Department of Coffee and Social Affairs Reviews Summary

Location

Pros:

• "This place is heaven on earth! Tucked away off Carnaby St, its a seriously cool location."
• "Great hidden gem nestled in the heart of Carnaby, with brilliant coffee and very friendly staff."
• "Situated in a quiet alley, it’s a really great place to come."
• "Tucked down a lane off Carnaby Street, Speakeasy is a welcome little retreat."
• "Best of all is their super central location right off Carnaby St."
• "Excellent location right by the Carnaby St."
• "Nice outdoor seating which is sort of tucked away from the main street."

Cons:

• "Only issue was that there was limited seating and the place was a little noisy."
• "Music was a bit too loud inside for me, but sitting outside was nice."
• "Just music was too loud."
• "Music is very loud, it was hard to hear my companions, not a place for social affairs."
• "Music too loud. Downstairs more quiet, but smells mouldy."

Service

Pros:

• "Great coffee but I would go back for the friendliness and having a great place to chill out."
• "We had absolutely lovely service by the two ladies behind the counter."
• "Staff was very enthusiastic."
• "Waitress was super friendly despite constantly having really long queue inside."
• "Most friendly coffee place in Soho."
• "The staff are super friendly and will do whatever they can to make sure you get the exact order you want."
• "Staff are really funny and friendly and make you feel welcome."

Cons:

• "Went to get coffee there at 10am, but the staff rudely refused to serve me."
• "Painfully slow and disorganized service."
• "An excellent coffee ruined by the antisocial department bureaucracy!!!"
• "Wait 5 minutes for the staff who are too busy chatting."
• "Definitely overpriced. The staff can't handle a busy environment."
• "Service was very unfriendly and I felt very unwelcome."
• "Very unpolite staff, they lost my order."

Coffee Quality

Pros:

• "The cold drip coffee is a delight."
• "Coffee is great."
• "Really good coffee."
• "One of the best coffee in London."
• "Always serve amazing quality coffee."
• "Speakeasy Espresso & Brew Bar make a mean cup of coffee. The cappuccino was creamy, the latte smooth and the filter coffee was flavoursome."
• "Wonderful coffee including espresso drinks and pour over filter coffee."

Cons:

• "The coffee was hard to judge because my latte was so weak with too much milk."
• "Lukewarm coffee and hot chocolate."
• "Weak and less than good filter coffee serviced slopped into the saucer."
• "This must be the weakest and most expensive coffee in London."
• "Very lousy coffee. Ordered the mocha and it tasted like hot milk without a hint of chocolate."
• "Coffee also average – leaves a strange after taste."
• "Coffee is great but service is terrible."

Ambiance

Pros:

• "Nice environment with a few tables outside as well."
• "Nice ambiance, great location."
• "On the walls there's some bright modern works painted around the theme of electrical pylons - actually quite beautiful."
• "Amazing brew and great wraps with friendly staff check."
• "They have seating inside and outside, which is great for sunny weather."
• "There's space to sit in and some cool artworks on the wall."
• "The venue itself is really pretty. Tucked away just off the main path in Carnaby Street, it stands out with its sleek design and outdoor seating."

Cons:

• "Chairs were uncomfortable and it was very dirty."
• "The place was full of fruit flies."
• "Wow! It’s SO loud in here."
• "Overpriced coffee and an ambience that is marred by very loud commercial pop music."
• "The main floor feels cramped but going downstairs there is plenty of room."
• "The basement is freezing."
• "The toilet is still vile with urine coating the seat."

Value

Pros:

• "Plus they have a loyalty scheme - buy 9 cups, get one free."
• "Coffee and pastry for £4. Never disappoints."
• "Prices are very reasonable."
• "Very good. Fairly priced."
• "Surprised to see they kept their prices normal... at least for London standards."
• "Perfectly sized cup of flavoursome coffee."
• "Loved this place - the best latte I've had for a very long time."

Cons:

• "I got a mocha and it was okay. I wish I got a flat white or filter as I bet the coffee it great, but £3 for a mediocre mocha?"
• "No wifi. Coffee cost £3.10 and was the smallest coffee I’ve ever been served."
• "Overpriced to boot - £6.50 for those two."
• "We found food to be slightly overpriced for the quality and taste, hence lower rating."
• "Speciality coffee in central London? No! Absolutely not worth the price of a coffee."
• "Overpriced coffee check, expensive beans check."
• "Overpriced, scruffy, poor slow service."