Mill Mountain Coffee & Tea — Restaurant in Salem

Visited this location of Mill Mountain Coffee for the first time in a couple of years. Had about 45 minutes to spare before meeting someone at another location and was going to have a treat and read for a bit . Unfortunately I was disappointed. They have remodeled the location making it feel larger and more spacious inside. However the quality of the refreshments in my case a beverage and pastry were subpar and not equal to the value paid in my opinion. The dessert case was not very appealing in appearance being at least partially half empty. The glass and the empty areas were messy not real clean in appearance and the labels for the products therein not easy to read or follow in connection to the product they represented. The beverage I got was supposed to be a cooler which is expresso half-and-half ice and three flavors to make it taste like a banana pudding. To me it simply tastes like iced coffee and milk, no unique flavor at all. The cake I bought once I went to eat it tasted dry, old & stale. I expressed this to the staff that served me, that I did not care for it and could I exchange for another item of pastry. The server was polite yet seemed befuddled for response asking "you mean change for something else to eat?". I responded "yes I do seek a sweet item and I figure that is easier than you refunding me." She responded, " well yes I can replace but we cannot do any refunding. We do not do that." This kind of surprised me because I surely expect credit if I seek it for a food item that is not of a quality that I would eat it. She was polite making me aware the item I was switching to obtain, a cherry/ cheese danish was not equal to the cost of the cake. When I asked if there were any other items coupled with the danish that did equate in value she suggested a cookie. When I inquired what kind of cookies do we have she responded "they are written there (on the case glass is what was meant)." There were 6 or 7 cookie names written on the glass, in not real neat and now smudged handwriting but only three rows of flavors available & they were not positioned where they matched the cookies that remained. I did ask specifically a flavor and got one. The staff person thanked me for my understanding about no refunds and being willing to seek replacement. I ate the danish and cookie because there was not anything wrong with them but in my perception they were of cheap variety quality, like anything you could get in a box from a dollar store; certainly not worth the price charged here. I will not likely come back to this location...

I've heard of mill mountain coffee before, and was in Salem, so I decided to try it. I don't know which Mill Mountain came first, but I hope the 'flagship' is better than this location.

Who it's for: Someone in town, who just wants some caffeine, and a place to sit

Who it's not for: anyone looking for a great cup of coffee

The good: The building is cute, and they had a probat roaster in the back corner by the bar. The atmosphere was sparse, but quite, and seemed like it would be a good place to work or study.

The not-so-good: thin, watery espresso. Dirty looking bulk bins, with no roast date visible.

I asked the barista how they pull their shots standard, as some shops pull doubles (doppio) while others pull singles. Within this, some shops pull ristretto, while others pull standard or lungo. She said they can pull either, so I ordered a double shot of espresso. I was surprised when the barista asked if I wanted it 'long or short'. I asked if short meant ristretto, as that's what I prefer, and ordered that. I expected a great shot, and was disappointed when I received a shot with a thin, watery, white, barely-there crema, and a watery, under extracted, weak taste. As a barista, I was disappointed, and I think more attention to detail, and a little more effort in pulling shots would go a long way.

If you're looking for a great cup of coffee, I'd...

The staff was friendly and the place was clean. Our order was not as expected. I asked for a club salad, which was described as being "lettuce, tomato, ham, turkey, 3 cheeses, onion and cucumber". I got lettuce, tomato, bacon, cucumber, 2 cheeses, and 4 slices of unflavored grilled chicken. I am not sure where the screw up occured. I asked for lemonade, which had zero sugar in it, and did have lemon pulp. His requests faired slightly better. He had water to drink, (although he had to go back and ask for it twice before it was brought to him) and a chicken tender sandwich, which perhaps could have been better if the tenders had been butterflied to sit flatter. Pricing was about what we expected, for our meal it was around $25. I wasn't particularly impressed,...