Coffeebar — Restaurant in Menlo Park

I come here every now and then and my past experiences have been above average to good. Most of the times the place is crowded and there’s a long wait but food and coffee options have been good/yummy. This time was a different story, maybe because it’s a weekday rather than a weekend (the menu seemed to have thinned out a bit too). There was no line and the place didn’t seem busy at all. I ordered a latte and an avocado toast. Turns out they got my order wrong so I ended up getting a Gibraltar instead of the latte. Other than the amount of milk, I didn’t care much so didn’t ask them to correct it. My avocado toast came in a to-go box (even though I didn’t specifically ask for it “to-go” nor was asked the question when placing the order in the first place). There were also no napkins in the dispensers nor silverware around so I had to “fish” for them and was given a plastic fork and a bunch of napkins. I didn’t realize until later when I found a seat outside and opened the box that they also missed the “poached egg” on the avocado toast that I ordered and paid for. I checked my receipt and the order was correct this time (unlike the Gibraltar) but the kitchen must have missed it. I went back to ask them to correct it. Other than one gal who was helpful to fix it, there seemed to be a genuine lack of concern or apology (it seemed the staff was generally confused and lacking empathy, which I can understand to some level on super busy days but today was a very slow one). I was still on the verge about making a big deal and writing a review but to top things off, as I was walking out of the door to grab a seat at outside tables, some construction dust landed on my plate from whatever construction work was going on upstairs. I don’t know whether the construction is related to the business or not but it would have been helpful if there’s at least some warning signs as you’re exiting the door or better yet a canopy to protect against dust landing on customers’ food and drinks. I’m hoping this was a fluke but will think hard before I visit this...

It's been a challenge to find something, but I discovered CoffeeBar and it is by far the best cafe I have found in the Bay to meet all my specific needs: a) I can get work done on my laptop (with a decent amount of outlets available); b) nice ambience and fairly plentiful seating; and c) good food and GREAT non-coffee drink options (I actually don't like coffee, and it's shockingly hard to find cafes in the Bay that serve a variety of non-coffee drinks beyond just Chai or Hot Chocolate!) I'm so grateful I found this place!

While it's definitely the best place I have found, there are a few things I wish they could improve for 5 stars:

Add some other tea latte drinks to the "permanent" menu, like the seasonal Jasmine Brown Sugar Latte (loved it), and/or a London Fog (they seem to have the ingredients to make it?)

Wifi isn't great; there's always an error message (and others sitting around me have had the same issue), so I always end up having to connect to the Xfinity Wifi, or hotspot. This seems like it should be a fixable problem with their Internet company, maybe it's just a matter of prioritizing it on their To-Do list.

Music: Sometimes, the music they play is really loud & in-your-face, which makes it hard to focus on work and/or conversation with friends. I love Bohemian Rhapsody, but I don't want to hear it blasting over the speaker while I'm trying to lesson plan or chat with my partner lol. Sometimes, they switch to mellow, low-key music, and when they do, I always feel relieved.

Hours: As a teacher, I usually need to do a lot of work after school. But I don't get out of school until 4 or 4:30, and CoffeeBar closes at 5. Based on photos, I have the impression that CoffeeBar used to be open later, but I get that the pandemic has strained hiring. If they are ever able to get back to full capacity, I would love if they could remain open until 7 or 8. If that were the case, I'd come here at least 2 more days each week; as it stands, I only work here on the weekend, and I have to go to Starbucks to work...

[Covid update] limited seating inside, most people that come here are respectful and mindful of social distance. The staff are awesome as always and service is usually speedy, helpful when it comes to my thousand questions like what's your unsweetened dairy free milk? Food portions are small, coffee are well roasted and tasty.

✭✭✭✭✭ Overview: bright and bustling throughout the morning, a good choices for breakfast and lunch, vegetarian friendly and different selection of seating from window seats, to booths and communal tables. ✭✭✭✭✭ Location: within 10 minutes walk from the Menlo Park Caltrain Station, it's hidden in the alley keeping it away from the main stream traffic of El Camino. ✭✭✭✭✭ Ambience: modern and chill. A variety of interior design choices from vintage looks with the booth, with modern industrial look made of cement flooring and wood paneled walls. Love the different seating choices. ✭✭✭✭✩ F&B: coffee & cappuccino well prepared. I tried the oats which was a new combination of goji berries with almonds. The oats were a bit watery and the almonds tasted slightly overly sweet; still the portion was good and waiting time was great. Much better was for lunch when I had the bowl. Much smaller that I expected the ingredients were fresh and beautifully dressed. ✭✭✭✭✭ Service: friendly, they even refilled black coffee of an old grandpa for free! Wi-Fi: stable for 90minutes. Big tables: available but come in early to grab a seat Outlets: few sporadic ones: found one near the windows and in between the booths. Noise level: lounge music that doesn't hinder from business conversations or chit chat with your friends. Cleanliness: mostly clean,...