CFS Coffee For The Soul, Downtown — Restaurant in Orlando

I’ve been to this establishment a few times, the protein coffee is amazing, the breakfast sandwiches rock! However my girlfriend ran in around 4:40-4:45 to grab a quick coffee only to be told they were closed. Interesting..as the website says 5:00. So I head in just to double check that we didn’t misunderstand. The woman working is clearing some tables outside, I hold the door open for her and as she puts the plates down behind the counter she confers with her coworker who’s in the kitchen and pointing to me at the front. She turns to say they are closed. I question, “I’m sorry, I thought you all closed at 5?” She talks with her coworker once more, I inform them I was just looking to buy coffee nothing from the kitchen, and she dismisses me, shrugging her shoulders and says they’re closed once again. I understand we were a little late to their listed closing time, but I feel as though 15-20 minutes is still valid enough to come in, especially for a counter service establishment. At this point it felt as though they just didn’t want to serve and wanted to finish cleaning to go home. And I get it, I work food service too, but you can’t just change the closing time on a whim because you don’t want to serve the customers. She also provided no explanation, if they would’ve run out of something, that would be more understandable. But to just say “we’re closed” it just didn’t make any sense. The other times we’ve been here, it’s been wonderful. But if you go on a Wednesday any time after 4:00, just be aware that the two girls working may close just as...

While I was impressed by the initial beauty of this cafe, I was severely underwhelmed by the less than average customer service and subpar food. The menu was decent but after waiting OVER AN HOUR (no exaggeration) for a shredded beef omelet and roasted potatoes, the experience quickly died.

My first bite was that of egg shells and cold potatoes. Now, I’m not generally picky or pout about rare instances such as this, but when we told the server/cashier about the sneaky little bits of shell, he was less than empathetic and seemed to lack the idea of service recovery.

Furthermore, my party waited nearly another 5-10 minutes to even hear a status on their order and when we asked what was going on, the cashier responded that they had a no call, no show, and that only one cook was in — well Maury’s lie detector stated “that was a lie!” We peaked through the serving hatch and found not one, but two cooks fraternizing and NOT cooking, anything!!!

Needless to say, this was very disappointing and even more so, that we were referred to this downtown destination by a city official.

I understand that the food service industry can be very demanding and tiring, but there’s no excuse for poor customer service.

Recommendation for staff: Orlando foodies, and de facto food critics like myself want to give your establishment a fair try but you have to, no, must do, better!

Put yourself in your customers shoes. Best believe that I/we have...

A cozy wooden nook tucked into the Church Street shopping center, I needed a pick me up after a hung over night out.

The coffee is expensive for both quality and quantity. I had a tiny $7 mocha that started bitter and ended sweet; could do with a bit more mixing.

Much of the food is a mix of Latin fare and the stuff of health food bloggers; vegan, carefully prepared, laced with fresh fruit arrangements and dabs of cinnamon.

I had the protein pancakes. They honestly were not great, but served as a substantial backdrop to a flourish of bananas, berries, and whipped cream.

This all sounds pretty mid, right? But what really stands out about this place is the service.

Jesús was very accommodating and patient with questions about the menu and with serving me outside - he even took my luggage for the day as I waited for another place I was staying in town to open up! (Please don't use this place as a luggage drop unless you're going to tip very generously :)

For this alone I'll definitely return here the next time I'm in Orlando - But maybe I'll have an...