787 coffee — Restaurant in Houston

I will say that I have wanted and waited a long time to try this place! First, heard about them in NYC then in Puerto Rico. So when I saw them coming to Houston I was super excited! Long-over due I thought ! But I was wrong, as the saying goes everything happens for a reason and not having the opportunity to try this place was in a way, the universe saying you not missing nothing because God knows I know food and especially coffee! Just being Puerto Rican myself by birth makes me a coffee expert, cause we start drinking coffee in baby bottles, maybe even before formula. But back to the coffee! I order a Horchata latte and a friend of mine Coquito Cortado, plus 2 Empanada, 1 Quesito. With the coffees, first thing off you notice is that the coffee is not HOT at all. It was like lukewarm and maybe even like room temp for both! That was strike one for me! 2nd, my Horchata latte had no flavor to really let me know if was drinking a traditional Mexican rice, milk, vanilla,cinnamon coffee. It had a touch of cinnamon but nothing that made me feel like wow,this taste like a Horchata drink at all,no hint of any of it.like a very faint cinnamon taste and could BARELY taste any coffee in it.Now with the coquito I had extra high expectations,but this let me down hard. Because your repping a classic traditional drink for us and I didnt get any of the classic flavors from a coquito.Making a syrup with a ton of cinnamon,is not what makes a coquito a coquito drink.The coquito drink tasted more like a Horchata drink than a coquito.I didnt get any hint of coconut or any other spice but cinnamon in that one and was also super lukewarm, almost cold -like with also no taste of coffee in it. I dont know what happened but from my experience We puerto ricans like our coffee strong and bold in flavor like you should be able to taste the bean and eveything. And for the company to be growing and roasting their own coffee, this representation of Puerto Rican coffee from the island fell short for me. And I cant understand why if we grow some of the best coffee in the world in Puerto rico and thats a fact. But this tasted like a very weak version of that. I didnt taste anything of the coffee in our drinks! Now on to the food, the empanadas were so tiny, I will say that the filling had good flavor but the outside crust IDK had a almost refrigerated like flavor to it and was super dry on the outside. Again, nothing like what we make or have in Puerto Rico! It was alright to say the least and wayyyy too expensive for the taste and size of it. Now the Quesito, out the gate cost wayyy to much for the quality and again the puff pastry tasted like it had almost like a refrigerated taste to it and maybe they say they had been made fresh but forsure the ingredients were not from stratch or fresh at all! It's disappointing because if thats all you going to offer at your cafe than do it good and Quesitos are not hard to make at all even with store bought ingredients. I know because I've been in the food industry for 20yrs so I know what im talking about and this wasn't it ! I dont blame my coffee being cold or in a way tasteless on the barista but more so on the owner who come up with these recipes and trained the employees to make it this way.Now on to the shop or location, beautiful,very cool decor, nice size but parking is hard to find. Of courses, this is montrose area, street parking is bad! But when i walked in I saw the owner behind the bar making drinks, what i thought was weird or strange is that he didnt even try to speak to any of his guest walking in his shop, no acknowledgement at all from him but instead told his employee to tell us Hola!Ok,I'll take that but this is your company and baby, I would think you would want to be more engaged with your guest who are buying your product. Again,I would know because I run a successful business myself and know how important your impact is on the guest who come in.I believe they have gotten wrapped up in just the branding of this company,& fell short on...

I always try to be objective in my reviews and only speak on MY experience. I truly believe this business has a LOT of potential, so I wish the best of success.

This location is stellar; it definitely fits the population they’ll be serving, and I can anticipate good foot traffic.

Concept design is outstanding. The aesthetic of the place is stunning, 100/10 on that. Living in the area for a few years, I can confidently say that they might eventually have to adjust their operating hours to match those of the nearby businesses to increase traffic. However, as a new business, I imagine this has been considered in their future plans.

Staff were welcoming, friendly, which always adds a good note to the experience. Thank you guys!!

The drink menu is varied and large enough to satisfy everyone. It could be overwhelming when you have too many options. Now, let me highlight some areas of improvement. Please note this is based on my unique experience. I ordered a 12-ounce Coquito Latte ($8 + $3 for infused espresso). Here are my thoughts: unfortunately, my drink did not taste anything like coconut in any way. I stirred when I got to work, thinking that the sauce might have been all the way at the bottom, but no trace of coconut was tasted. There were only 2 options of milk. With a drink with this flavor feature, I was expecting at least coconut milk or coconut cream to enhance the flavor.  I plan to revisit and try different lattes and update my experience with flavors. The flavor as served was great, but not like advertised (Coquito). It tasted just like a regular good espresso latte. Their iced coffee packaging is very cute and practical, so 10/10. (I did not try)

I also ordered a “Quesito” ($7 wow), I was born and raised in PR, so I may have very high expectations when it comes to Puerto Rican food, pastries, and bread, so my feedback may be perceived a bit harsh for some people, but again, this is my own perspective/experience. I’m sure other customers may have a different one.  Those who know or have tasted “Quesito” can agree with me that it will be coated with glazed sugar over it, which gives it a crunchy feeling. The pastry puff looks different, and they might have been overcooked. These didn’t have any trace of sugar; even the cream cheeses inside tasted different. I totally forgot to take a picture before I ate it, so you’ll get a small piece of it, which is enough to show what I’m pointing out here.  I did not try any other food items; they had a Banana bread (I think) and Chicken empanadas, which looked like they were also made with a different dough than the traditional. Now, I can say this because my dad sells these frozen empanadas, so I consider myself an empanada expert. I’m not sure if this is a consideration, but other flavors might be more enticing to try. It is very pleasing and surprising for some people how much Puerto Rican empanadas are a favorite for many cultural backgrounds here in HOU.

Time of service, I waited a decent time but there was only 2 drink orders ahead of me. I can’t speak for busiest time. In regard to the prices, I think it is on the higher side, but I’m not a business owner, so I can’t speak about the cost and how other people make their business succeed. Just being brave enough to open a business in these times makes it...

As a book editor, I'm always looking for coffee shops where I can get some work done and enjoy some local goodies. This is not a place I will be frequenting, to say the least. I understand that they've opened rather recently, so I'll overlook the fact they haven't fully prepared the space for business. There are signs from the previous company as well as furniture randomly shoved into corners and several counters holding random items or completely bare. I assume that will get taken care of over time. The baristas were friendly and were both working their first day, which was interesting for a place that's been open more than a month. There's no printed receipt option, which is frustrating for business people having meetings, so that's something to be aware of. Especially since I hate taking up everyone's time while typing in my email address at the register. There's no sign for the WiFi password, so you'll have to ask. The baristas ended up asking the manager/owner (I'm not sure exactly what position the person holds) for me since they didn't have that information either. However, the sound system is where my biggest complaint comes in. The music is far too loud for any productive conversation or work to take place. Someone had to ask me where the restroom was three times because I simply couldn't hear her. (It's upstairs with "W.C." on the door.) I attempted to talk to the person who went with me (and sat next to me) and we couldn't hear anything over the music. To make it even more frustrating, the music kept cutting in and out, so focusing on work was extremely difficult. I put on my headphones, but their music was just too loud to cover. The "good tables" (you know, not tiny bistro tables) are upstairs, but so are the speakers. So make your decisions carefully. Oh, and there was no toilet paper in the single bathroom stall at 10:30 in the morning on a weekday, so that's also something to keep in mind. You may have to hunt some down since they aren't taking care of that automatically as part of the...