Hot Chocolate Sparrow — Restaurant in Orleans

This was a perfect place to stop for lunch when biking the full Cape Cod Rail Trail (CCRT). It’s just off the CCRT and there is an enormous covered bike rack right next to the trail as well as a smaller rack immediately in front of the cafe.

The was a bit of a line in the cafe when we arrived, but it moved quickly and lasted only about 5 minutes or so. From the ten lunch sandwich options, we ordered the #4 (turkey, roasted red peppers, and garlic herb cream cheese) and the #5 (turkey, white cheddar and pesto), both on ciabatta (the default bread). Because the pies and cakes all looked so amazing, we also ordered a slice of peanut butter chocolate pie and a slice of Oreo dream cake.

The pie and cake came out first, so we dug right into those and both tasted as amazing as they looked. The pie was sweet, but the saltiness and savoriness of the peanut butter helped balance the sweetness. The cake was decadent and also really good.

The sandwiches were ready about 10 minutes after the pie and cake came out because they’re made to order. Luckily, they were fairly small and ended up being a perfect amount of food in combination with the pie / cake.

There was an ice water station with small cups, so no need to purchase water. The drinks we saw while we were dining in were numerous; the sheer volume was astounding!

The cafe is clearly a very popular place and there are all kinds of folks dropping in. We saw everyone from entire Boy Scout troops biking the CCRT to locals catching up with friends.

There were two all-gender restrooms right next to the entrance to the cafe closest...

This place is incredibly overrated. Speaking to the positives the staff are generally friendly, the location is nice and clean, as well as the products themselves are quite quality.

So why would I issue a lower review? The chocolate Sparrow was very successful and a small corner location about 15 years ago. They moved to this location because of that success and growth. Unfortunately spoiled by a monopoly in the hot coffee market in this area, they have done almost nothing recognizable to improve things for customers into key ways.

first the space is so limited it can be almost impossible at times to find anywhere to sit and even when you do it is so crowded and uncomfortable that is not an enjoyable experience. They should prioritize fixing this weather through improvements of space or opening additional locations.

The prices are also gouged to the point that it's almost offensive. Maybe those prices are necessary based on their business model but I feel like something could easily be done to streamline the processing and creation of the most popular products instead of focusing so much time and money to subsidize products that are most likely not as cost-effective and revenue-generating. This is my opinion based on my education and business experience but obviously I cannot basis on their actual costs quantities and so forth.

Again there are so many positives about this place but over the years I just find that I would hope to inspire them to do better in the ways the best serve the community and their customers

-dictated...

I am on keto, I was told they have a very large menu and that everything they have is great. So I went in and just asked for a shot of espresso with some heavy cream (I did ask first if they had heavy cream, it took me a few minutes to get a straight answer because I had to explain it for a while, his English wasn't that great).. with one pump of sugar-free vanilla syrup. And I explained nicely I'm sorry I doubt you have a specific name for that drink, but that's what I do when I go into Starbucks, and they smile and make exactly what I want. The people here were ridiculous, after 5 minutes of trying to explain what I want even though it was super simple he told me you have to order something from the menu. I just found that ridiculous he was rude about it he wasn't Even attempting to be friendly and explain that possibly it's a house rule, even though that would be ridiculous, But at least he would have shown he was trying to be agreeable with a customer. At one point he pointed over to the creamers that were on the self-serve station even after I had explained to him what heavy cream was, and one of the other employees told him yes we do have it. I just found it ridiculous and he was very straight-faced and certainly not interested in customers satisfaction. I can't rate the food / drinks, because I never made it that far I walked out...