Midnight Express Cafe — Restaurant in Grand Rapids

The owners and employees are very nice and accommodating. Coffee is pretty good and food is good as well. However, every time I come in the drip coffee dispenser is completely empty. Doesn’t matter what day or time I come. It’s empty. This is the closest spot to my workplace and I’d like to be able to come in and grab a quick cup of hot coffee and after several months of giving the benefit of the doubt, it seems this really is not the spot for a simple hot coffee which is frustrating since it is a coffee shop. I’ve had to get multiple refunds because the dispenser is empty and I don’t have time to wait for them to brew a whole pot. Or one time I got half a cup of coffee bc that’s what was left in the dispenser, yet paid full price. It’s not just a few times… it’s EVERY time I come in. Every time. Today it was empty again. I had some time to wait so I waited for them to brew a new pot. I sat right in front of the counter. They told me it’d be under 5 min wait. They forgot about me. After waiting quite a while, I went up and asked if it was close to being done and they admitted they totally forgot. They brought out the new dispenser and I finally had my cup of hot coffee. Get to my car take a look at the coffee and it has a TON of calcified flakes in it. So frustrated at this point I toss it and go to another coffee shop. It’s very simple to monitor the dispenser and stay on top of filling it… it’s directly in front of the cash register. Pretty frustrating when a coffee shop doesn’t have hot coffee. Just don’t offer it if you can’t do it. This place will be pretty low on the go-to...

This past Friday morning I arrived at Midnight Express Cafe just after they opened for the business day. Immediately I got the sense that the young lady behind the counter was feeling both anxious and stressed. Perhaps it was due to the fact that she seemed to be the only employee there when I arrived. Despite the adversity she was facing the young lady still greeted me warmly. She then just as kindly requested of me my order. I first requested a bagel with cream cheese. Apologetically the young lady shared with me that she had not yet had a chance to get the bagels prepared for the morning. I then ordered a Hot Caramel Latte. After waiting about ten minutes or so the young lady anxiously approached me. Again, most apologetically she told me she could not prepare my drink as the steamer wand was broken. She went on to say she had to wait for her manager to arrive to fix the machine. She then offered me a drink of my choice on the house or a refund. As I was in a bit of a hurry this day I kindly accepted the refund. In part because of how authentic and sincere this young lady was with her apologies I assured her there were NO hard feelings. What's more, I reminded her that such issues were not in her control. Coffee (or the lack thereof) is most definitely NOT a reason to get upset. To the contrary, this young lady's customer service is to be commended. I will definitely be a repeat...

This is going to be my new spot!

Came in around 7pm and studied on a comfy couch until midnight. I got the açaí bowl, and ended up ordering another one a few hours later! It was delicious, the picture does not do it justice. Service was great, friendly and fast!

The reviews complaining about price are clearly coming from people who have no idea how much it costs to run a restaurant. For the quality of the food and drinks, you are definitely getting what you pay for. Portions are generous, ingredients are great quality, food is delicious and filling. Prices are no different from what I see literally everywhere in GR.

I cannot study at home even if my life depended on it, so finding a place that is open 7am-1am every day is going to be a LIFESAVER this semester. Just having found another place that serves food late at night in general is fantastic, you don’t really see that anymore after Covid.

My only recommendation would be to bring headphones if music and talking distracts you, but that’s the case with any cafe really. I put my white noise on and was able to get so much done.

Overall...