Cafe La Vies — Restaurant in Sacramento

Since coffee and pastries are my guilty pleasures in life, a place that I've had bookmarked for quite some time was none other than "Cafe La Vies". Located at the intersection of Bruceville Rd. & Sheldon Rd. in the north Elk Grove/South Sacramento area, this place has been brewing up some of their amazing and delicious caffeinated beverages ever since early-2021.

Since I wanted to let the hype wear off while this family business worked out all the kinks, I didn't make my visit here until the early afternoon of Sunday 8/8/2021. Parking is fairly easy as this was lot shares other bigger businesses such as 24 Hour Fitness and a movie theater across the street. Once inside, this place is very well lit, inviting, and beautifully decorated. You will notice an abundance of gold trim throughout. Additionally, there is cozy seating in the rear of the building and lots of cool decor to add a lot of pop to this place.

Their drink choices do not disappoint either; you will find a huge variety of espresso drinks, pour overs, blended beverages, teas, and specialty drinks. You will also notice a fairly decent amount of baked goods including cookies, cakes, croissants, and waffles. This place pretty much has you covered to get your morning fix.. and then some.

My order was fairly simple as I went with their "Iced Vanilla Latte" and a slice of their "Blueberry Muffin Cake". Everything was ready in just a few minutes. Since the weather was tolerable (for an August afternoon), I sat at one of their outdoor tables. My iced latte tasted perfectly creamy, and had the right about of sweetness which made every sip a delicious one. The blueberry loaf cake also had an excellent moist flavor but an unusual flavor to it; perhaps it was the sugar or even the blueberries embedded in it. It was just okay for me.

Overall, "Cafe La Vies" was an above average coffee shop that is definitely a warm welcome to the South Sacramento/Elk Grove area. They have very reasonable hours being opened 8am-8pm seven days a week so you can more or less get your coffee fix anytime you want. Not to mention, prices here are reasonable a coffee or espresso drinks costs a little less than major competition. With that said and done, I am giving Cafe La Vies an above average four...

Every time I come in here, there are different baristas that I have never seen before, which unfortunately I know by history means the drink will not taste consistent as the last time. I come here to get a quality drink and end up with mediocre instead. Today I ordered 3 drinks, and they all tasted like hot milk. They were Earl Gray Lattes. The worst part about today’s experience is that I lost 15 mins of my time because management seems to not have any structure and leaves their baristas with no admin access to be able to refund customers if needed. The barista that made my drinks had to call her manager and ask for an access code to refund. The manager that spoke with her hung up on her right in front of me. Then I was told that they can’t refund me. I asked her to call back and hand me the phone if he tried to do that again. I’m sorry, but NO customer should have to go through this as it was harder than it had to be and completely unnecessary. I also lost my $5 reward in the process. I had to spend my time and money to earn...

I visited specifically to try your new summer Banana Matcha Special after seeing it advertised on your social media. The drink looked amazing and was the reason I made the trip—but what I received was completely different from what was promoted.

There was no banana in the drink, and it looked nothing like the one in your posts. When I asked the employee at the counter, I was told that you had run out of bananas. That should have been communicated before I placed my order. If I had known, I would have chosen something else.

To make matters worse, the staff member I interacted with was not friendly or approachable, and I felt rushed when ordering. This was not the experience I expected after seeing your promotion, and honestly, it felt misleading.

If you’re going to advertise a featured drink, customers should either receive what’s shown or be clearly informed if substitutions are being made. I hope you take this feedback seriously—because this kind of poor communication and service leaves a...