Lavender & Honey® Espresso Bar — Restaurant in Pasadena

An objective review from someone who actually hopes the best for Lavender & Honey: As a fan of the up-and-coming little area that this shop inhabits, I'd love nothing more than to give this shop better reviews, but this cliché little effort isn't yet as up to its hopefully eventual future potential...it just simply isn't there and fails in so many ways. In spite of this bad review, I am routing for its eventual success - and it is, by appearance, lovely and quaint, but it's nothing more than pretty and clean. I was very uncomfortable during my visit, as I ate there for lunch recently: I was excited about the Siracha Roast Beef. Loved the taste of the roast beef itself, but missing was the taste of the actual siracha. It also was just an average-tasting sandwich, wrapped in a fresh, quality baguette but had little to write home about as far as the sandwich contents. It also took a bit too unreasonably long for my order to be ready, as a result of what I eyeballed as laxed sandwich preparers who were talkative to each other and (to their benefit) generally helpful, but they didn't really have any particular interest in engaging nor filling our order promptly. Didn't mind the wait, but objectively, it should be said that it did take too long! Although thanks for the help, it wasn't really courteous: there are people, like me, who would think that the lovely presentation of your shop would match at least a little bit of salutatory kindness. Simply put, no one seemed to want to talk to you any more than when you were buying something. It's fairly no-frills, when you scratch the surface at Lavender & Honey, which is a shame. The guy (a brown-haired highlight-bleached young fellow) just wasn't friendly and acted like he could care less whether you were there or not, although staff seemed to be friendly to each other; just not really to us, the customers. Advice: you might want to redirect that courteousness and attention to those who actually DO matter, if you want repeat patronage for your business. In fact, the line to place an order was intermittently (and unreasonably) long and I witnessed patrons simply walk out empty-handed. I even witnessed one gentleman who got all the way up to try to place an order with the disaffected male cashier, only to walk out, as well. It really struck me, as I awkwardly sat attempting to finish my sandwich, which itself was a somewhat uncomfortable experience all-around...it was awkward indoor seating. We would have opted for their al-fresco seating, but that was a no-go: none of the tables out front had shading, nor did any of the other outdoor side seating shield anyone with enough stamina to sit outside on their hot, sunbaked metal tables. Again, it's a perfectly lovely-looking place (very cute!), but when you scratch the surface, it's pretty less-than mediocre and just meh. Let's all collectively wish for this little place to upgrade all that it seems to lack, which is a dreary, more-CON-than-pro laundry list of issues, as of now. I do hope good things for this little shop. However, I really did not enjoy my first (and probably...

Firstly, I enjoyed the vibe in this place -- very comfortable, even if it's slightly cramped. The space isn't TOO small, but if there was 10 less square feet it would be. The decor is nice and cohesive, and it feels deliberate. There's a nice selection of coffee-shop accouterments it peruse, along with some tasty looking food items to take home.

There's a good a amount of seating here considering the size of the place. There's a patio with 4 tables and some umbrellas, and some indoor accommodations, as well, although, those are a bit more intimate. Everything was relatively clean considering the amount of traffic in the shop, and at the tables, while I was there.

The service was prompt and friendly. Everyone behind the counter was masked, which I appreciated. Everyone was in a good mood and seemingly happy to be doing what they were doing, which added to the pleasant ambiance.

I ordered an iced Chai tea and an Italiano sandwich. The drink was ready almost instantly with the sandwich not following too far behind. As far as the quality, everything was outstanding. The iced Chai was delicious, and the sandwich was worth revisiting to experience again. The bread was particularly memorable!

The last couple of things I think are worth mentioning are regarding the parking, and the prices. The parking is tight and the lot is seemingly shared with the surrounding businesses. I wouldn't be expecting to find a space if you're coming during peak hours, so keep that in mind. Also, it's not the cheapest place ever, but I genuinely feel that you get what you pay for but it's worth noting.

Overall, this place was very, very good and I highly recommend checking it out if you're in the area. I'll be...

I really hate to write this review as a long-standing customer of L&H but I think it's important to do so. Went there this morning as I often walk my dog around the area and ordered the iced chai tea latte with oat milk (my go-to, I order it almost weekly). I have a dairy allergy so when I took a sip I could taste that something was off with the drink (sometimes it's made with real milk instead so I'm very cautious as I don't want to get sick). I took it inside to let the person know. The manager I believe asked the barista if she's sure she made it with oat milk, she took a second to think about it and then said yes and said that it looked right. I told her I'd rather be on the safe side and she told me that since the barista said she made it with oat milk, she believes her and they can't remake it for me or refund me. It may not have been her fault because maybe that's the customer policy but it's a really terrible one. So I ended up just leaving the drink and wasting a good $7. As a business owner myself and an owner of a very large social media platform, I know that customer service is key to brand affinity and happy customers. If someone doesn't feel comfortable with your service or product, it's best to just remake them, forfeit the $2 it costs you to make the tea and to keep them happy, but apparently that's not Lavender and Honey's policy which is so disappointing. I've been to a lot of coffee shops (I work remotely) and I've never had that happen to me. They've always happily remade the drink if it doesn't taste right or if I didn't like it. Sad to say they've lost me as a customer and lost my...