L'Insolent Coffee — Restaurant in New York

I rarely write reviews, and i hate to write negative ones--truly--but my experience here was so disappointing that I feel compelled to share. As a longtime resident of the area, I was excited to see a new coffee shop open on 4th Ave and had high hopes for it. Unfortunately, my interactions with the barista were off-putting and unprofessional.

On my first visit, I asked if they had cold brew, and the barista's response was dismissive and condescending. Instead of answering my question, he turned his back and told me to read the menu. Cold brew was nowhere to be found. Apparently, they were still waiting for their equipment to come in. No harm no foul. Growing pains happen. But when I ordered a different drink, he seemed offended, which only added to the unpleasant atmosphere. If the espresso-based drink I received was mind-bindingly good, i could almost forgive the whole thing. But it was squarely in the middle of the road.

I decided to give it another chance, hoping for a better experience. When I asked again if they had cold brew, the same barista acted rudely and pointed to the menu where "Cold Brew" was now listed in a different color and somewhat hard to read at a glance. He then poured me a cold brew without asking if that’s what I wanted, and when I inquired about milk options, he raised his voice and scolded me for not specifying my preference beforehand. Then, he proceeded to tell me I shouldn't put milk in his precious cold-brew anyhow.

Despite my desire to support a local business, I can’t overlook the poor customer service and lackluster coffee. For a warm, welcoming vibe and better coffee, I recommend Tin Cup, Roots, or the new No Filter Coffee on Prospect. I truly hope L'insolent can improve. I truly, truly want this place to succeed, but i fear it never will with the current staff...

L’Insolent Coffee is aesthetically pleasing, although unnecessary for this neighborhood. The coffee is okay, nothing to rave about. The major issue I had was the owner’s attitude. It made the environment toxic. I don’t understand the need to openly complain in front of customers. Totally unnecessary and disrespectful. You own a business in the service industry, keep it professional. No one wants to hear you complaining about having to clean up or if someone is standing too close to the door on the sidewalk. I got total manic vibes from the owner. On top of it all, he made a completely unnecessary, passive aggressive comment towards me. Really? Are you trying to lose business?

I’ve seen many, many service industry businesses come and go in the neighborhood. Try harder!

I’ll be sticking to Roots and Southside, both staples of the community, who know how to treat people...

I’m happy that most people have had a pleasant experience at L’Insolent Coffee. Unfortunately, I was not one of those people, and I have to agree with those that left reviews pointing out Koffee’s (the barista) passive aggressive behavior.

I was invited to take part in a promotion at the coffee shop, which I thought was pretty clear, each person that buys a drink gets a free breakfast sandwich. The short version of my weird experience was that ultimately this was not honored. Instead, Koffee made some bizarre excuses and complained about how much it was going to cost him to do the promotion. All while others, who came in after me, were served free breakfast sandwiches, some of which I did not see buy any drinks.

The whole experience was really awkward.

For this reason, I will not...