Yesterday afternoon I stopped into Cartel with a friend of mine to give them a second chance. When we arrived the place was packed and loud. I ordered a decaf Americano, which they couldn't do because they were out of decaf beans. I consider this a major failure by the management. I've never had this happen at any of the really good coffee places around town.
I ended up settling for an iced tea and my friend and I sat down and talked for a bit. We ended up chatting with one of the other patrons for a while, but eventually ended up cutting our stay short because the place was so incredibly loud and there were some kids running around the place that were getting on our nerves. I think the acoustics aren't very good in there and it seems like everyone's conversation gets amplified and thrown right in your face. Rather than yell, we just gave up and moved on.
I have a feeling that Cartel will eventually end up being a great place, but based on my experience they need to work on their consistency. The employees have seemed nice both times I've been there, but pouring a sour shot is unacceptable and so is running out of beans. If they work on training their barristas and get their logistics together I am sure Cartel will eventually be a great place. A little work on the acoustics of the place couldn't hurt, either.
I probably would have given them two stars, but we couldn't think of where to go after fleeing from Cartel and ended up at Starbucks. For that, you get one star.