Troubadour Coffee Roasters — Restaurant in Fairview Park

I see a lot of one star reviews here, and I think they're giving it a one star for what it isn't, and not reviewing it for what it is. I think people really misunderstand the concept of Troubadour's.

Before you go in and are disappointed by what you find read what I have to say.

Troubadour's is not a family owned Starbucks, nor Duncan Doughnuts, it's barely your average family owned local coffee shop. Troubadour's is a high end coffee roaster / shop that appeals to the connoisseur.

I know that sounds pretentious, but that is what it is. You wont find Decaf coffee here, you wont find chestnut praline frappuccino's, you wont even find medium to dark roast coffee, and the coffee you do get isn't even meant to be served with creme, so don't be surprised if you're met with angst when you ask for it.

Tony (the owner) is the kind of guy to fly out to Guatemala and Columbia, and all those other places and meet with local growers and hand select the bean he brings to the shop. His passion for coffee is matched by none I've seen, and I would argue he's a master at his craft, the Sommelier of coffee.

I went in for a latte, and came out with a bag of beans and an education, and I'm already pretty passionate about coffee. Tony explained to me all the subtle flavours to look for in the beans, and how to prepare them. I have never enjoyed coffee black, ever, and now Tony's is the only coffee I'll drink. I went back to what I thought was a premium bean after a month of going through the beans I got from Tony, and it just doesn't stack up.

So again. If you're looking for a premium coffee experience, where you can sit down and enjoy the subtle undertones of cherry and a chocolaty finish in your coffee, and talk about coffee to people who are passionate about it, Troubadours is the place to be.

If you want a Decaf french roast cup of coffee with almond milk and sugar, there's a Dunkin Doughnuts to your left, and a McDonalds and Get Go...

Traveling. Wanting to avoid corporate coffee. Decide to try Troubadour, despite reading a review commenting on the "unkind" vibe. Wife and I went in. Chose and ordered two "pourover" coffees. Waited. The barista made and served our coffee. We looked around the store for cream or half and half. Finding none, my wife asked. Was told, shortly, that they do not serve pourovers with cream. Okay. Fine. Can we get some? Barista repeated that they do not serve pourovers with cream. Insisted that he had told us this before we ordered, though neither of us heard this, and we would not have ordered these coffees had we known. We heard no such thing, we said. Then you were not listening, we were told. So you're saying we can't get milk? asks my wife. I didn't say that, replied the barista testily. He went on to serve another customer. We were incredulous. I noticed another man ordering a pourover and it was obvious he'd never been there. I hope you don't want cream in that, I said loudly, as you cannot apparently get such things here. All of this when clearly, since this shop also sells lattes and other espresso drinks, that the mixing of roasted coffee beans with the lowly daily products is not wholly unacceptable, and there is clearly dairy on the premises.

Imagine: this young man thinking he can dictate our preferences for us, here in these polarized and highly-stressed times when people are more on edge, and more in need of comfort and kindness, than ever. We left. I dumped my high-priced high-quality hoity-toity coffee on the ground in protest and left in search of a kinder cup. I...

If you are someone like me that is not a coffee snob but wants to support local coffee shops, I would choose somewhere else. This place takes coffee VERY seriously. My friend and I went in and both tried to order a cold brew with oat milk. Nothing crazy we didn’t think. We were told we were not allowed to have any form of milk in our cold brew and the cold brew could not be put over ice. They explained that they brew their cold brew in a special way to bring out the natural flavors of the beans and that ice or milk will “ruin” the flavor. He said the cold brew isn’t too acidic to drink plain. He gave us a sample so we could try it and while it was definitely good I did not want a room temp black coffee. Neither of us were ALLOWED to order it the way we wanted it, you can only order it the way they want you to drink it. I think it’s great that they love their craft of brewing. However, to not even allow your customers to order what they want is bad business in my opinion. Both of us ended up with drinks we didn’t want and didn’t like because he wouldn’t allow us to customize it to our liking. I won’t be returning and will be supporting other local shops that do allow you to actually order the coffee...