Better Buzz Coffee Costa Mesa — Restaurant in Costa Mesa

I don’t know if it was their grand opening or just a regular Saturday, but this place was “buzzin” and, unfortunately, a hot mess.

First, we walked in and tried to get in what appeared to be the ordering line but were stopped by staff who asked “did you order online or are you placing an order?” No “hi,” no “welcome,” just an abrupt redirection. We were told to stand in front of the registers and wait to order (as if that’s not where we were already headed and how every cafe has worked since ever).

We placed our order with a friendly staff member who took my name for the order and checked us out on a handheld POS. It seemed like a good system to keep the ordering line down, but it was confusing upon entering to know where to go, especially since the giant clump of people in the store were actually waiting for their drinks and had already ordered.

So we waited in the clump for our drinks. And then we kept waiting. And waiting some more. After 20 minutes of not hearing my name, I went to the staff member calling names. She didn’t ask if I was waiting for a drink or food item but ignored those around her to keep calling names. Eventually I just asked if she had a drink for my name. She looked at the drinks on the counter and said “no, if you haven’t heard your name we’re still making it.” I didn’t have the heart to tell her we’d been waiting for over 20 minutes because they were slammed and working hard, but still, 20 minutes for a macchiato and spiced iced latte is excessive.

We waited another 10 minutes, totaling 30 minutes of waiting for two simple drinks, and I was ready to leave without them. Everyone receiving drinks at this point had come in well after us.

Eventually, I went up again and asked for my name. The same staff member said “if you haven’t heard your name it’s not ready yet.” But I happened to see a macchiato and spiced iced latte next to each other on the counter. I asked “is this for __?” And the staff member behind the counter confirmed that it was in fact mine. Finally.

We took our drinks and left and I realized no one wrote my name down on the cups. They had been sitting there for at least 20 minutes. The macchiato was cold and the iced latte was watery. Additionally, I ordered a spiced latte and there’s about 1/4 inch of spice sitting on the bottom of the cup. When I try to mix it in, I get choked by the excessive spice flakes. The flavor is extremely simple, and for a place with such inventive drinks I expected more.

I will not return, at least not to this location. I think it was a special occasion that made them so busy, but that’s not an excuse for not writing someone’s name so they’re ignored for a half hour, and for...

This is a coffee shop that I would probably visit only once. Overall, I think that the location was fairly nice as there was plenty of parking. I did appreciate how cute the actual shop was. There overall vibe was there, the feng shui could’ve been a little better as there are continuity errors when entering and leaving. I think the space could’ve been utilized better to accommodate more dine in options, it felt like a McDonald’s lobby.

The staff were friendly but not at the same time. I could imagine that during the holiday time it’s a little bit more busy than normal so I recognize that. They missed part of my order, but it was corrected pretty quickly. I think the shop itself is extremely loud more so than other places I’ve been, but this could be due to the busyness of the shop itself.

The food was OK, I think most of it is microwaved, but the cost of the food was fairly cheap relative to other coffee shops where they have made to order meals. The chili crisp wrap was literally lacking chili crisp, but it was good nonetheless.

The espresso was slightly over extracted, so it had a burnt taste.

Overall, it reminds me of chic Starbucks with Gimmicky...

I did not go into the establishment I ordered from a good delivery service and it was not a good experience. I waited long for my order it was over an hour so I decided to call on check and at first they told me I would have to contact they app I ordered it from but then I told the associate that I just wanted to let her know I made my order over an hour ago so then she decided to help me and she saw that my order was ready and after about 5 minutes the app showed that my order was on its way to be delivered. Had I not called in I don't know how long I would've waited for. I will say I expected my cold brew with cold foam to be watered down and ice melted but it looked like my cold brew was replaced with new ice the cold foam had already melted into the cold brew making it appear like I ordered an iced latte but it was topped with cold foam not too bad. I ordered toast and a side of bacon - the bread and jam tasted okay was cold tho and the bacon was underwhelming and undercooked (I heated both up in the oven). Maybe service was bad because this place is new and the crew needs more training but I won't be ordering...