Cartel Roasting Co — Restaurant in Tucson

Pros:

1. Atmosphere Cartel (on Campbell or downtown on Broadway) is a comfortable coffee shop whether you’re solo, reading, working on your laptop, or enjoying coffee and the passing crowd. Good place for two or a few people to meet and chat. Extra props for being dog friendly. My little dog enjoys the vibe (and the crumbs). Like other dogs we’ve encountered there, he’s very good when we’re at Cartel.
2. Good Wi-Fi
3. Convenient place to purchase Chemex coffee filters

Cons

1. Not the best coffee in town. I make better coffee at home for a fraction of the cost I pay for a meh coffee/espresso drink at Cartel. It’s passable, but I go to Cartel because it’s convenient, calm and comfortable, not for the coffee. Like every coffeehouse chain, Cartel adds an icky sweet concoction to its lattes to make a Chai lattes, and Cafe au Lait (their standard latte) has very little coffee. Their iced herbal teas are usually pretty good. For coffee drinks, save your money; stick with an Americano, or a couple of shots of espresso on ice or hot.

2. Stale pastries. Not sure where or how they get what’s in their pastry cases - they say their stuff is made on the premises. Maybe ready-made mixes from a central source? and mandatory, proscribed baking times? The way-overpriced pastries are pretty disappointing, overcooked and dry. (Save the calories and carbs for something worthwhile!) I’ve tried their breakfast burrito as well….layers of tortilla to plough through, lots of potatoes, a few specks of meat, and nondescript seasoning. Can’t recommend.

Overall, Cartel is a comfy place for reading, getting wifi work done, and for hanging out, by yourself or with friends. Go for the laidback atmosphere - you can sit there undisturbed for hours. (Might want to...

Downtown Tucson isn’t the best of downtowns compared to other cities if its size but it still has lots to offer. Most of my time here I’ve ventured exclusively to establishments on Congress never thinking of changing it up and maybe trying out new places on Broadway. I finally decided to try it and chose Cartel Coffee Lab. I love coffee so it made sense to go here. I was pleasantly surprised when I walked in as I discovered the nice atmosphere of this coffee shop. I loved the layout and the decor. I’m sensitive more than the average person as to how I’m greeted at the counter so I always approach with caution. I was happy when the girl at the counter greeted me with a nice enthusiastic hello and smile 😊. I ordered the mocha and it was great. 👍 A couple of issues I had was I found the price was a little high for the size of the drink. I ordered a small for nearly $5 and I left a $1 tip so it was an expensive coffee for the size. The other gripe I had was the employee that made my coffee didn’t smile once the entire time I was there. I thanked her a couple of times with a smile but nothing in return. Again that’s just me being overly sensitive. I know she was focused on making the drinks but a little smile wouldn’t hurt. I will definitely return though just for the ambience...

Howdy! Tucson local with 20 years of work and study experience around our local awesome sauce coffee-shops!

Keeping it real 5-stars for service, vegan poblano & potato (fresh, scrumptious, great proportion, unique and that salsa), and feng shui, guests, power outlets, ambience! BAM.

Also, really honest Reason for 3-stars is music. Music in a public coffee-shop makes or breaks an experience. It can overpower thinking, talking, relaxing and being in that "one" neutral element we create for ourselves when here. Music can break that feel-good. Post-PUNK music is delicious, colorful, and phono-powerful. At subtle background volume, it can be an enjoyable muse and work motivator. However, if loud (in your ears), central to the experience with continuous hours of that only genre playing, it becomes the "entire" experience. Maybe I'm getting old and like neutral and subtle background music for my coffee-shop experience but when it becomes the entire concert, I'd rather buy a ticket to the Rialto and skip my visits at Cartel Roasting downtown.

My humble, subjective 2-cents. Love you guys and the culture you bring...