For Five Coffee Manhasset — Restaurant in Town of North Hempstead

I really wish I could give this coffee shop a good review. The decor is nice and espresso is good. Unfortunately, the experience depends on who is behind the counter. If I had a nice chat yesterday with a Greek barista, the young girl from today was really rude. When I noticed the junk fee added to my total (yes, the 4% service charge is junk, there's no table service nor anything justifying it, businesses doing that are just increasing their margin), I was upset. She pointed at a tiny sign "service charge applies" as if that was giving any legitimacy to the fee. Then I ask if we could waive this fee if we paid with cash (which is usually the case). She said no, the fee still applies, and she cancelled my order and told me I didn't have to order here! Fine, my husband and I left and went to buttercooky instead to get our drinks and cakes.

Bottom line, I may never go back there because: 1/ I don't want to support businesses that have this type of practice, even though it's only 56 cents, it's a matter of principle 2/ When I spend my money I want to have a good time and experience and this barista wasn't pleasant 3/ Not a green business, only one time use to go cups even when you stay. No...

When my brother-in-law suggested a cafe for brunch, I was disappointed. I had an appetite the size of a hefty garbage can, which I knew wouldn't be placated with a few baked goods.

But I'd made the silly mistake of underestimating the food offerings here at For Five Coffee. All my presumptions about 'mere' baked goods flew out the window when I stood in line by the tantalizing window of arrayed baked goods. I'm sure all the pictures testify - they're tantalizing.

I spotted a spicy vodka rigatoni on the menu and my mouth watered, but I disappointedly figured they wouldn't have it available for an early brunch table. I was wrong there too. "We're serving everything on the menu right now!" quipped the man at the register, which of course meant I had to have it.

And wouldn't you know it - it was the best vodka rigatoni I'd ever had, and it was at a cafe...at eleven in the morning. It was perfectly al dente, with a beautifully orange sauce and just enough flecks of chili flakes to start a lovely slow simmer of heat in the backdrop.

Come for the cozy vibes, stay for the fulsome...

I'm a member of a social media based gardening group. One of our members went to this location today and was told they discard the used coffee grinds and do not donate them to the community despite its known benefits to the environment via composting and gardening (of which I quickly explained). I spoke with Anna (shift supervisor) who was quite abrupt and disconnected our call. I called back, no one picked up. In my diligence I called back a few minutes later and Anna answered the phone. She said she would leave a message for the manager. Due to her abruptness, I'm uncertain if she will forward my message. Nevertheless, I will call back tomorrow in an effort to speak with the manager. Surely a business with 4.5 rating on Yelp & Google wants to do any and everything it can to support its community in supporting the Planet, right? Wrong!

I followed up with Christos (he said he was one of the owners & a manager - who was worse than Anna). He requested I send him an email describing our request. I did. I never heard...