MochaLisa's Caffè & Books (Clifton Park) — Restaurant in Town of Clifton Park

Until very recently, I hadn't been in MochaLisa's for quite some time, partially because I was living in another country for a couple years. So, the new (bigger) location was still new to me until a week or so ago. My first impression as I walked in was that it was lovely, clean, and well-decorated. It feels like a place you can come to read, sip on something yummy, and relax. As a cafe should.

I'm not a coffee snob in the sense that it needs to be fancy, but I don't need coffee to "function," so I am not going to drink it unless it tastes good. And the coffee here tastes GOOD. I prefer much more cream in my coffee than sugar (unless it's an espresso, then no cream), so I was excited to see a breve on the menu. They are decadent, but delicious. I ordered an iced breve to go and the employee misheard me (it was busy and pretty loud there at the time) and handed me an iced coffee. I'm sure if I stated the mistake, she would have corrected it, but it wasn't a big deal to me and I am glad for the mistake because I got a taste of their coffee with nothing added. I was impressed. It needed nothing at all. I gulped down about 1/3 of it before I left and added cream myself, creating my own pseudo-breve and decided I would come back again for the breve.

Next time I ordered online, which was easy and a nice option when in a hurry. One suggestion: When ordering online, it gives a pick-up time that is about two hours later, which gives the impression that you will have to wait. I ordered toward the end of the cafe's hours, so it told me my coffee would be ready the following morning. I called to confirm and they assured me it would be ready soon after ordering. Someone may want to see if that feature can be adjusted as it may put off less persistent people (I wanted my breve 😂).

I next came back with my grandmother. She loves coffee and loves chocolate, but not together. I got her a hot chocolate, I ordered an espresso and an iced breve again. My uncle roasts his own beans and makes absolutely amazing espresso, which we usually have a couple times a week. Additionally, we're Italian (with the passports to prove it) and have had countless espressos and cappuccinos in Italy. So, I am relatively picky about espresso. MochaLisa's did well. No burnt flavor, nice aroma, subtle chocolate notes. It didn't even need sugar, but I do enjoy a hint of sweetness in mine. We also split a s'mores cookie that was out-of-this-world yummy.

Just today, we were out and it was her idea to come back. It's much warmer today and she didn't want anything hot, so I was trying to figure out what she could have that was cold and chocolate, but without coffee in it. The staff was super helpful and accommodating. Ryan (definitely NOT named Brian!) was especially amazing. It's clear he not only understands the menu and the ingredients, but customer service as well. He created a delicious cold chocolate drink, topped with whipped cream to her delight, and my grandmother had the biggest smile on her face.

Sorry for the long-winded review, but I wanted to be thorough. Thanks so much to MochaLisa's for creating such a welcoming environment and committing to making customers happy. Both me and my grandmother are excited to return.

(P.S. Many years ago I had a Thanksgiving-themed panino there with turkey, stuffing, and cranberry, that still lives rent-free in my head to this day. Come November, I wouldn't hate seeing that bad boy on offer again. Just saying.)

Edit: I've been here several times since this review and I have yet to be let down. Staff is always friendly and accommodating. The cafe is always clean and easy to navigate. And the coffee is always delicious. My go-to, especially when I am not staying, is the iced coffee, which needs absolutely nothing added. The sign of great coffee is not needing anything additional to make it palatable and MochaLisa's has...

OK, for an establishment that I promised never to buy food from, I have returned many times and half the time, I have ordered food. I want to thank the owners who encouraged me to give them a second try and for the staff that pointed me to food items I should try. I recent tried their breakfast wraps and they were very good too. I will be returning and I will be trying some of the other menu options. Please give MochaLisa's a true, I think you will love the atmosphere and the food options.

Original review: The atmosphere and coffee are great. I frequent lots of coffee shops, and I would say MochaLisa's coffee is the best in Clifton Park. I have also been told their sandwiches are good. However, I was highly disappointed when I ordered a waffle for $7.50 and was served two slices that they pulled out of a box in the freezer, after they unwrapped the plastic wrap off they heated and served. My wife said, "looks lime hotel waffles". which I responded, "No worse, they taste like Styrofoam." My wife got the vegan French toast, which also came out of the freezer and seemed to be nothing more than WonderBread white bread. I will go back, but I will not purchase any food items.

Update, per MochaLisa's suggestion, I returned and tried their Ethan bagel this time. The bagel was quite good and I would definitely order The Ethan during...

My SIL and I got there around 12:30pm. We order coffee and quiche; the employee says they’re out of the one kind so we order the other kind. Then my SIL asks for a piece of banana bread, the girl says they’re out of that too. In fact, they’re out of almost everything in their bake case…literally like 4 single items were in there (the menu lists several kinds of items). We say nevermind about a bakery item. We go and sit down and the employee brings us our drinks and says that they’re actually out of both kinds of quiche, what else would we like. We order avocado toast. We bring our coffees to go put cream and sugar in them and the cream carafe is almost empty…the cooks (right across the counter from me) are watching me shake drops out and don’t offer to refill it.

Then we’re getting ready to leave at 1:45 and I go to order lunch and a coffee to take home. The girl at the counter says their kitchen is closed. I’m like ??? Oh? What time do you close? She says 4. I’m like but your kitchen is closed? She’s like well I can go ask. She comes back and says yeah kitchen is closed but I can get you coffee. I said no, nevermind and left.

Out in the parking lot I check their website and it says kitchen closes at 3. Will not be returning; way too many things wrong for a...