Bliss Coffee Lounge — Restaurant in Somerville

i hate to criticize local businesses or their staff, but one staff member was so rude to me it ruined my experience. we sat outside and my friend went in to grab our meals, and when the employee asked for her name, my friend said all 3 of our names and said she’d grab all our meals. the employee handed her 2 meals and said the 3rd (my friend’s pancakes) would come out soon. my meal looked slightly different from what i ordered but similar enough, so i assumed either the staff misheard me or i misunderstood what my meal came with, but i just ate what i was given so as to not disturb anyone since it was busy. then she came out with my friend’s pancakes and my actual meal, and i explained we might’ve accidentally been served the wrong one before, and she was taken aback and acted like this was the first time there was ever a mixup at a restaurant. she said “well you ordered a protein bowl and that’s clearly not a protein bowl” and i said “yes i can see that now” and i offered to pay for the other meal as well. she said, very condescending, “i would suggest not grabbing someone else’s order next time because now someone doesn’t have their food” as if i was intentionally stealing someone else’s food. when i offered again to pay as she was walking away with the half eaten food to throw out, she just waved me off. i understand there was a miscommunication, but being rude to customers who are offering to pay for a mistake on top of the $28 they already paid for breakfast is not a good look. if they weren’t gonna have me pay for it anyway, all they had to do was smile, apologize, and maybe not make their customers feel bad over mistakes that happen at restaurants every day.

edit: yes i’m writing this review to feel important, you got me there! i hope this review gets me on ellen! be for real. i’m just letting you know that if you treat customers rudely, they have every right to share it. every interaction with a customer is an opportunity for them to make a review, and that’s what a review is: a review of their experience in that instance. you’re asking me to be more human, but maybe you should by swallowing your pride and apologizing for objectively rude behavior. it would’ve taken two seconds to apologize in your response, and maybe i would’ve even deleted my review, but your response proves my point. if i read a negative review to a restaurant, i may assume there are a lot of crazy people out there and ignore it. but if i read numerous rude responses from the owner, that says something to me. i wish i read your responses to other reviews prior to coming in today because i would’ve saved myself the disrespect. you had multiple chances to retain a paying customer and lost them all with your ego....

This place recently popped up on my radar, so last Sunday afternoon I took the opportunity to investigate the situation on my way home, recruiting a nearby Somerville resident to accompany me. I've been to the Main Street area of Somerville quite a few times before and remain impressed at how spiffy it's become compared to the shabbiness from my childhood. Despite it being a sunny, hot day on the weekend I miraculously found parking right in front. As someone who has parked in these diagonal spaces before, I can tell you it's a little hair-raising to pull out into the busy street, so be on your toes.

The inside was pretty spacious, which you couldn't tell from the subtle exterior, and I found my friend pretty easily off to the side already nursing a caffeinated beverage (I was several minutes behind schedule, which I'm almost exclusively blaming on that atrocious traffic circle over by 202/206. I can't believe we still have traffic circles.). I instinctively got kind of an apothecary vibe from this place - there's definitely an Asian new age theme going on just under the surface, which was made more obvious by the extensive plant life and some of the products being sold off to the side. Interesting twist on the coffeehouse theme. The chakra smoothie section of the menu brought the point home as well. It definitely felt very chill and mellow in there.

I went with a hot rose latte and a chocolate chip scone. Since it was about 90 degrees out, I decided not to have my scone warmed up (though points for offering the option), but in hindsight I think I should have - if I can swill hot beverages in any temperature, I might as well go all the way with the food. But regardless, it was very tasty and not as crumbly as a lot of scones I've had. The price point was pretty on par with the area; I'd guess I paid about $9 or $10 for both, which is arguably a little expensive, but I try not to get too riled up in this day and age with the mass inflationary and supply chain issues going on. It also was a quick turnaround time; I had my latte and snack ready to go within a few minutes. My chum declared the experience "magnificent," and I certainly got the impression she'll be returning shortly.

Definitely a nice addition to the bustling Somerville scene, and it's nice to know there's some caffeine nearby if I get a little too naughty at nearby...

I don’t like to leave bad reviews for local businesses so I will start with some positive. The decor is very cute and they have a large menu of cool coffee drinks. The Biscoff latte was very good and our kids like the French toast.

However, my last experience coming here was not good at all. I came with a friend and our 2 kids. We ordered separately and my order came out. We waited a very long time for the second order and suddenly realized it had been almost an hour since the first order came out. We followed up and with an additude, were told that the order would be out soon. Clearly, they had forgotten about our order, because other people who ordered after us got their food. No apologies (except the busboy who was very apologetic). Next, the French toast had a bug on it. I brought it to someone on the staff and first she asked “where” and then when I showed her, she just took it away. I said to her to cancel it and just refund it. No apologies. Someone else came out and asked if we wanted it remade or a refund. Again, we said a refund because we needed to leave. And AGAIN, no apologies. They processed the refund and we were on our way but this experience made me not want to go back.

UPDATE: Response to the owner who has a track record of fighting with customers - the fruit fly was literally in the cream, my kid saw it as soon the food was set down. A bug is a bug?! I don’t know how that matters? Also, I have no idea who you are so how would I know to come to you? We told the busboy and then a girl (the one at the register) that we hadn’t gotten our second order, I don’t think it requires informing 3 people especially because we’re not regulars and would have no idea who the owner was. It was an hour, we were watching the time because we had an appointment to get to. People who came after us got their food. Again, just one apology would have sufficed and the fact that the owner can’t manage to do that and instead insults their customers shows the complete lack of customer...