Novo Coffee — Restaurant in Denver

I hate to be the only 'one star' posting, but I can not in my honest opinion give more than this based on my experience. Both the lady with the blue hair and the other dark haired gentleman behind the counter were so preoccupied with their phones the whole time we were visiting the shop that they not only left out an item from my order(a toasted poptart) but gave us the wrong item(veggie burrito instead of bacon) on what they did give us. I also got a nitro to go once I could get the blue haired womans attention from her smartphone, and I'm very certain that she just poured me regular cold brew as it had no foamy head and was not infused with the nitrogen bubbles whatsoever. When I asked her very cordially if she accidentally poured me plain cold brew instead of nitro she assured me it was nitro and that they just changed the keg so it wasnt particularly infused well, not even asking if she could pour a second cup to see if it would be better infused. Then when we asked for our toasted poptart that we did pay for, the darkhaired gentleman pulled one out and without toasting it put it in a bag to go, not remembering that we asked him to toast it. I really hope the owner can counsel these employees on the neglect that stems from not being present in their duties, especially when being on social media is more important than customer service because the coffee was very tasty along with the homemade poptart when we finally got it. I also feel like I did a disservice to the employees by giving them tips for such unsatisfactory service as they may never learn if they are rewarded for horrible service. I hope this business can clean up this horrible customer service base and lrevent others from experiencing what we did...

A lavender latte is just what this sleep-deprived-coffee-addict needed this morning. After waking up at 4 AM for a flight and traveling all morning, all I could think about was dropping my bags off at my hotel and jetting to a local coffee joint.

One of the staffers at the hotel I'm staying at recommended I check out Novo, "They are located just a few steps away from 16th street mall and can sling a mean cup of coffee!". I took him up on his advice, and I am glad I did!

The Atmosphere... I sipped on my lavender latte on their front patio while enjoying the lovely springtime weather that Denver is currently experiencing (mid 60's/low 70's) and it was pure bliss. What I like most about this place (aside from the coffee) is that you can have two distinctly different experiences here. Meaning: on the patio, you get this up-and-coming urban/big city vibe, and the inside of the shop has this modern-yet-very-"hipster" vibe. As someone who gravitates towards coffee-shops for the atmosphere, this one is a winner for me!

The Coffee... Lavender lattes are one of my favorite renditions on espresso (when done right). I've had lavender lattes that I hate and lavender lattes that I LOVE. This one falls on the "love" side of the spectrum for me. The syrup REALLY tastes like lavender and not a fake sugary concoction of artificial flavors trying to be lavender. The coffee is smooth and fresh. And the milk is steamed to perfection.

Latte Art... You've got to give bonus points to those baristas who kill it on latte art and make your coffee so pretty that it's worth an IG post. Novo definitely has this down...the chica behind the counter crafted the "Mona Lisa" of latte art...

Good coffee, enough seating for 13 separate sets of people, kombucha on tap, absolutely incredible banana bread... but here is my dealbreaker:

When I see a waste bin with two entrances and those entrances are called compost and recycling, I know they do not do either. I cannot condone this type of false advertising. If you put compost in the recycling, the recycling materials will be contaminated and unrecyclable. When you put recycling into compost, that category is contaminated and cannot be composted. By putting the two separate streams together, you negate both and simply double the trash.

This is an area where composting and recycling is available for curbside pick up. There is no excuse for this ambiguous trash separation and it fuels the desensitizing of consumers further, worsening the crisis of waste production amongst our citizens. Knowledge is...