CFS Coffee For The Soul, Lake Nona — Restaurant in Saint Cloud

GREAT spot for coffee shop lovers. My gold standard for coffee shops now. Awesome cortado! Music is a mix of instrumental, Latin, reggae, and pop. Excellent service, they went out of their way to ensure I enjoyed what I had!

I got the Arepa Campesino which they baked when I ordered it. It was slightly sweet, very dense, and came with good butter. I was used to my Miami arepas which were tender and my Colombian friend’s arepas, but I guess Campesino in the name means Country-style so it’s denser.

The sweet barista saw me trying to cut it the first time and asked if everything was ok and I said, “Es un poquito duro,” and she offered to get me a completely different food item of my choice! I just asked for the same thing, and it came out the same way, so I picked it up rather than cut it with the knife provided and I enjoyed its sweetness.

It’s a more sophisticated choice for meetups as compared to other coffee shops in the area. The music, hard woods, modern lighting and real ceramic coffee cups make this spot an excellent date spot, too.

Patrons included business people in suits, college age young people, couples and singles working remotely.

They have a full menu of salads and such, not just the delectable pastries in the bakery case.

Update: So the baristas here continue to make CFS top the list of my five best coffee shop experiences. My favorite coffee shop memories include Caffe Pagato in Redding, CA; 1819 in Thompson’s Station, TN; Cumbres in Delray Beach, FL; and Mad Priest in Chattanooga, TN.

The way the baristas take CARE of everyone here is unrivaled. Once I saw a large family here with a macho grandpa paying for everyone. The grandpa let the baby he was carrying drop menus on the floor. The barista continued his unflappable, calm eye contact and service. After the family seated themselves, the barista came around and picked up the menus, completely relaxed, and maintained his good mood. I’ve not seen this level of commitment to care in most coffee...

This was our first time here and more than likely our last. When I showed up it was packed, which is a good sign. I waited for a table to open for my wife and I. We ended up sitting at the other end of a long table with a couple of other patrons. (Seating was first come, first serve). We ordered our meal and the cashier was very helpful with assisting us. We sat down and our food was brought over and it was delicious. Towards the end of our meal, a staff member asked us to move. I told them we were almost done and we could move in 10-15 minutes. About 5 minutes later a different staff member came over and was basically getting us to move. They said we didn't have to leave, but wanted us to move. I once again informed them we were almost done and asked if seating was first come first serve. . . For first time guests to be badgered into moving is unacceptable, especially if seating is first come first serve. Just because they had a party of eight come into a coffee shop they made their problem my problem. I had to wait for a seat, so why couldn't this party of eight who had just walked in wait 5 more minutes? Perhaps they need bigger tables, perhaps they should save those big tables for larger parties and put reserve...just a thought. At the end, I looked and asked for a manager but there was not one or anybody who is in a supervisory position. I expressed my displeasure to the staff that was there saying this was our first experience here and more than likely will be our last. I talked with my wallet. I'll put my opinions on here so you as a consumer know what you're possibly getting into. If you're the owner or manager of this location, I want to reach out to me, feel free. Your food was...

If I am being honest, it wasn’t good. We placed our order. I ordered eggs Benedict with Serrano ham and potatoes and an iced coffee and my partner ordered a breakfast plate with two eggs, bacon and toast. We paid and went to grab a seat.

There was only one available table and it was being bussed. The employee removed the plates and silverware from the table but she didn’t wipe it down. We sat down at the table. I would have wiped it down myself but there was no napkins at the table, no biggie. We waited about 10 minutes and the server brought our food. She placed the silverware on the table (that just wasn’t wiped down) and placed a napkin (1 napkin) on top of the silverware rather than placing the napkin first. She dropped our food and then left.

The food. It wasn’t terrible but it wasn’t good. My eggs Benedict was literally just two hard boiled eggs covered in hollandaise on top of the hardest piece of toast I’ve ever experienced. My wife commented that her food was incredibly dry and flavorless. Mine was too. I never got my coffee. I got up and asked for it to go before we left. The coffee was ok.

I’m really hesitant to leave negative reviews about local restaurants and this is not meant to be negative but it’s becoming increasingly more difficult to support establishments who charge 5 star processing then provide 2 star experiences. I hope this was just a bad...