East Pole Coffee Co. — Restaurant in Atlanta

TLDR: there are better places to go for your time and money

Came here on a Saturday afternoon to grab a coffee and get some work done with my partner. We ordered two iced lattes with vanilla, one with oat milk . To my disappointment there was no food available- but i understand as they may have sold out earlier in the day. One of our lattes was made and placed on the counter. They said it was the one with oatmilk so I started drinking it, but it tasted like regular milk so i decided to wait and see if the other one that came was oat milk and if the barista had just said the wrong thing. 20 minutes go by and our other latte never comes. all of the staff is just standing around talking and not doing anything. we asked them if they had made the latte and they said no. 5 minutes later we finally got our second drink- with oatmilk as i told them that was the drink we didn’t get. overall the two lattes were just under $15. im used to paying around $10 for two lattes plus tip. i’m not unwilling to pay for quality. the espresso was quite good, but i definitely feel as though there are local coffee shops at a lower price with the same quality.

the person who took our order wasn’t rude, but they did look at us as though we were somehow out of the ordinary. i’m not sure if this is a “regulars only” kind of place but i didn’t appreciate the complete lack of a “welcome in!”. for having tipped well, been respectful and quiet, and having paid above average for two lattes, i was disappointed with the experience. we also clearly told them we were “for here” and they gave us our lattes in to go cups and did not seem pleased when we sat down to do work for a few hours. probably will not return...

It's a Friday afternoon and I want good coffee so I decided to try the highly rated East Pole. Ok, this entire time I've only been 4 minutes from this coffee shop that has excellent reviews. Don't know how I missed it but I know now and I'm thrilled. So yes, that means I'm a fan.

So I immediately fell in love with the building, clean lines and very modern. They also have free parking which is very rare in the city. There's seats on the front patio, inside the coffee shop and also in the shared space. When I walked in I felt like I had been there before so it's a possibility the interior design is similar to something I've seen before.

I was very thankful that the service was friendly, I was immediately greeted upon entering, smiles on faces, questions were answered. No pretentious employees here.

So it was late afternoon and they didn't have a large pastry location which was totally understandable. I asked for details on the seasonal beverage: it was a coffee beverage with cucumber. Sounded interesting and the barista was honest, said it was an acquired taste. I'm adventurous so I decided to give it a try especially since I love cucumbers. First few sips, I thought wow, its pretty good but after the next few sips I couldn't bare it, it was just too much.

Next visit, I'll skip the current seasonal drink and try...

Pretty aesthetics, I got their peach special drink… I inquired at the counter what it was, cashier stated it was a peach drink so I decided to give it a try since it’s their only special, the other items on their menu were pretty standard like drip, cappuccino, latte, cortado. I didn’t know the peach drink was SAVORY. I tried two sips, it was peppery and almost vinegary. Which is fine if that’s what you like in your coffee. But the description I was given at the counter did not clue me into this, I was expecting peach to be sweet, not spicy and vinegary. I had my friend try it to make sure it wasn’t just me being overly critical. She also could not drink it. I did ask at the counter after trying it if I could exchange it, they charged me full price. I liked their pastries, I wonder where they source them from (they also have five daughters donuts too, which most coffee shops seem to carry lately). Overall just didn’t appreciate the lack of info for a drink that can be polarizing. I looked ahead of time on their website, there was no menu or mention of the description of their special or what they offer. So I was disappointed to not be offered an exchange. I did like the cortado I ordered and paid for to replace the drink I didn’t like. I guess my disappointment is the customer...