The Coffee Box — Restaurant in Rahway

I visited the shop twice, just to give them another chance & It’s unfortunate to write this review, but after all the hype and 4-5 stars it has..it wasn’t worth it.

The location itself, is in a corner and the interior decor, is modern. Shop is SUPER clean! They also have some tables just in case you want to eat outside. It’s definitely pricey, so it’s not your typical coffee shop. Some of the menu items doesn’t have the price referenced either which is bothersome.

Service- horrible, it took 27 mins to get my food and 15 mins to get my coffee. They had enough staff but it seems like they don’t know what they’re doing in the kitchen. A group of 6 people came in after me and got served first, not sure why but they did. Then i asked the cashier when I would be getting my coffee and she said she was working on it now. I told her I was going to sit outside, and just gave a scared look. I asked her what would make her life easier, should I stay? Or should I sit down and have her run the food when it’s done. She said if I could wait in the restaurant it would be best. I told her no problem. So I waited. The entire staff looked miserable and overwhelmed, granted it was at 10am so maybe it’s there peak time.

The second time I went, which was today, an elderly man arrived shortly after and asked for a coffee.. and literally what seemed to be 30mins in passing the older gentleman was still not served. He then approached one of the servers following up on his coffee.

We got our lattes pretty quickly after ordering. But I was extremely concerned when the server went over my infant baby with hot coffee…. I used to serve for 10years and etiquete teaches you to go around the person and provide the food/drink. You should NEVER go over/on top of a customer. What would’ve happened if she mistakenly tripped & spilled the hot coffee over my baby?

There was also another man who placed an order and 24 mins passed and the didn’t have his coffee nor food yet. The gentleman got up and said something after some wait time. He seemed pretty calm about it. One of girls came out from the kitchen and said we’re so sorry it looks like your order was cleared and never prepared, we’re going to refund you.

Then the same server comes to me and says we’re sorry we forgot about your order, it’s coming now. Like seriously? Like okay maybe if it happens once a day it’s normal.. but three times within the hour? Somethings wrong.

Coffee- excellent, both times I visited it wasn’t burnt and it wasn’t left over coffee in a heated pot. It was FRESH.

Food- disappointing… the ham, egg and cheese was made in a microwave(I physically saw them do it)…… the croissant was tiny, wasn’t worth the $$$ I paid for it. If you’re going to have expensive food, I would except to at least have the food made in counter too oven … not microwaved to melt the cheese. The turkey panini was good, it was the sourdough bread what made it taste best.

I believe the servers and kitchen staff should be re-trained and practice to smile more and be more welcoming. There’s a blind spot in the corner so I’m not sure if they have an oven there.. but if not maybe it would be a good idea to get a small conventional oven.. this way they don’t have to microwave food when preparing it for customers.

Before I close this out, I must say there was a gentleman, who seemed to be from Asian decent who was ..omg the most pleasant and welcoming soul I have ever...

I'm not a coffee drinker - I stick to Chai Lattes, so consider that with my review. This new place, just down the street from me enticed me with their inviting look and the promise of a great cup of tea. I ordered a small chai latte and a banana bread. Super excited that the banana bread has no nuts in it! I'm not allergic I just don't think there's any place in a baked good for a hard nugget. The banana bread is delicious - I'm savoring it right now. It was priced at about $3.50 (I didn't get my receipt, so am doing some math in my head, which is rarely a good idea) and I'm all good with that for as yummy as it is. So, if I'm super excited, why only three stars? Well, the chai is a mix, which is fine, very few places actually brew and sweeten the chai. The mix they have doesn't have the best flavor to me, but it's all right. It is $4.50, which, fine, I'm happy to support a small business and pay $.60 more for a cup than at a large mega-chain. They steam the syrup in with the milk, which definitely changes the flavor and isn't my preference. It makes the chai taste almost burnt, which I realize is probably in my head. All of these things I can handle, and would deserve and "it's decent and I'd go again four stars" from me, especially considering the banana bread amazing-ness. It's only an 8 ounce cup, though. My own fault, I didn't scope the cup size before ordering. I wasn't expecting a $4.50 (plus tax and tip) cup that is smaller than my hand. I just can't bring myself to spend artisan prices for a tiny and just okay cup of chai syrup. Overall the tea and bread cost me about $9.50, including tax and tip. Maybe I'm just too cheap.

Seriously, that...

I guess many of us have different experiences here. Ours wasn't necessarily bad, but it wasn't great. For a price tag of $40 I wasn't expecting to get served in plastic cups, Paper plates. The food wasn't amazing, it was what seemed to be store bought Arnold toast , the salmon we thought would be smoked but the flavor wasn't there (as my previous reviews I am never one to point out flavors but this just fell unfortunately flat), the lattes were watered down and didn't have flavor despite being charged an additional $0.75 for coconut an $0.50 for caramel. When they brought out the poached egg on the salmon toast the individual said said himself that "sorry the egg isn't fully cooked and runny. It's poached" the white of the egg, As seen in the photos, isn't cooked. I guess the point is, if you know it isn't fully cooked , why bring it out? Nonetheless after two of us had some GI distress shortly after eating it led me to leave the review. Not sure if it was the egg since we steered clear , I think it was the salmon, or it couldn't have been neither and completely unrelated. The 3 stars is because the food and drinks were palatable but they were not worth the $40 price tag, nor was the ambiance or concept of paper plates and plastic cups at that...