Ever since the days of the Farmer's Market, I have always been a fan of Phil & Sebastian.
The coffee is good! Not the best, but fairly high on the list.
The food is EXCELLENT! I often think about the grilled cheese sandwich. AND the smoked ketchup that comes along with it. I have long been of the opinion that no one can do ketchup better than Heinz, so why even bother ... but P&S actually makes one that comes CLOSE to being on par. Definite points for originality and flavour.
The downside of Phil & Sebastian's is the vibe.
I don't think it's the fault of the staff ... I think it is just something about the whole place!
You can't help feel like you are being a little bit excluded from the "cool club" when hanging around this establishment.
You can feel the panic, like a dirty stain on a bright white shirt, that somehow they are going to find out that you've been to a Starbucks before! You don't know how, but you feel that they are secretly probing you to see if you match-up to the status quo of hipster coffee credentials!
Ultimately this discomfort results, personally, in not really wanting to hang around. So everything about the place is great! ... only I don't often feel comfortable enough to want to drop by.