Muse Coffee Co. (Portswood) — Restaurant in Southampton

The review below refers to more than one year ago when Muse in Portswood Rd was the best coffee shop in the area. Unfortunately, things have changed and today I need to withdraw my previous opinion. Most likely due to the shop being under a new management, I had one of the worst experiences in years. I was treated very poorly by staff with no manners (and no masks), served a burnt croissant on a sticky table surrounded by flies. Coffee was ok, but while the quality of food can always improve, rude staff rarely change. Never again

I have been to Muse many times now, and therefore I was able to appreciate its evolution from its first steps in July. They brilliantly faced a great challenge (starting a business during a pandemic!!) and their continue efforts to improve the service has been impressive. I am Italian and therefore with a pretty high standard in food and drinks. I found a perfect cappuccino, fresh and rich smoothies (even customised following my request!) and a lovely selection of cakes to combine them. Sandwiches are different from any other kind in town, from the bread to the filling. The variety is what intrigues you, and the quality of the ingredients is what makes you come back. Last but not least, I don't personally know any of the people working at Muse, but it's always a pleasure to find their kind and friendly service. They are all very professional and many little details will just tell you that they care about their customers and this really shines through. Well...

Walked by this coffee shop, went in to get a coffee, everything seemed great. Then as I left I looked at the shop, I saw it has a message the owner obviously authorised to have on the shop. It says protect your daughter with a big cross through it and underneath states educate your son. This is a horrible extreme feminist message.

Men are already taught to not assault women, just like everyone is taught not to steal. Most people already understand that harassment is wrong, unfortunately with some humans there don't care about doing wrong things.

You have to protect yourself from things in this world, most people won't do it for you, you can't rely on others to be good.

Smartest thing a women can do is take personal responsibility and not put themselves in a situation where this is more likely to happen, doesn't mean every assault in the world can be prevented either.

Coffee 8/10, will not be visiting again, due to the owner feeling like that message...

Flies everywhere was bothered by them the whole time I was drinking my coffee, and they were within the cake counter flying off and on all the food. Not particularly clean behind the counter either from what I could see. Pricing of the cakes are priced pretty high considering the standard of the food elsewhere you can pay less or the same price for better quality food. If your vegan they have plenty of options for you but up to you if you wanna try the flies infested food... the decor is retro but not particularly comfortable. Both their stores are filled with young students that probably dont bat an eyelid at the hygiene and the staff also are very young but the staff are pleasant and friendly in both stores the town store and this portswood store just a shame the cafe doesnt live up to what they pose on Instagram. Unfortunately after visiting both stores and having the same opinion I wouldn't go to either...