Sidecar Coffee — Restaurant in Chamblee

I love walking to Sidecar! Their iced vanilla latte is pretty good, I think they make their vanilla syrup. The avocado toast and pastries are delicious! I think the pricing is pretty standard. I don’t know if they’re technically dog friendly, but they let my dog come in while I order, which is nice since I usually walk. They have indoor and outdoor seating and the girls that work here are always super nice!

UPDATE: I visited Sidecar again today like I usually do on the weekend. We had picked up bagels from another local rail trail business, bought a coffee, and sat down outside to eat. When we walked in, my friend mentioned that the sign said no outside food or drink. Fine, I totally get not being able to bring other food inside. I also would understand reserving the tables for paying customers only. I couldn’t see the sign because she had already opened the door, but apparently that rule also applies to the patio. Before we even got our second coffee, an employee came out and told us it was okay for today, but you can’t have outside food on the patio. She wasn’t rude, but I just think this is a strange rule. We both bought a $7 coffee and left a tip. We are regular customers of your business. We supported your business today as well as another local business. I wish that rule only applied to the inside, especially since we were paying customers and bought food from another local business that I believe is different than the food options they sell at Sidecar. This won’t deter me from coming back, but just for other patrons to know, you can’t have outside food or drink inside or out on the patio, even if you...

Response: We did not get any type of exception and no one came to talk to us afterwards. We were just about to spend $40+ on drinks and pastries at the coffee shop. I understand the policies, but at the end of the day it just seems unnecessarily aggressive when you have families trying to frequent small businesses in the area.

Original: Wife was getting bagels from the Bronx Bagel Buggy down the street. I was with our son and we were going to get coffees and pastries from Sidecar. She finally arrived and we went inside to get a child seat when one of the employees came barging out and told us we weren’t allowed to have outside food because of “contamination and health reasons”. What? Told her we were fully planning on buying coffee and pastries and she said it didn’t matter and ran back inside.

Mind you this is a food hall, with the Tap market about to open up for the day and the people for the taco stand opening up right next to them. I’ve been here before too when they have had other vendors and random food trucks on site. Not to mention the two families just sitting at the tables not purchasing anything.

Been here multiple times before with no issues. Not sure what their deal was, but that’s how you lose...

Response: Thank you for your thoughtful reply. I completely understand your policy on outside food. I just want to clarify that we were paying customers—our group purchased multiple drinks, and we fully intended to enjoy them on-site. We would never expect to sit at a café without making a purchase or take up space intended for another business. I wouldn’t classify us as “overflow”.

Original: The coffee is amazing, but the no outside food policy leads us to grabbing drinks elsewhere. We came with 4 adults and 2 young children with a paper bag of bagels from down the street for the kids. After we ordered our drinks the cashier informed us we could not have outside food inside or outside. I wish she would have been a bit kinder about it and informed us BEFORE we purchased beverages as she clearly saw our bagel bag from the start. We went back to sit outside at the bagel shop and will just purchase coffee there next time. It seemed like poor customer service to send customers shlepping in the heat and a little silly that kids wouldn’t be permitted some form of outside food with so many...