Standard Pour Espresso & Wine Bar — Restaurant in Town of Hempstead

My friend and I visited this establishment yesterday 10/16/22. We were excited because it was a black owned place and wanted to try it. But when we got there we were super disappointed, if I could give zero stars I would. The place and decor looked great and music was nice. We walked in and was unsure what to do since no one greeted us at the door. After seconds I asked the young lady at the front should we seat ourselves, she said yes. We finally found a seat, placed our orders. We had to pay and tip upfront, later finding out they didn’t have half the items on the menu. Service was horrible from start to finish. The mimosa came out with a dirty wine glass that had lip gloss/lipstick smudges at the top. I requested for it to be changed and she quickly apologized. We waited for over an hour when another woman(unsure if she was a manager, owner or waitress) told us they didn’t have the grits that I ordered) for shrimp and grits. She insisted I order something else. I asked for chicken and waffles but they did not have waffle batter. She coaxed me into ordering something else and I finally decided on Caribbean skillet which I struggled to eat and could not finish it. The Caribbean skillet hardly any salted fish, burnt and was very dry. The menu reads salt fish with potatoes and the skillet contained plantains and cassava. Seem like this restaurant just substitutes whatever they have on that day. My friend kindly asked about the rest of her order and the server/manager replied “ it’s coming, I only have two hands” That response was just rude after we waited patiently 90 mins for our food. This server was seen laughing and talking to a table next to us while we sat and waited for food that wasn’t even available. She offered us gift cards but that did not make up for the bad service and bad food. This morning we still have a pending charge for original order since what we ended up ordering cost less than original order. They promised it would change but still waiting. The tip amount was never adjusted to the corrected bill. To me this is just dishonest business practice, despite the amount. If we had known upfront they didn’t have the items on the menu, we would have gone elsewhere. However they let you order an unavailable item, wait for an hour so that you may be more inclined to stay. My friend and I was so disappointed in everything at this restaurant . We could have gone somewhere else and gotten so much more for our money. I will not be returning and I do NOT recommend this...

I waited until after multiple visits to review.

My first visit was just to meet a gf for coffee. She scheduled for 5:30 and the place was closing at 6. They had already started cleaning the machines so never had anything. However, I loved the vibe of the place and knew I’d be back.

On my second visit, a friend joined me for a drink and quick bites on a Wed. We arrived around 6, place was fairly quiet. I had a shandy, plantains and some codfish fritters that were reminiscent of the ones my mom makes. That’s how good they were. Literally a chefs kiss. My gf had wings and thought they were dialed decent. According to her they lacked that fall off the bone quality she was looking for.

On my last visit a friend and I visited for brunch. Truth be told I came back for more of the fritters. Unbeknownst to me, it’s not even on the brunch menu. That to me is a huge missed opportunity. As such, I was deflated and chose what I thought was a rather basic item- a grilled chicken Cesar salad. We had drinks while we waited. An hour later the salads hadn’t arrived. Somewhere between the letdown from the fritters and the hour long wait…I became quite hangry.

I’m all fairness, management did send over an additional drink. Finally the salads arrived. The chicken wasn’t as expected ( weird) and the crotons were cornbread. I was completely caught off guard. I can understand them trying to put their own twist on a classic but for me, that wasn’t a welcomed change.

Overall, I left hungry. I literally went straight to Costco to buy grocery and cook my own meal because I was convinced the universe was trying to send a message. I will revisit but I think I’ll stick to weekdays after work and stick to the appetizers menu, drinks or coffee.

Management 9/10 - She’s present and engaging Service 8/10 - the wait can be long and inconsistent Food 7/10 - items were missing or food inconsistent Ambiance 8/10 - a coffee shop and wine bar is a unique concept. Most folks who go to a coffee shop want peace and quiet. The wine bar crowd gets loud. At time it was disruptive to...

Seriously my new favorite place! I’ve never had a bad experience at Standard Pour. The food is AMAZING, my first sandwich there was the grilled cheese and caramelized onions and I added bacon to it; I never finish my food- never, but I gobbled that sandwich and didn’t look back. I have never had a grilled cheese soo tasty, and the baconeggandcheese (one word). Ahhh to die for. BOW DOWN TO THE CHEFS! Every time I have something, I wanna go back there and be like “your hands were touched by God himself” its soo good. The coffee is amazing, I wanna say I have a favorite, but everything I try there is my favorite. The rose latte was my favorite, there was a berry tea during summer that I loved and then there was the passion fruit tea, oh and the mint cucumber lemonade (I think it was)…. I was in love with that for the summer.

The customer service is amazing, every member of their staff is courteous and overall kind! ( It’s nice to go to a coffee shop and not have your barista give you attitude or hear them complain about you and your drink.) But of course this all stems from the higher ups; and you can see that the owners, Darlene and Shinelle, care about their staff. They’re awesome; very kind, courteous, and they chat with you (literally how I ended up ordering the grilled cheese with caramelized onions). They literally are involved in their business and I am here for it!! I can go on and on about this place, its ambiance, it’s ability to allow to get work done, it’s what this town needed. But yes I say all that to say that this place is amazing and you should...