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Campus Coffee -- April 26, 2002
We went into Campus Coffee before seeing Scorpion King because we thought we might see some goodies we could smuggle into the theatre. We didn’t, but I did see some chocolate cake that looked pretty appetizing, so we decided we would go back after the movie was over.
Happily for us, as we were coming out of the theatre, an employee of Campus Coffee was standing by the door handing out free drink coupons for Campus Coffee. Smart ploy. They’ve gotta know that when people go in for a free coffee, they’re going to buy some expensive goodie as well.
So we took our free drink coupons and went into Campus Coffee, where I got a decaf Mocha Java and a piece of the chocolate cake, while Gord got a decaf Mocha Java and a piece of this berry cheesecake.
Campus Coffee is one of these places that was one thing when I moved here in September and is now something else completely. It used to be a pub where you could get a burger and a beer for $5 on Saturday, and we went a couple of times, but there was never anybody in there. Anyway, now it’s a coffee bar. It’s hard to say how they’re going to do. It was pretty full when we were in there, but that could just be because they were handing out free drink coupons to people leaving the movie theatre. On the other hand, people going to a movie are more likely to pop into a coffee bar before or after their movie than they are to pop into a pub.
The décor is pretty nice, they have nice couches and tables and stuff, and they have the decorative, hand-chalked blackboard menu things hanging over the bar. It looks like they sell lots of stuff, goodies, wraps, cold bottled beverages, several varieties of coffee on tap, the usual array of espresso bar drinks, as well as coffee beans to take home, flavor syrups, coffee gadgets, etc. They also had a pretty good selection of magazines you could read while you were drinking your coffee.
The coffee was pretty good, not acidic, and went fairly well with the chocolate cake. The chocolate cake was pretty rich. I couldn’t finish it all. Gord had a few bites and agreed it was extremely rich; he said his cheesecake was only so-so. It’s hard to say what the service was really like. Everyone was pretty cheerful, although that could have been only because the manager was right there, but nobody seemed to quite know what they were doing and it kind of took a while to get the things we ordered. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt, though, that that was only because they’ve only been open for a few days and everybody is still getting used to the procedures. The washrooms were clean, but the hallway leading to them was a bit of a maze, with some doors leading outside and others leading back into the bar, but with none of the doors marked.
For now, Campus Coffee gets two and a half pints. It was a pretty average sort of place, no better or worse than any other independent coffee bar. If it’s still there in the fall, I’ll go back, but for now I’m not getting too attached to it.
Score: Two and a half pints of coffee, each with a little sign explaining the origin of the beans, the darkness of the roast, the acidity level, what sort of flavors to expect, and which goodie might go best with it.
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