Coyote Coffee Cafe - Pickens — Restaurant in Pickens

I love stopping by local coffee shops and trying new places. Saw Coyote while visiting the in-laws and checked the awesome reviews and decided to stop in. I was especially excited to see the post advertising national espresso day.

Cue my surprise when I asked where the espresso was from and the barista had no clue what I was talking about. I clarified: "What's the origin of the coffee? What kind of beans are they? Where are they from?" The barista responded that they were "just espresso beans" and that they're "locally grown." Uhhh...no. You can't grow coffee in SC, and espresso is a drink, not a type of beans. Maybe you use a blend of beans from wherever and it's just your espresso blend...that's fine, and that's a fine answer. "I don't know" is also a fine answer.

OK, so the barista obviously misspoke. I guess she meant they're locally roasted and doesn't know the origin. Fine. I'll take a shot of espresso - it is national espresso day after all - and a small drip of the day - the good morning America blend.

The espresso was sour as all get out. At least it didn't taste burnt (a la Charbucks) but it definitely pulled too quickly. Probably wouldn't have been terrible with milk. The drip was...fine, I guess? Nothing outstanding. It was also a little sour, but not as bad as the espresso. Honestly it was just...bland. My Bojangles coffee this morning had more flavor and character, and it's a similar Central/South American blend.

Overall, the shop was gorgeous with great branding and a nice looking menu. If they find a better roaster and actually dial in their espresso, they could really be a...

(As a traveler of several restaurant across the USA, a former cook, and an avid customer welcome to new experiences) Coffee is good but they lacked the ability to handle a very minor lunch rush I waited 30 minutes from 12:34 pm to 1:07 pm to get two sandwiches that only required one cooked egg on each and one bagel on a fairly slow afternoon. They have 6 people in store and only one maybe two were up front making the coffee. They didn't melt the cheese or cook the ham a bit. Truly should keep this place a coffee place and maybe bagel if your willing to wait... They spent a lot of money keeping it looking nice, music and ambiance were nice, staff seemed unorganized. Happy to help a small business but expect to spend more than you would at a star bucks. Places to charge and study. Rating the service and food qaulity though. If I were to rate the building and ambiance and what it could be with slightly better trained staff, then a solid 4 stars. They wear masks thank God. Let's not mention the fact their fans and ceilings are caked in dust, both of their bathrooms have open windows, and the ceiling between the female and males bathroom is partially open as well as loose fiber glass hanging from above in there. I aim to improve this restaurants quality so it may stay vibrant healthy lasting a long time with wonderful service through an honest review and seeing that the management was obviously poor it did not seem apprehensive to...

This particular location is within an older building in the city of Pickens. To that point even the bathrooms are referenced as "outhouse". However the food is very fresh. The tomatoes in my Buffalo Chicken Wrap (picture) were plump and juicy. The other ingredients were also very tasty. I was pleasantly surprised that the wrap was grilled in what may have been a panini press, which helped it hold its shape as the sandwich was consumed. Of course, this is a coffee house, so I diverged from my normal habit of just water for lunch and had a small cup of their Sumatra dark roast with just a touch of cream and sugar. The coffee was as expected, and maybe a little less bitter. The sandwich came with a bag of Lays chips, a dill pickle wedge wrapped in foil, and a side option. I tried their Grape Salad cup. This was a 4oz cup of seedless green grapes in a cream cheese and sour cream sauce with brown sugar sprinkled on top, and was very fresh and tasty. The view of the small town business area was nice from the very large windows. One could even see the Blue Ridge mountains in the distance. Most of the seating was metal chairs and stools painted in an aged style Tiffany blue with matching tables with hardwood tops. But there was one corner with very comfortable lounge seating next to the gas fireplace (picture). This would be a great place to have a hot drink while watching snow fall on the mountains,...