Latte Love Coffee House CRANSTON — Restaurant in Cranston

Edit:

Regarding the response from the owner, I did not walk in with a chip on my shoulder. I was actually in a good mood that day, and was looking forward to patronizing the establishment, as it had been talked up by my friend for a few months. You reached out to me on Facebook, trying to get me to go in and give it another chance, but I politely declined. It took me a few months to actually notice, because I do not use social media, but happened to log in to my account because my wife asked me to check something.

I was originally told about this place last summer, when the owner was still in the process of setting it up. No, not by the owner, but by someone who knows the owner. I was waiting for the opening.... and waiting, and waiting. Finally, I honestly had forgot about it. Then I saw someone with a cup from there. I went twice. The first time, I thought it was a fluke. I ordered a Dolce Banana, a chocolate and banana coffee drink. What I got, was a watered down, not so fresh tasting, coffee with milk in it, with some chocolate and banana syrup sprawled on the side of the cup. I had to use the straw to scrape the syrup into the coffee, to even get a hint of the flavoring. By doing that, though, most of the syrup was in the straw, and I had to blow it back into the cup, to then mix it into the drink. Still, I couldn’t really taste any banana, just like they dropped a banana in the drink, and then said “ok, that’s long enough. That banana needs to last a week to make drinks.” People make bad drinks, no one is perfect, so i figure give it a second chance. The second time I went, I was with my wife. We ordered some food, as well as drinks. My wife, not being a big coffee drinker, erred on the side of caution, and ordered a vitamin water. I, on the other hand, ordered a turtle, and politely impressed upon the girl to not smear the syrup on the side of the cup, but rather, to mix it in. However, my plea went unheard, and, again, syrup smeared on the side of the cup, but this time, it was about half of the amount from my banana dipped coffee. The workers behind the counter seemed to be more interested in one girls new yoga pants, and their discussion of going to the gym after work. My sandwich, was the French Connection. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t something that made any real impression on me. There was one paper thin slice of ham, a tiny dollop of fruit, and an egg that was a bit over cooked. On top of that, the egg wasn’t cooked flat, to the size of the delivery method, it was very thick, but a small footprint. Think, a piece of bread, and someone takes a spoon of jam, and just pops it right in the middle, and doesn’t spread it out at all. So the outside of the sandwich, was nothing but a thin wisp of ham, and croissant, My wife ordered a tuna salad sandwich. Well, if you like sour tuna salad, then this is the place. I understand it had olives in it, some people like that. But, the sour was just over powering all the other flavors. My wife likes sour food. It’s her favorite thing to eat, but this was to sour for her. I didn’t believe her, when she said it was too sour for her, so I had to try it. Low and behold, I almost lost it. Now, normally, in a place of this design, the workers would notice the disgust that two patrons are experiencing, and would try to solve it. Again, gym talk, yoga pants, and a guy, thinking he is being flirty, going on about big corporate farming to girls who are clearly just smiling and nodding to him, in the hopes for a big tip. I referred to the staff as workers, even though they were undertaking the role that should be performed by a barista. From my two coffee experiences here, I would be hard pressed to say that word in this establishment. Before someone wonders about it, the two drinks I ordered, are normally made with normal coffee, but I ordered them with espresso. The menu is expansive, and the decor is fairly decent. The atmosphere could be improved if they didn’t play reggae. Prices are...

I have always had great service however today I walked in around 2:45 pm for a coffee and a muffin (something quick before work) the girl before me was awesome and let me go first because she hasn’t decided. I placed my order and had my food on my hand and had to wait for my coffee. The girl that let me go still hadn’t decided and another customer came in ordered and walked out. I was still waiting for my coffee. The nice lady that let me go before her placed her order and got it, including two coffees before me. She even offered for me to take one of her coffees because it was the same I ordered but the barista said no this is her order so I told the lady go ahead, I’ll wait. Now this appeared to be deliberate but I didn’t want to make noise. I grabbed my coffee and was a few minutes late for work. I’m writing this review only because I have always had great speedy service here. Today sadly was not the case. To boot I tipped 18% before receiving my order. I will not tip next time if I decide to go back.

EDIT: I changed my rating from a 1 Star to a 3 star because I received the response from the owner. After careful thought a 1 Star would be considered harsh if there was no proof that the mishap was on purpose. I will chalk this up to an honest mistake even though none of that, (the slips being mixed up and the barista explaining that), took place. I believe that the mistake happened and will just give Latte Love the benefit of the doubt. I do love this quaint place and had I known the owner I would have never left the review but informed him/her of this matter. Latte Love is correct when saying the employees work hard and they do a great job. Today, I went in and had no issues, I also tipped even though I said I wouldn’t because why should I take it out on the next girl. I am not sure after this experience that I personally would feel comfortable...

So I'm very torn on giving this place a 3 or 4 stars. In reality. I'd prob give it 3.5. For their ratings. I'll give it a 4.

The place is really cozy and warm feeling. Very inviting. The staff is amazing. Helpful and a pleasure to deal with. 5 out of 5 in that area. Wait times were minimal and they were on top of what they needed to do for our orders.

The coffee was weird too me. I got a iced mocha latte (which is my go to for most coffee shops). As you can see. They added a lot of chocolate on the cup for show but just as equally much in the drink. I couldn't taste the espresso at all. Overall the drink had a funny taste. It wasn't bad. Just wasn't right. I'm not sure if it was drowned by the chocolate or the milk. I honestly would need another one to ensure that it was consistently "off" but again. By no means was it bad.

I also tried a chocolate cheesecake bar. It looks like a dove ice cream bar. It was really good. I didn't finish it truthfully bc it was too sweet and I'm not a cheesecake person. But my not finishing it doesn't meant it was bad, just too much for me. I'd recommend them highly. They have a range of sandwiches and other foods that looked and sounded good.

Price was average for a coffee shop. ~$6 for a 24 oz latte. I think the bar was 2.95. Which is 100% fair for a hand made cheesecake bar.

Overall this place is really good. I'd recommend it. I think most people will enjoy it. Their other ratings agree with me. Personally I'll try it again to see how...