Brue Coffee Shop — Restaurant in Virginia Beach

It is very, very difficult for me to write negative reviews. In fact, I have to •force• myself to do it. I suppose that’s because I realize how fortunate we are in the United States. There are so many people in the world that have almost nothing. And I mean that literally.

Having said that, I also recognize the importance of being able to give feedback in a free-market society. And in that particular sense, I give Brue one star.

I had never been to Brue before this morning, and I was just totally dissatisfied with my visit in so many respects. The two employees I interacted with were very sweet and kind; I feel like what I experienced most likely has nothing to do with them and more to do with a management issue.

Anyway, the biggest grievance I have is the fact that I got an iced Earl Grey tea and MY TOTAL WAS OVER SIX DOLLARS. To be clear, this was not a latte … not a specialty drink … and I asked for •zero• additions, sweeteners, or alternative milks. It was literally just the tea. Also, it was the smaller of the two sizes offered (12 oz), not the larger. And the vast majority of it was ice, which, as we know, is just water.

Now, granted, I pushed the “18% tip“ on the screen when it gave me the options of 18%, 20%, and 22%, but before tip, it was $5.03.

I find that to be absolutely absurd. I don’t understand how Brue justifies charging five bucks for a small iced tea.

Since I’m providing a detailed review, there are some additional things I’ll mention. I did initially want an alternative milk in my order, but I have Type 1 diabetes and there were none available without sugar in them; in other words, the soy, oat, almond, and coconut milk Brue offered all had sugar already in the product. Fine, okay, so I opted to just get the tea itself with nothing added. But then, I asked for the decaffeinated Earl Grey which they specifically had on the menu, and they said they were out of the decaffeinated version. Next, my friend ordered, and they got her order completely wrong. She requested that they remake it (because she had asked for a hot Matcha, and they made her iced) … which they did and she appreciated, but then when she got it, it wasn’t even hot. It simply, y’know, wasn’t iced.

As a final note, I’ll say, I’ve worked in three different restaurants. I know the effort it takes to keep things orderly, I really do. But that’s simply part of the business. I went into the restroom at Brue and the floor was dirty, there was toilet paper on the floor — and the paper towel roll had been totally depleted, so there were no paper towels. If you have a busy restaurant? I get it. Totally understandable. But I walked out from the restroom, and there was absolutely no one in line. NO one. And both baristas were casually leaning on the counter, quiet, hunched over, immersed in their phones. Again, if the restaurant is slammed, I get it. But when there’s no line and no orders to fill, that’s the time to clean and restock the restroom.

I won’t be...

My daughter, wife, and I decided to try the place out as we see it every Sunday as we make our grocery trip to Kroger. I check on cooler and found out the place is open till 4pm. We walked in the doors a little after 3:30pm Saturday 9/28. We were just getting coffee and a hot chocolate for my daughter so we thought 3:30 would be ok. When greated we were told we close at 4, and I should have turned and walked out then but we stayed we are getting it to go. I ordered a hot coffee and got an iced my wife’s berry matcha clumped up after 5 mins and everything was settled on the bottom. My daughter usually loves hot chocolate but had a gross face when sipping just to realize when pouring out the chocolate settled in one clump on the bottom so she was pretty much drinking hot water and cool whip. To top it all off the frother machine was supposedly broken but by the service and the attitude of the female behind the counter, I wouldn’t discredit the fact that she did not want to clean it again after use so it was easier to just tell us that it was broken. All in all I would leave no stars if it was an option and it to say the least we will probably not be back which it is sad because it is only a couple minutes from our house and and right across the street from our weekly...

Firstly, the AI generated knowledge is tosh. There is no 'kids' playground as described. There is a sofa corner with a few board games. Very disappointing.

The food I'd say was sub par, we ordered Tato Tot with cheese, and the cheese came out so dry it was almost a crisp. Good job toddlers don't actually care too much.

The coffee was OK, it was hot, strong but not what was ordered. A cappuccino was ordered, and a machiato was what I got. Small, no foam and even seated inside had a paper takeaway cup, what's the deal.

The artwork brightens the place, really good artists about it seems, nice quiet venue, and enough seating for a small handful. There was no food displayed in the counter chiller, despite it being on 11am and not busy.

Staff friendly , but not particularly enthusiastic about life, let alone coffee.

Over all, adequate for a grab and go, but not worth sitting in. Sorry to say, but not great...