Cartel Roasting Co. — Restaurant in Phoenix

Great Coffee. But very disappointing staff. I drove from SD for a concert and saw that Cartel had a downtown location. Super excited that I could get some delicious coffee however that experience quickly diminished. The staff was rude when I said I wanted a pour over and they told me they were too busy to do it, so jokingly I was like “I drove all they here from San Diego” and then staff member responded that there was a closer location in Palm Springs. I told this individual I had no problem waiting for them to make the coffee. I had nowhere to be so I didn’t mind but she wouldn’t make it. Cartel has always been one of my favorite place I would always get coffee in the Southwest Terminal in Phoenix airport when passing g through, however in this encounter very disappointing. It’s a coffee house of course you are going to be busy every morning!! Hellur!! The airport terminal is more busy than this particular location and they don’t seem to have a problem, making me a pourover. Don’t put a pullover on the menu if you aren’t gonna make it. Needless to say I bit my tongue hard as I would not allow this person to ruin my morning. Order a double Cortado and a two latte and tip generously. Maybe she had a bad morning but if that was my business she would have been let go in that instant. What’s funny is seven minutes after placing my order it was dead. Nobody else was in line. The morning rush had...

Cartel Coffee at the Coronado location has a lot going for it: convenient location, easy parking, friendly service, and excellent coffee. Under normal circumstances, it would be an easy five stars.

The consistent problem is with the online ordering system. When placing orders, the app/site gives one pickup time (usually 70–75 minutes out). After submitting, I’ll often get a message saying my order will be ready in 15 minutes—yet the confirmation text still reflects the original longer pickup time. The result is frustrating: when I arrive on time for the scheduled pickup, my Americanos are lukewarm, iced drinks melted, and food has clearly been sitting for over an hour.

This isn’t a one-off issue- it has happened repeatedly at Coronado. Staff are polite and acknowledge the problem, and some have even said they would escalate it. But there’s no way to call the shop, no option to escalate myself, and I’ve never once been offered a remake of the drinks. Leadership follow-up appears nonexistent, despite my documented screenshots and consistent feedback.

Great product, great people, but the broken ordering system continues to ruin what could otherwise be a...

Dear Cartel,

Thanks for finally coming to North Phoenix.

Love, Gabe

North Phoenix has only had drive thru, grocery store, chains, and "PSL" coffee baddness for many years. I have been making my monthly bean purchase at Cartel's downtown Phoenix or Old Town Scottsdale locations for that duration and brewing good coffee myself at home.

Our wait is finally over. You can get 1. coffee from the best roaster in Phoenix 2. brewed by serious baristas who know how to pull an espresso and brew a pour over.

Because of these 2 factors, you can order anything here and it will be good. If you are new to quality coffee I recommend starting with a pour over or just an espresso. Don't get it to-go. Don't put milk or sugar in it. Drink it in a glass...