Fairfax Simply Social Coffee — Restaurant in Fairfax

As anyone who follows my reviews (literally no one) knows, I have a soft spot in my heart for local coffee shops. I search them out like the pioneers of old searched for gold. It's, you might say, a passion.

So, when I heard that Simply Social had opened up I knew that I had to give it a shot. It took a couple of weeks, but I finally made it out today and, I must say, I was nothing but pleased with the whole place.

Simply Social is a locally owned coffee shop and cafe that specializes in your standard classics like drip coffee, espresso, Americanos, etc. They also have a pretty wide selection of fresh pastries and sandwiches. The owner and the rest of the staff were absolutely wonderful. Very kind, welcoming and helpful.

Upon first walking in, I was a little surprised at how small the shop actually was. Typically you expect these places to be a little bit larger with lots of seating and places to work. Not so here. There were about 8 tables packed pretty closely together and some chairs in the back corner. This could be a little irritating for some but, as the name would imply, the point of the place if for sociability and tight spaces tend to bring people together pretty well.

I'll also say that I had no trouble focusing while I was there. I brought work and had plenty of space and freedom to do what I wanted

The shop itself is wonderful. It has a modern coffee shop feel while still feeling cozy and quaint. That's a hard balance to strike but Simply Social has done it masterfully.

In terms of the coffee, it was phenomenal. I was a little disappointed to find that they don't do pour overs (apparently they wanted to, but they ran out of counter space) so I opted for the drip coffee. Typically I'm not really impressed with it, but this is some of the best I've had. Very smooth and not overpowering.

All in all, I really liked this place and I'll definitely be visiting it again in the future. Hope it stays in the area for many...

My family and I came here for a quick bite before church. We came inside and were greeted by the cashier. We told her that we hadn't been there before so she told us to take our time. As it is a coffee establishment I had an idea of what I like, but I decided that I would try something new. I ordered my food and drink along with my family and sat down to enjoy it. The drink came and unfortunately when I received it I noticed it was not prepared the way I had ordered it. I still gave it a try though but did not like the way it was prepared so I went back inside to ask to exchange it for something else. The same woman that had helped me before was there and once she heard what my dislikes were she rolled her eyes and told me that I had received exactly what I had asked for. I told her that unfortunately it was not and I wasn't crazy about it despite trying it and asked for a different drink. I paid for the difference in the drink and then asked her what I should do with the old one. She ignored me and walked over to the bar in a huff to craft the new drink for me. The other barista noticed what was happening so he kindly took the cup from me to pour it out in the sink. She noticed and snatched the cup out of his hand, asked him what he thought he was doing in a snippy tone and tried to give the cup back to me. He told her that he was going to pour it out for me and she rolled her eyes before doing just that. Once she had handed me the new drink I thanked her which got me one last eye roll before I left. I am giving this place two stars because the food that I ordered was flavorful, the second drink was good, and the one barista was kind to me despite his boss. Before eating here I encourage you to consider how some employees/owners...

had a very disappointing experience at Simply Social Coffee today. I came in with my service dog, and the first thing the cashier told me was that dogs weren’t allowed inside and that I needed to go outside and order online. This was not only disrespectful but also potentially illegal in Virginia, as service dogs are legally allowed in public establishments.

I had to step outside, hand my dog to my husband, and then return to place my order. When ordering my latte, I asked for light ice, and instead of just noting my request, the cashier took five extra minutes to explain that my cup wouldn’t be filled to the top. While I understand portioning, the way she said it came off as unnecessarily rude and condescending.

As I waited for my order, I noticed a board covered in Polaroid pictures of dogs, making the place seem dog-friendly—which made the refusal to allow my working dog inside even more contradictory and misleading. If this café truly cares about dogs, they should at least allow service animals inside for a brief moment while someone orders, or at the very least, offer to take an order and bring the drink outside.

To top it off, my latte with “light ice” was indeed not filled to the top, which was just the final frustration in an already bad experience. The lack of respect, poor customer service, and confusing policies make it unlikely that...