Lady and the Mug Specialty Coffee Shop — Restaurant in Tampa

I was invited to meet a client here. I am a Small Business Owner from Georgia and wanted a local coffee shop to support a fellow Small Business. The coffee was great but I wish I could have had a better experience. As a Lactose Intolerant person I wanted the Bacon Everything Bagel but when I asked to "Hold the Cheese" I was informed they can not make any adjustments to the food. What? Knowing that it would be served warm/hot, the cheese couldn't easily be removed by me. The young lady said "Sorry, I just work here".

I moved on and decided to order nothing more than coffee. I then went to sit down and as I am logging into the WiFi I noticed the password was "whateveryouwant" and under it they added "because we think we're funny"... so this is evidently a sarcastic way of saying they don't really adjust an order to someone's dietary restrictions. The "Take it or leave it" attitude by management/ownership is evidently something where they don't see an issue. So sad.

Later, I returned to get another cup of coffee. I walked up and said "Can I get a refill?" She said "we don't do refills". Let me clarify here for management, I am not asking for a FREE refill, I am asking you to refill the mug I am using with more coffee and I will pay for it. After all, the definition of a refill is "an act of refilling something". I then went thru the process of paying, fully expecting her to grab a new unused mug to complete the order. No, she looked at me and said "would you like me to use the same mug?" I said "yes, please". I then added "that to me is a refill. I wasn't asking for a free refill, I was simply asking you to reuse the same mug and serve me another cup of the same coffee I had before and I will pay for it." Maybe the suggestion would be to clarify what a customer means before you snap back "we don't do refills", as you...

Update: If your customer service matched your snarky reply then perhaps your shop would be worth an additional try.

P.S. your sign said no substitutions. Removing cheese to accommodate a customer is a simple request, not a substitution. It’s a shame you refused but no major loss to either of us but I do know that businesses need patrons more than patrons need said businesses. Unless you think you offer something so unique that you can just throw out a “no soup for you.” Good luck. I’m sure your rent is cheap enough that you can afford to lose a few customers. Cheers and keep up the poetry. P

Looked like a nice little place. Tried to stop in for a cup of coffee and a breakfast sandwich. There are premade cold sandwiches in the case, and I simply asked the barista if she could just pull the cheese off of it. There was an outright refusal based on “a policy”. As ridiculous as it sounds, they could literally lift the piece of bread up, remove the cheese and then put it back and hand me the sandwich as a result they refused to modify anything. Now, if this is truly a policy and the employee was doing her job, my complaint would simply be that the establishments policy is absolutely moronic and not accommodating in the slightest customers, dietary preferences, or limitations. The employees attitude was uninspired at best, but if she’s doing her job, whatever but her demeanor was robotic and ignorant. Tough to say if the food is good or bad as I was...

Ah, Lady and the Mug—a sanctuary of sorts, nestled quietly in Tampa, yet brimming with charm and an inviting sense of whimsy. One can’t help but be drawn to its warmth, like a moth to a flickering lantern.

The ambiance here feels delightfully unorthodox, with touches of eccentricity—swings indoors, for instance. They sway gently, as though whispering tales of afternoons spent in effortless contentment. The decor dances between rustic and avant-garde, creating a space that feels both lived-in and curious.

Now, the coffee. Ah, the nectar of gods, it’s brewed with precision and passion. The lattes, especially, are a revelation—crafted like fine art, with care that borders on alchemy. Their menu caters to many tastes, even for the plant-inclined among us, though not every morsel sings the same melody. But isn’t that life? Imperfect, yet charming.

The staff, bless them, move with a calm assurance, as if they are keepers of this peculiar haven. There’s a quiet camaraderie between them and the patrons—a silent understanding that this is a place for those who appreciate the little things.

Lady and the Mug isn’t merely a coffee shop. It’s a retreat, a muse, a moment of pause in an otherwise chaotic world. Stop by, sip slowly, and let its peculiar magic wrap around you. Savour it—you’ll not find its...