The Bardo Coffee House — Restaurant in Denver

I have recently moved back to the Denver area from Thornton. Bardo came highly recommended due to their late closing hours. As a graduate student at CU Boulder and service member, I felt this would be a great fit to accomplish the many responsibilities within the week with long sit in hours (6-10 hours) in a peaceful environment. My 1 star rating is not a reflection of Bardo a whole, as this coffee shop is located in the Heart of the city and a customer has the option of reward themselves at a nearby pub or better yet at a sit down restaurant within close proximity to the shop. My customer service interactions have been usually friendly and welcoming. This review is reflection of my experience yesterday with David. But before I explain yesterday, I'm going to share a previous incident with this same employee. At this point I regularly frequented Bardo for over four months before interacting with David. I came in during the week in the afternoon with food and yes and outside beverage. I asked one of the baristas to microwave my food and he politely stated unfortunately we do not have microwaves. I planned to finish my lunch and finish out my day at Bardo and eventually make my purchases as usual, as I plan to stay until close. David came over to me (speaking loudly) and stated I could not have that food there nor that drink and I needed to make a purchase or leave. I apologized and I stated "I have a long day ahead of me and I just wanted to have some food but I planned on making a purchase and I can do so". He then stormed off. I decided I didn't want to cause any other issues so upon leaving I stated I will return after I finished my lunch and then make my purchase. I returned later in the evening but my planned day of productivity was faulted after my interaction with David. Yesterday, I came into Bardo in the afternoon and sat towards the front. I tried to manage sitting there but unfortunately the table was extremely wobbly even after trying to place multiple napkins underneath to stabilize it. I then saw David. He was staring at me. I simply smiled and 5 minutes later I got up to look for a place in the back until my friend arrived. David came back and forth twice and on his third time he stated "can we he help me with something? I need a make a purchase to stay here" I stated "I'm okay for now, but I do plan on making a purchase I am going to purchase some tea as soon as my friend arrives". He stated "okay" and took off. Less than 10 minutes later, he came back and shouted "I need you to make a purchase now or leave, the place is filling up and there are other people that want to sit here that are actually purchasing something now" I was shocked and as was the entire room of spectators. I did not want to echo his response and I cause a further a scene, so I stated "look, I come here often and I always make a purchase. I am simply waiting for my friend as I don't want to leave my things and attended, but apparently this is very important NOW, so let me go ahead and make a purchase". At the counter, David thanked me for understanding and added futuristically I must make my purchases before sitting down. I stated "enough" and he continued on with an insincere apology yet at that point, I was over it. I was encouraged by the spectators that observed our interaction with patrons using choice words such as "abusive, targeted, and prejudicial" I do not know if it was particularly prejudicial but targeted and inappropriate are certainly my thoughts of the experience. I saw a different culture I felt Bardo would never represent and it is unfortunate that David perpetuated this change. Bardo lost a customer and many future high regarded...

Bardo is a staple of the Denver community. I’ve gone here on and off from when I was a kid in high school doing homework, to a working adult drawing and catching up on emails. Bardo has always provided a comfortable, unpretentious environment to hang out, meet with people, and/or get work done. Addressing some of the things people mention in reviews: I think that purchasing another cup of coffee or tea every couple of hours to continue using the WiFi is reasonable for a small business with very limited seating! A newer addition to their offerings has been the vegan breakfast burrito which is fantastic! It makes me so happy to be able to have something substantial, homemade, and reasonably priced when I’m at a coffee shop for multiple hours. It would be great if they offered more pastry options for vegans (as well as dairy & egg allergy people), since usually I believe the only pastry type things they have that I can eat are the GF breads, which are pretty pricey and not great… but I’ll take what I can get. If you’re obsessed with your coffee shop experience being instagrammable or only being surrounded by other wealthy people, you probably won’t like this coffee shop. But those are exactly the things I appreciate about it. Took one star off for 1. The espresso drinks aren’t that amazing… they have high competition with all of the incredible specialty coffee places in Denver. So if you’re looking for the best cappuccino you’ve ever had, this probably isn’t it. I love coffee but none of these specialty places are ever open after 3-5pm, so that’s where Bardo comes in! Thank you for being open late!! 2. I’ve been here multiple times when people have brought their dogs into the cafe and the staff do not do anything about it. It’s not up to health and safety standards to have animals in the cafe, and your customers can be allergic and/or afraid of dogs too. I wish they’d be a little more cognizant of this. Overall a great option in my coffee shop rotation while living in Denver....

IF YOU WANT...

coffee made by baristas who dont wash their hands, always have an attitude and will try to kick you out if you dont purchase something then you've found the right spot. It's a dirty hole in the wall and there homeless wondering all along that area. Theres some other actual good coffee shops down the road though... just saying.

SADLY You're better off at a starbucks...

I swore to never come back here after previous experiences...

But somehow I ended up back here the other day...

As soon as I stepped in the barista gave a irritated sigh...

I'm assuming it's not me and he's having a bad day but I stopped and looked at him...

He just stares at me... I asked him what time they close and he says "midnight" in a very irritated way...

I'm feeling the vibe already that maybe I'm not welcomed since I'm of darker skin tone and all the workers and people in there are white... mind u I'm half white but my skin tone is darker so I dont look it...

This is my 3rd attempt to come here and 2 out of 3 times i notice the workers with a attitude. Whatever the reason may be its still unacceptable...

Oh, and they hate if you dont purchase a drink immediately... they'll purposely walk around to make sure everyone has drinks and if you dont they try and force you to buy one... (mind you I always purchase at least 1 coffee at every coffee shop I spend time at.)

This place amazes me.

DON'T JUST TAKE MY WORD...

Theres are other bad reviews. Not just mine.

And this is just what I've experienced...

You're welcome bardo!

Btw if you're wondering how I know that they dont wash their hands it's because they have both right next to the bathroom. I saw the barista go in, heard him take a piss and didnt hear him wash his hands. Yes... you can hear people using the restroom and I'm a guy so I know this guy didnt bother to wash his hands with how fast he was in and...