Met Coffee House & Fine Art Gallery — Restaurant in Freeport

I have NEVER liked the food in this place and have generally found the service to be hit or miss. This has always been enough for me to visit The Met pretty infrequently. The coffee has always been more or less fine and the place is comfortable. That's easily the best part. Nice couches and whatnot and the only reason this is not a one-star review.

However, I think I just visited this place for the last time. I wanted to treat myself to an ice coffee, so I opted for The Met instead of Starbucks across the street because I would so much rather support the local coffee shop. There was a virtual army of young staff behind the counter and orders were being taken extremely slowly, drinks were being made also very slowly (things like an ice coffee, hot coffee and an iced americano - not complicated stuff). My ice coffee was pretty clearly once a hot coffee that was poured over ice. Watered down, not all that cold and basically not great. Then I went to put cream in my drink and the place was out of half & half! At 10am!

If I am a coffee shop and have 5 or 6 teenagers behind the counter, I am likely going to send one of them out to get some half & half if we run out. There was really nothing about the experience...

Overall a decent place. The coffee is back to being as good as it used to be earlier in the year. During the months of June and July the baristas seem to have changed, with the new ones not performing up to the former standard.

The pricing is ok. The coffee feels a little overpriced, but still better than what Starbucks has (although Starbucks is a better choice if you use their free refill). The meals do feel overpriced by a couple of dollars; the flavor profile is nice, but doesn't warrant the pricing.

The atmosphere used to be classic and lovely, now it's more radio-esque. The music has tended to be louder, and less relaxing than in the past. I preferred the non-intrusive piano over the radio.

One thing I dislike is the habit of keeping the door WIDE OPEN. It's the winter, it's cold, and I'd like to enjoy my coffee without feeling rushed to leave because the seating area is cold. They might be doing it for a reason unbeknownst to me, but it makes my experience a rather gloomy one; I'm essentially sitting outside in the cold.

The customer service is lovely! As is the seating...

I wanted to give the Met another chance since my last visit over a year ago. Friendly no wait service. Many coffee, tea, smoothie choices available. Many sweets and pastries line the way to the ordering line. Streamlined breakfast menu. I ordered the Mountaineer($6.45). Consisting of your choice of bagel, with eggs, choice of bacon, ham or sausage and topped with melted cheddar cheese. I chose a sesame seed bagel and bacon along with the eggs and cheddar. The bagel was perfectly toasted, fresh and pillowy. The bacon crispy, eggs fluffy and cheddar gooey. A very well executed breakfast sandwich. Hot, fresh and delectable. I chose a 20oz dark roast coffee, that was watery and insipid. Disappointing! I brought it up to the owner Larry, who was so nice, offering me a $10 gift card to use at another visit. Great customer service and responsible ownership. Larry did not hesitate to rectify the bad coffee situation. I really appreciated his kind gesture. Most definitely will return...