02/23/08

There's Hope For Crema!

by myjavajunkie

Crema foes and friends, unite! Please don't give up on Crema. While I totally agree with these negative reviews there may be hope for our favorite coffee spot! The make-out twins have disappeared! I haven't seen either one of them in weeks, so maybe this place finally got the hint and gave them the BOOT. At any rate the atmosphere at Crema has been much nicer....reminiscent of a time before....when the sun was shining and the baristas were smiling...and so were the customers! On behalf of loyal Crema fans everywhere....thanks for bringing our coffee shop back!

• Pros: the boss is putting the positivity back into Crema
• Cons: snooty toots are scaring the customers away

07/03/09

excellent pastries and coffee

by martiansonmaui

Wow! coffee that doesn't taste like turpentine? how do they do it? discovered this place by accident, and bought a Red Velvet cupcake for a friend that needed cheering up. Excellent food.

i'm probably guilty of hanging out too long on the internet, but hey, there are outlets under just about every table, and to me that screams out "please plug in your laptop here". hello? ever heard of an internet cafe?

• Pros: great espresso drinks
• Cons: could open earlier, stay open later

05/18/09

Thanks a lot!

by DeadFrog

I am very picky when it comes to my Latte. Victor was totally cool about it and it was if he could read my mind. A friend of mine and I went in looking very dodgy on 05/18/2009. We decided to get some coffee after a long day of work before we took our evening stroll.

Victor took our order. He pulled some very lovely shots which he showed us. He was fun, friendly and fantastic!

If you want to have a quality drink then come to Crema. The staff is awesome, treats are yummy and they have awesome windows for babe watching!

• Pros: Nice shots!
• Cons: They stole my heart and my business from other local shops.

04/05/09

Love the pastries

by Dede

The food is great whether you're in the mood for pastries, a sandwich or soup. Coffee lovers paradise, good orange juice, tea and hot chocolate too. Nice variety. Have found everyone there to be friendly, love the open atmosphere with the wifi.

• Pros: Food, coffee. location
• Cons: Can't really think of any

03/30/09

The best

by rachelbachel44

Crema is my favorite favorite place to go to meet up with friends for coffee, read a book, do homework, relax with the paper, etc. It's the best of southeast

• Pros: Coffee, service, atmosphere, location
• Cons: What are the drawbacks?

01/26/09

Crema is (mostly) terrible

by arthurthethird

Crema's coffee is good but not the best. Their pastries are better than most. I've had some bad coffee and pastries though. Some girl who really needed to brush her teeth put like half a cup of cream (?!) in my Vietnamese coffee. I really didn't like seeing her crusty yellow teeth while she was making my coffee. And there's this real pretentious hipster (who wears really tight shirts though he is fat. It's not becoming, guy...) who always screws up the orders. Once, I saw him get rude to a pregnant girl because she needed her Americano iced. Um, look guy, she's pregnant and can't have a 150 degree beverage-- so don't roll your eyes. I also saw him at a bar one night calling some girl some really nasty things, for which there might be an excuse, except they weren't arguing. I think he just talks to her that way. Sad.

Look I don't really mind hipsters, but this place is filled with juvenile nastiness from the staff. One time this guy was supposed to bring me an iced Americano, but it was made wrong. For some reason he walked around the whole shop looking for me though I was sitting next to the espresso machine the whole time. When he found me he nearly shoved the drink in my hands and rolled his eyes, then waved up his arms as if I had run into his car or something. It really angered me and that piping hot drink spilled a little on my hands. I almost went over and beat the tar out of him, but instead calmed myself down and emailed the manager. Mr. Fortune was very nice and apologetic and gave me a couple gift certificates. Cool. But guess who was there when I returned! You guessed right. I can't believe that guy wasn't fired! Pretentious hipster *%&*$#@&*^.

Sometimes, the place is fairly dirty and it's hard to find a clean table. They often grab a pastry for you after handling money. Dirty! It's a cool space but it's being ruined by a bad staff, lack of cleanliness and mishandled orders. Get a new staff! Clean up a little! Do this and they will come...back.

• Pros: meh. Pastries are usually good.
• Cons: Everything else.

08/09/08

Perfect cappuccinos!

by stumptownlover

The first time I came in here was for a quick coffee stop and just had a cup of their house coffee, which was good stumptown but just as good as any other place. The next time I came I had a cappuccino and I've gone back every time I'm in the mood for one since. They're the best I've had anywhere, and I've had a lot of cappuccinos. The espresso is rich and smooth and the foam is thick and delicious. Their toddy and iced lattes, and iced mochas are delicious too, but the cappuccino remains my favorite. And if you're looking for dessert be sure to try the red velvet cupcakes, the frosting is delicious!

• Pros: Cappucinos and award winning baristas.

07/09/08

Going down fast

by ElConquistador

The good:

Crema is a wonderful location with great drinks and food. It's normally a very lively place in a hip neighborhood and a great place to hang if it's not too crowded.

And the bad,

I've lived in the same neighborhood as Crema for the last few years. I've noticed a steep price increase and deterioration of their customer service and environment. I go there at least once a week and as of the last few months, I've been served a lot of attitude with my coffee. This bothers me much more than the increasing prices, and it is ultimately the reason I'll stop going to Crema. You'll see other posts around local foodie boards and I'm clearly not the only one who is feeling their customer counter needs a fresh overhaul in personnel.

A year ago, I would have given them 4.5 or even 5 stars. Now, it's barely 3. More importantly, my money is going to other shops in the area. I hope the owners are reading their reviews, because i'd hate to lose this once great shop.

05/06/08

Great pastries, good coffee, slow service

by mzwong

Love so many things about Crema! The pastries are wonderful, as are the more savory items. The espresso drinks are really good but take far too long to get. The french press coffee I find a little muddy and not as good as the espresso, but others seem to like it. The big complaint is the service/setup. The counter is run very inefficiently and it takes forever to get your order. I will only go if the line is 4 people or less, because it takes so long per person. If they worked on this it would be a truly stellar place.

• Pros: pastries, soups & sandwiches, espresso drinks
• Cons: slow service

02/29/08

Too popular.

by havinfuninptown

There are no spots to sit and eat ....because every darn table is usually filled by people and their laptops for HOURS. What a bummer. I don't like to eat sandwiches standing up! Then again, who does?

02/28/08

why does it get worse?

by jazzy626

crema now apparently charges $7 for a veggie sandwich...yes, that sandwich has no meat on it. i'm certain that the last time i was in there that sandwich was not 7 dollars. it is a good sandwich, but not 7 dollars good, especially with slow service and minimal seating.

but still, i went back. and i ordered one of my all time favorites, the most consistent and wonderful of all pastry items...the crema coconut cupcake. but to my dismay, upon preparing to eat it in the comfort of my own home, i came across a dark hair in the white creamy buttercream, a hair likely to match the head of the unwashed fella who served it to me.

and so this is a not so fond farewell, crema.