Choco-Latte Cafe — Restaurant in Bar Harbor

I hate to write bad reviews, but I really experienced the worst customer service ever at this place. I ordered several coffees and two of those were lattes. I was asked if whole milk was ok and I asked for oatmilk. On the menu it said that there was an upcharge for oatmilk according to the size, but no specific price. After I paid I was a little puzzled by the final amount so I asked how it came together. The very entitled lady with red hair, I guess she was the shift supervisor cut in between me and the lady at the register that I was talking to and was very unpleasant to me. To cut to the chase, for the smallest (12 oz) latte, which was $ 4,50, I paid a 2 dollar upcharge which is almost 50% of the price before tax. I never paid more than 75 cent upcharge for oatmilk at any place I had coffee, but here they charged 2 dollars extra for a small cup of latte. But to me the worst part was, that the supervisor did not tell me how much it was when I ordered (remember, the price was not on the menu). She was just being rude and condescending to me and explaining how oatmilk is sooo expensive and that she did not have the power to change the prices. I told her that she had the power to inform me about the price, which was not on the menu, when I was ordering, but she just kept being condescending. No apology, nothing except an attitude. This is no way to treat a paying customer. PS By the way, interesting response, fits the way I was treated. Out of 204 reviews that I wrote until today (12th of may 2024) 175 had 4 or 5 stars, 20 had 3 stars and 19 is the combined number of 1 and 2 star reviews. So is that REALLY a lot of bad reviews? Decide...

As locals, we love to support this place and have continued to order our favorite drink: The large cold choco-latte signature drink, which tastes amazing, yet the 4 of us had a poor experience yesterday with the price. Each drink came to over $9!! The base price was 5.75 and I couldn't figure out how it got so high and they said it was the oatmilk that added nearly $3. There is no way to justify this price as we know how much even the fancier non-dairy milks cost not bought at wholesale. Many cafes and restaurants aren't discriminating with prices against plant based orders, and if there is an upcharge it is usually around 75 cents. Unfortunately as a group, we can't justify spending near $40 for 4 drinks that have oat milk in it! It is a special treat of course, but less frequently now instead of more frequently unless this is addressed. It would also be difficult to recommend it to others given this.

Unfortunately the menu and the cash register machine also didn't have transparency with the exact price increase per size of drink, which is why I had to ask and am leaving this review. The cashier staff were great and this is not their issue as they were just doing their jobs. This is my first critical review and I'm merely sharing in hopes that the manager/owner would consider an adjustment to plant based orders to make the same price or something more reasonable. Thanks for your time and...

During off season, when practically everything else is closed, one can’t help but be truly grateful when someone is willing to wake up and get ready, open the cafe doors, brew several flasks of coffee, and get everything else set up to serve food and specialty coffees. They were open both on NYE and New Year’s Day serving coffee and food while providing a cozy environment (especially with the high winds and rain this week). Sitting here reading on my phone, I was able to watch all the different people coming in and out, settling in some of the tables with their warm brew, enjoying a break from the weather outside…all obviously thankful a few young members of the community were willing to be here these two days. Oh, did I say that the staff were really friendly?

I’m definitely grateful for a place to sit and read with fresh coffee when the conditions were not great (or safe) for a long hike…and the rest of the town was deep in hibernation. Not to mention, they have the works of local artists in rotation and I was able to see some of the paintings being displayed on one of their main walls. Always pretty cool to see businesses promote others within the community. Big thumbs up!

Thank you and see...