ordered. I don't think someone would accidentally order a long black, as they're so infrequently on menus. The only reason I can think they would do this is that they can't be bothered to make my drink. All the staff are standoffish, they barely smile when greeting you. It feels like my custom is a burden on their time. I don't understand why people work in a customer service job if they can't be pleasant to customers!

The food is ok, but if I was going to pick up a vegan cookie/cake I think pink lane bakery just up the road offers fresher and tastier options for the same price (and with lovely customer service).

The atmosphere when sitting in is not great. Definitely not cosy coffee shop vibes at all.

It's a real shame because the coffee really is good, just everything else is...

Although other people say Pink Lane's coffees are overpriced and small, I totally disagree. I work in the coffee industry and believe their coffees are typically of a very high standard and the prices are fair. However, the two women working when we went in could use some training. The one that served us explained the two espressos backward which caused confusion, then she served me a curdled soya coffee twice, which shouldn't happen if you know what you are doing, and shouldn't have been served. (If you're reading this, try pouring the milk into the espresso, rather than the reverse!)

That can be overlooked though as maybe she is new and soy milk is not the most popular order and difficult to work with. I did eventually get a tasty coffee, but we had to listen to the other woman shout across the cafe about her lost bank card the entire time we were there. That was definitely more aggravating than the coffee problems and we left as soon as we could.

It was so great last time we were in a couple years ago, really unfortunate to see...

Amazing staff, really great coffee too and a lovely spot to have a drink no matter the weather

Fun story for you: First time I was here a completely insane customer came in demanding they use her own pre-purchased milk in her coffee and when the owner wouldn't budge (for obvious health and safety reasons) she kicked off big time and poured her milk all over the floor

About half an hour after she left we were still there - and she came back with a brand new bottle milk and poured that all over the floor as well!

Kudos to the owner who throughout all of this was polite and calm, not letting it phase him in the slightest. We got to chatting a bit and he is a lovely guy, as are all of the staff at this establishment

Long story short - Great place! Grab a drink, you might even see some...