Mark T.
Yelp
TL;DR at the bottom...
I decided I did not want the same old breakfast consisting of something repetitive and instant coffee. I opened the Yelp this morning, and this places game up first our of the recommended locations to have breakfast.
It was nearby, was a good place to work, and of course, had excellent reviews.
I ordered a cappuccino, a chocolate croissant, and a Melanzani Sandwich.
Cappuccino was one of the best I had ever had. Complete with latte art, it was the right size (bug enough to not run out after one sip, but small enough to retain flavor)
The thing was quite flavorful too, I could taste a mild, perfectly roasted, high-quality coffee being used. Rather than just have espresso diluted with steamed milk, there was serious flavor here. Does not immediately come with water on the side as is typically Viennese, but there are large decanters with water so you can pour yourself water as much as you want.
The Chocolate Croissant was good, but I have to admit it was not super spectacular. It was light and airy, but could have used a slightly more flaky dough, and a little bit more chocolate filling. Even though I would have liked a little more chocolate, I DID really like the balance of chocolate to dough in this croissant.
As for the sandwich, it was quite good, I liked the blending of the quality ingredients inside, one of which I know for a fact was eggplant, but I did not divert too much attention to the others. My only gripe with it is that the bread, while of high quality was a little too hard.
While I understand the need to have a firm bread so that sandwich does not fall apart, this one needed more effort than usual to bite through.
Now, were it not for my ordering of some tea at the end of my meal I would have given this place only 4 stars because of the croissant and sandwich. Tea was what led to the award of the coveted 5-star rating.
Rather than charge a bunch of money for a mug of hot water and a tea bag that costs pennies, this place does something different.
They brew your tea just for you out of loose leaf teas they have. They brew it into a small decanter (I think about 300 ml or so) and serve it to you with a glass on the side. This way, you can pour yourself several small glasses of tea, and can share your decanter with someone else.
When I ordered black tea, they offered me what I believe was Darjeeling or Earl Grey. They also offered to let me smell the tea, and were perfectly okay with brewing a blend of the two for me.
That said
Service was excellent. Really nice, professional, and English speaking. I tried speaking German at first, but when I could not understand something, they helped my out by speaking English. (While it is true they had no real way of knowing, I think my accent and clothing way have strongly hinted at this fact)
TL;DR:
1. Excellent Cappuccino
2. Excellent Tea
3. Good, well-balanced Chocolate Croissant
4. Great but slightly too firm Melanzani Sandwich
5. Superb Service
