Steam Espresso Bar — Restaurant in Denver

Supper bummed to write this review. I stopped by Steam this morning to grab a coffee. I decided this morning to stop going to Starbucks for their mediocre coffee and to commit to supporting my local coffee shop (I live just three blocks away). I do need to qualify - I am a morning person which means I am super upbeat and happy in the morning, and I get that it can be annoying to people - that said the gentleman at the register greeted me with mild annoyance the whole time, as though I was somehow bothering him. I smiled big and asked how he was and got literally nothing back - no smile, no acknowledgement, just a what do you want. The rest of the transaction had the same tone and I finally gave up being nice and just became business like. Look I get that a bubbly smiling person can be annoying, I get that service workers don't owe us anything, but I honestly felt completely unwelcome and judged. I observed how he interacted with other people and he seemed nicer. Not sure what I could have done differently, but it left a really sour taste in my mouth and not sure I will go back, or recommend this place to my neighbors or friends. Really it does not take much (if any energy) to just be nice, or at a minimum, not at least not make a customer...

The coffee is great - especially like their lattes. This place does not have all the fu-fu syrups and stuff, so you need to actually like the taste of coffee to have it here. Besides good coffee, Steam offers a cozy and unique atmosphere! Inside, they have airplane paintings, a huge mirror, various small group seating arrangements, and several really cool steampunk, vintage-looking (not sure if they are?) light fixtures. Outside in the back patio... they have part of an old plane!!! So neat! Their patio feels very inviting with all of its greenery and trellises - definitely a fun place to hanging out and chat if you are grabbing coffee with friends. If you're hungry too, I would also highly recommend their pastries. I always go for the almond croissants - powdered sugar and almonds on top with almond paste in the middle.. but they're all good. Heads up though, they do not have a way to warm them up - so if you can't eat a cold ham & cheese croissant, pick...

The owner designed Steam with an original, cozy, rustic inspiration which is very welcoming. It almost feels like one is escaping the concrete jungle and into a contemporary habitat of a wood-rich, laid back atmosphere.

Further back there are beautiful wrought iron chandeliers to give you a pleasantly good cafe lounge experience. Going to the patio terrace, you immediately are drawn to the wooden raised benches, quaint wooden deck, lined with ample patio tables, and the partial Italian plane fuselage that appears beach wrecked! A nice touch to visually enjoy.

Attracting many study-goers and book readers here due to the proximity of DU, the cafe welcomes you with a simple, but classy menu of lattes, espressos, and drip. Service baristas were knowledgeble, and gave me a pointer of which coffee had won the most popular pick of the day.

I would recommend coming to this marvel of a cafe to anyone looking to meet up people for a...