Gäbi Coffee & Bakery — Restaurant in Spring Valley

The cool thing about this place is that there are no signs with Gabi on it so you Kinda have to find it like a secret. So cool! The ambience inside was really amazing they have a wall of books, they have a wall that you can walk up and sit (see pictures), there's also a lot of art on the walls. Super cool, super hipster kind of vibe. There are even upside down flower pots in the bathroom! There's always a crowd here and it's hard to find a table apparently but our group of five eventually found one. The food is good, not the best I've ever had, but pretty good. The drinks however are amazing! I had a raspberry mocha and it was delicious and the presentation was done really well! All of the drinks our group ordered and others around us had a very nice presentation! I had the salmon, my friends had the chicken salad, potato soup, Quiche, avocado croissant, mango cake, and tiramisu. I originally ordered the banana crêpe pie, and I don't know if it's just me but the texture was weird and it was kind of bland, but they let me trade it in for the strawberry cake which was a lot better, light and fluffy and very tasty! So that was nice that they let me do that! After a while I did notice that they were no longer taking orders from the register, they were having people order it online even when inside, which I thought was kind of weird, but maybe the machine was down? But we did notice even when we ordered in person the one person that took my order was great, then he had to go, and the next person that took my friends orders behind me was not very good and just seemed like he didn't know what he was doing. Also when my friend tried to get rid of her tray, they told her not to put it in a certain area, (which I had put mine there anyway and no one said anything to me) and so her trays stayed at our table for a while, which after 30 minutes we finally asked someone to take it. Obviously she didn't want it anymore if she was trying to stick it somewhere else. I think it's just because they have a lot of young guys working at this place...? The only really awesome thing about this place is the ambience. You go to sit there awhile or moreso of a coffee place where you go and do work on your computer as well. Bathroom was also a mess. I was super excited to go to this for the first time and had it bookmarked for a while and was sad to be a little...

Gäbi Café is more often a miss than a hit for me, and after my most recent visit, I don't plan on returning anytime soon.

Let's start with what I do like: The entrance has a cool vibe-just a plain wooden door that gives off exclusive, speakeasy energy. If you're lucky enough to find a seat, the interior is cozy and relaxing. I also have to say, the coffee I usually get (pictured) is consistently delicious.

But now, the downsides-unfortunately, there are a lot.

First, seating is a major issue. No matter the day or time, the place is either packed or totally quiet-it's wildly inconsistent. However, the majority of the time, it's impossible to find seating, especially with a group of three or more. You're often stuck awkwardly pacing, hoping someone leaves so you can swoop in.

And because everyone is rushing to grab tables, they often don't get cleaned between guests. You end up sitting at a dirty table unless you flag someone down-which is awkward and honestly shouldn't be necessary.

Now let's talk prices. $9 for a coffee, $20 for a breakfast sandwich, $8 for a tiny macaron? That's just not within my budget, and I really don't think the portion sizes or quality justify those prices-especially in this economy.

Service is another mixed bag. The friendliness of the staff is inconsistent. I've often felt uncomfortable at the counter, like I'm bothering the barista just by ordering. That cold energy makes the whole experience less enjoyable.

Even the staff delivering food and drinks were unfriendly. They seemed uninterested in their job-just dropping items off without a word (other than what items they’re delivering) or smile. There wasn't a single positive interaction.

And finally, the last straw for me: During my most recent visit, something in the air made my eyes burn-and not just mine. About 20 minutes in, all three friends I was with started complaining too. Our eyes were watering and stinging so badly that we had to leave. If someone was cleaning, they were clearly using something way too harsh. It honestly felt unsafe and made for a bad experience.

I only ever came here when friends wanted to go-but after this last visit, I think I'm going to take a break for a while.

And just to be clear, this isn't based on a one-off bad experience. This has been the case during each of my visits over...

ventures in veegas randomly landed us here twice in less than six hours...

first visit ... espresso machine not working (fine btw stuff happens) but half our ordered got "dropped" and wasn't worth reordering after the bother with the first time ordering (hey persons taking orders look up.eye contact ... it will cut down on the errors you are clearly making). my quiche was tepid at best temperature wise ditto coffee. wanted to share with person that didn't get their food so got up to get a fork and the area that has utensils has a sign that reads to the effect DONT GRAB (again fine yes makes sense totally logical) but when you got seven employees on that side of the counter all in that area NOT LOOKING UP AT ALL and you are waiting for the expediator (i assume) to grab a fork to place on a tray so you can take that opportunity to ask for one and when it does happen the response is HUH followed by eye roll ... well. put a fork in me i'm done. side note ... quiche and salad and coffee. all acceptable. fine, even. other then temperature wise as mentioned previously. so as we are leaving we notice the pastry case and as we were in need of a cake as we had decided to have a family dinner at the Korean BBQ restaurant next door a few hours later, we decided to pick one up right before. so we come back and order the strawberry cake. and pay for the strawberry cake. because the sons of the mother the cake was for picked that one. anyways ... when we are served the cake ... surprise surprise. mango. so my quick summary ...great front door. great atmosphere . furnishings. art. music. shout out at language lessons in clean bathroom. all for naught tho when the basics of customer service ... eye contact. dialogue are non existent. and you know, there's a reason why years and years ago it was a big deal to advertise "hot coffee" ... it makes a difference.

addendum ... both times we had coffee both times the server pointed at a paper cup and said "is this okay?" ... first time i responded "is there a choice?" which was responded to by "no." ... so second time this was asked i responded "why do you ask this?" to which i was responded to with an eyeroll. ...