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| - SUMMARY: Interesting, but quite casual and with limited food options.
FULL STORY: Came for lunch on a weekday. Food options at lunchtime were limited -- 2 (premade, refrigerated) sandwich choices and 2 quiche choices. Nothing being made fresh as you order.
Dessert-wise, there were 2 macaron flavors (a milllllion of them in a rubbermaid under the counter... kind of ruins the magic!). And a maybe 4 mini cakes/pastries. Everything we tried was ok though!
For tea, there were a couple options each for herbal / white / black teas. I think they are from Cleveland Tea Revival. The tea presentation was pretty cute with a little tray, clear glass teacups, and a timer. If they are going for this "tea service" setup though, they should do individual sugar containers for each order instead of a central one at the bar.
Service was friendly, but slow and a little awkward -- felt extreeemely casual. There are no uniforms, aprons, or anything -- everyone is basically in jeans and t-shirts. Out of sync w the theme of the cafe (which I thought was meant to be more refined). A big improvement to the experience would be slightly more subtle or professional service and wearing an apron (or any kind of "Coquette" branding).
A guy who worked there seemed nice enough, but showed up basically in sweats and like other reviewers mention, mostly sat around the dining area doing things. A lady who worked there kept leaving to smoke right outside the door, so you could smell the cigarette smoke inside. That part was reallllly unpleasant (also might have been the most Parisian part of the experience).
Other issues that detracted from the experience were a bunch of random odds and ends laying around the dining area the day we went (old containers, bags, etc), and pretty loud music playing for this small space.... would prefer a little quieter to hear each other better!
Maybe they could re-brand as a "gritty meets chic" type of cafe...
Overall, this place seems ok for a casual drink (and going in with that expectation), but not for a formal tea/French pastry experience. Still, could easily be more of a 4-star place with more variety of food items and a few adjustments to the customer experience!
Note: You could park in the small lot by Constantino's, but don't let the meter run out!
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