Orbis Caffe — Restaurant in Mt. Lebanon

TLDR: Excellent cafe but I will never go back. Do NOT attempt to sit and chat with your friends for any length of time after eating, unless you want to be humiliated in front of strangers. Owner may be be hostile towards LGBTQ people. If you look gay, go somewhere or be ready to be badgered.

I have spent at least one Sunday a month in this cafe for two years, eating while I do my homework for grad school. I often get coffee, work for several hours, and then get lunch with no issue. And don't get me wrong, that's because the coffee and food are really good. The workers are also all great too. However, today I had an interaction with the owner and now I will never return to this cafe because I was humiliated in front of other customers by the owner.

I usually come into Orbis alone and I usually look very straight/cisgender, two things I am not. In the two years I've gone there, that has always been true and the owner has never looked at or spoken to me except to take my order. Today, however, I brought my partner and together we looked plainly queer. I was also working on a laptop with LGBTQ and pro-trans stickers on it. As soon as we walked in, the owner was glaring at us. I chalked it up to her just being old and generally having a bad attitude, something I've noticed before but never cared about because it's good food, but it didn't stop there.

Fast forward an hour and a half and I've finished my coffee. It was a busy Sunday but there were still plenty of seats, and we were waiting for our friend to join us for lunch when the owner comes up to us and asks if we want anything else. We say no politely, but she stood there and looked at us until we repeated that we were okay. About fifteen minutes later she came back up and informed us that (1) we had been there for three hours -- which was simply not true, we hadn't even been there two hours yet, and (2) there was apparently a rule that you had to buy something every three hours if you wanted to "use their wifi." This would be all fine and good except in my, again, TWO YEARS of eating here no one has ever said that to me and there are no signs. I have spent much longer than three hours in there between orders and it has never been an issue. Not to mention we were writing papers and not even using the wifi, which is good because they turned it off before coming to talk to us.

I responded that that was news to me, but it was fine, I would happily buy something else, even though I was going to be ordering lunch shortly, if she could please not be passive aggressive towards me and instead just tell me the rule because I'd never heard it before. She rolled her eyes and walked away before I could finish my sentence. All the while, there were other people sitting around us on their computers with one drink, the exact same as we had, and she didn't speak to any one them. She chastised us in front of a bunch of other customers too, which was humiliating because it really made it seem like we were freeloading when we simply were not. I have to reiterate, I spend a lot of money here!

I can't read the owner's mind and she didn't say anything explicitly homophobic to me, so take this for what you will. It's just really, really hard for me to imagine any other reason when I have been eating here for years with no problem, and the only thing that changed today was that I brought my partner with me and looked visibly queer. Giving her the benefit of the doubt and assuming it wasn't homophobia, I simply refuse to be disrespected like this when I pay good money to that business all the time. I encourage you to do the same -- there are a lot of good cafes in Dormont.

It saddens me to be leaving such a bad review for a really great cafe with really polite workers and great food/coffee. I would give it one star if it wasn't...

I have a couple of complaints and a suggestion or two. Warning: If you plan to stay for an extended period of time (2 or 3 hours), be sure to call ahead to confirm they are open. They have a bad habit of frequently posting an index card-sized “sign” on their door indicating they are closing early (like four hours early!). The reason why this is a problem is because if you pay for your parking before going in, you will lose some or most of your parking fee because you have to leave early--and parking is not inexpensive on Washington Road! I think Orbis should... (1) change their website to indicate that they usually close at a certain time, but that you should always call ahead because they may/often change their hours without much notice. I’ve never been there in 2023 when they’ve had a shortage of employees, so that can’t be an excuse for closing early; (2) post when changing your hours days in advance on both your website and door-front; (3) you should thank your customers when you give them a tip, and especially when it’s for more than double the amount you spent on their products; (4) dont walk up to just a few patrons to tell them you are closing early. Either tell everyone, or tell no one; (5) post your change-in-hours on a much larger sign on your doors (an index card? Really?). 6) It’s really annoying when one of you tells customers 45 minutes in advance--while they are trying to enjoy what they just purchased--that you’re closing early. Just make a general announcement five minutes early. Any sooner is rude. Notwithstanding my remarks, it’s a decent...

I don't know how this place has so many good reviews, maybe we caught them on a night that they weren't on their game, but my experience was my experience.

My partner and I came in on the first Friday of October around 8 pm. We were celebrating a birthday and wanted a drink or two before we went to dinner elsewhere. Aware that Orbis closed at 9 and we were just getting drinks, we opted to sit at the bar when one of the four people behind the counter asked if we wanted a table.

I counted about a dozen other patrons throughout the rest of the establishment.

We ordered two drinks from their menu, and my Espresso Martini was delivered to me wordlessly by the one person behind the counter and arrived a full 5 minutes prior to my partner's Moscow Mule, which was made by a different person behind the counter, leaving us sitting there staring at my drink while we waited for the Moscow Mule so we could make a toast.

Neither drink was particularly good. They weren't bad, but they weren't good.

But wouldn't you know it, when we asked for the check, that was delivered quickly and with sudden friendliness from the person who delivered my Espresso Martini.

The music wasn't loud, so that was nice in terms of being able to have a conversation.

Maybe they're better before the sun goes down, but lack of customer service skills on the staff's part and an inordinately long wait (without explanation) for our second libation means I won't be patronizing Orbis again; there are plenty of other establishments along Washington Road that can offer me a...