Caffe Central — Restaurant in Burlingame

I used to love this place and the food was always really good. So I decided to come here on a Sunday just to get a drink with my family. I wanted the pistachio match but unfortunately they were out of syrup. So the cashier recommended me to try there spanish matcha. It was absolutely disgusting and tasted nothing like matcha. You could tell also how bad it was from the pale green color. I met a nice lady waiting who encouraged me to ask and switch it out because they recommended me to try it because she does it all the time. At first I was gonna purchase a new drink but trusted that this regular knew how understanding there staff could be. I waited in line and asked to exchange the matcha and the cashier was super kind about it. Then after there manager found out, she stopped the exchange and was extremely rude. Instead of allowing me to exchange the drink she said that it wasn’t there fault you didn’t like it. I offered to pay the difference for the new drink and continued saying that the matcha had not matcha taste, and that I was prompted to try the drink from the cashier. We left a large tip (over 20%) when purchasing the drinks, and I still offered to pay the difference. After going back and forth about exchanging the drink, she finally let me and started doing math on paper to calculate how much I owed. It was 1 dollar for the exchange. During this whole process she was being extremely rude most likely because I was a Black young adult sticking up for myself because I know she would never treat anyone else this way. After saying that I would no longer be coming here she annoying said that’s fine and told me that I no longer had to pay the difference. After receiving my drink we let her know that we were still missing a lemon tart. She tried to make us show our receipt or proof of purchase. Another worker out originally cashier was so annoyed by her actioned he ended up just bringing it. All this to say, if you are a Black person, do not expect to be treated equally when you come here. The manager of this establishment when I visited Sunday morning (an Asian America women) was extremely rude and treated my family with disrespect. It got to the point where another customer heard our situation, and spoke to the manger about how poorly she was treating us. We as people should be treated equally just because we are human. The color of my skin should not determine my value as a customer in an...

I would normally give Caffe Central at least three stars for a review. But this time I want their management to notice this review and get a handle on training their employees.

Why does Caffe Central train their employees to serve their Apple And Almond Tart on top of a napkin?

The question above is asked partially as a sarcastic question. It is my hope that the normal training routine for all Caffe Central employees would have their employees place the ordered food items directly onto the plate. Not on top of a napkin that they would expect their customers to wipe their fingers with. In any case, brown paper napkin is not an appropriate replacement for paper doilies when presenting food on a plate, or inside of a to-go container.

On a positive note, the Caffe Central Cappuccino was made in an excellent fashion.

If you didn't know it already, Caffe Central has a sister location in Pacifica with a different name. It's called, Soul Grind Coffee Roasters. As far as I know, their sister location also supplies all of the coffee for all of the Caffe Central locations. And I think it is the reason all of the Caffe Central locations have excellent coffees.

One of the things their sister location is allowed to do differently is in the choice of their chai mix that they use to make their chai lattes. In that case they have replaced the liquid carton of over-sweet chai mix with the brand of chai called 'Soul Chai". The flavor comes out more robust and less sweet than the Oregon chai mix used at all of the Caffe Central locations. I wish Cafe Central would switch up using the same mix that Soul Grind Coffee Roasters use. Namely "Soul Chai" brand.

For the rest of the experience in the Burlingame location I have to say it's great. All of the tables that I noticed when I came in at 7:30 p.m. were clean. Since it's December 26th, Holiday decorations are still up both inside and outside. The window is still painted with a holiday scene. Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah!

Dog water bowl out front is clean and filled. Bathroom is clean and neat. Internet is fast and free. Overall vibe positive, bright, warm, and friendly.

For anyone reading this review, I recommend a stop at Caffe Central. 99% of the time my experience here has been positive and...

Our family have been long time customers of this cafe for many years, and we used to like this place a lot. But our most recent visit this Sunday was very unpleasant. We arrived around noon time, and yes it was peak time and there was a long line to wait for ordering at the counter. We have a small child and my husband was trying to secure a table and chair as our little one was really tired after finishing a hike in the morning while they wait for me to place an order at the counter. That was when the waitress was preventing them from seating and my husband was pretty sure the waitress didn’t do the same to any other customers even when other customer were also trying to secure a table while their order is being placed by one member of their party. After our dishes arrived, we didn’t even spend more than 30min to finish our lunch and our little one was still trying to finish her food, we were interrupted very abruptly by the owner saying she really needs the table to be cleared. Again, they didn’t do the same to any other table. On the contrary, there were two white gentlemen seated in a nearby table and they were only drinking coffee and could sit much longer time without being rushed at all. They were not even ordering any food. We were apparently targeted as an Asian family and the cafe employees were kind of picking on us and they thought we were easier to be bullied as Asian customers just because we look nice and kind and wouldn’t feel offended. And they provided much politer service to white customers. We’re definitely not interested in visiting this place again. What a shame on providing such rude and racist service of Caffe Central to long time loyal customers. Tips were even paid upfront at ordering. This kind of service really only deserves...