Why do restaurants make such bad coffee?

[Bill Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Bill]

I went out to a very highly regarded local restaurant on the weekend. The food and wines were fantastic, but then I thought I’d finish off with a coffee. I noticed they used Vittoria – not a very promising start, but as I was really craving for a coffee I thought I’d give it a try anyway. Well the microfoam was nicely textured, and had a rosetta on top, so I thought it looked like it was made by someone that must know what they are doing. But then I tasted it – very bitter and not very nice at all. I mean, I’ve had worse at some other places, but I expected a lot better of a place like this. It was a real let-down to an otherwise great night out. Why don’t restaurants put as much care and effort in to the coffee as they do on the food?

[jimmyb Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jimmyb]

Re: Why do restaurants make such bad coffee?

if you got a rosetta then i would say your pretty lucky for a restaurant coffee and 95% of people would probably be happy if the milks done right.

I wouldnt expect a good steak from my favorite cafes.

[Wushoes Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Wushoes]

Re: Why do restaurants make such bad coffee?

Sometimes the roasters have a lot more to answer for than baristas!

[GregJW Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close GregJW]

Re: Why do restaurants make such bad coffee?

They also probably dont do much volume and leave the beans sitting in the hopper too long.

What could be worse than stale(r) Vi!!ori@?

[yeeza Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close yeeza]

Re: Why do restaurants make such bad coffee?

Sometimes the roasters have a lot more to answer for than baristas!

My thoughts exactly DS

[kohi Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close kohi]

Re: Why do restaurants make such bad coffee?

They also probably dont do much volume and leave the beans sitting in the hopper too long.

What could be worse than stale(r) Vi!!ori@?

And if its a restaurant classified as "fine-dining" you get to pay 50% more than cafe prices for the privilege.

[Koffee_Kosmo Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Koffee_Kosmo]

Re: Why do restaurants make such bad coffee?

Its down to all of the above and user experience

KK

[cyrilgoldenrock Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close cyrilgoldenrock]

Re: Why do restaurants make such bad coffee?

The coffee at Tetsuyas was great as far as i remember. But somewhere like that has a very tall reputation to uphold, so id expect that. As for other places, my humble opinion is the same as what has already been said above. I guess if they made more coffees, maybe theyd be fresher and thus better?

[ajayro57 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close ajayro57]

Re: Why do restaurants make such bad coffee?

I think that, at a lot of restaurants, coffee is just an afterthought. They concentrate on getting the food and wine just right, and the service, but anything else is not so important.

Another thing that irks me is that sometimes they have thirty wines on their drinks list but, if you want a good beer, they only have VB or Crown Lager. Grrr! But Im getting off topic.........

[speleomike Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close speleomike]

Re: Why do restaurants make such bad coffee?

Hi all

Not only is it that really top restaurants sometimes dont have much in beer choice. I dont drink wine or beer and when I ask for a GI lime cordial to go with my ala carte menu choice I get strange looks.

Mike

[Koffee_Kosmo Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Koffee_Kosmo]

Re: Why do restaurants make such bad coffee?

Hi all

Not only is it that really top restaurants sometimes dont have much in beer choice. I dont drink wine or beer and when I ask for a GI lime cordial to go with my ala carte menu choice I get strange looks.

Mike  

You know what they say
The customer is always right until he/she leaves  ;D

KK

[kohi Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close kohi]

Re: Why do restaurants make such bad coffee?

Not only is it that really top restaurants sometimes dont have much in beer choice. I dont drink wine or beer and when I ask for a GI lime cordial to go with my ala carte menu choice I get strange looks.  

Its like asking for sarsaparilla. "Sa-what?" they say, "never heard of it". Its a personal mission of mine to bring it back into pubs.

[Thundergod Sleep is overrated Find all posts View Profile Close Thundergod]

Re: Why do restaurants make such bad coffee?

I asked for a lemon, lime and bitters in a pub in Wales and they wondered why I wanted to put lemon and lime in my beer.

[flynnaus Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close flynnaus]

Re: Why do restaurants make such bad coffee?

I asked for a lemon, lime and bitters in a pub in Wales and they wondered why I wanted to put lemon and lime in my beer.

Did you mention that, yes, some Australians are known to add lime or lemons to their beer

[TC . Find all posts View Profile Close TC]

Re: Why do restaurants make such bad coffee?

I asked for a lemon, lime and bitters in a pub in Wales and they wondered why I wanted to put lemon and lime in my beer.

Did you mention that, yes, some Australians are known to add lime or lemons to their beer

Yeah- thats because that Mexican stuff needs all the help it can get! ;D