Pannikin Coffee & Tea

04/14/11

PANNING PANNIKIN...WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE EVER!

by WeHoGal at Citysearch

Posting reviews is not my style. I normally read them, however, I can't bite my tongue on this one.

After reading great reviews we stopped by Pannikin's in Encinitas yesterday for my brother's birthday. He loves carrot cake and word had it Pannikin had some of the best cakes and goodies around. Obviously we were excited but our excitement quickly turned into DISAPPOINTMENT. First off, we were greeted with "we're closing in 15 minutes" NOT a ''welcome' or 'how may I help you' or even just a simple 'hello'! Nope, instead a smile-less pair of young ladies; CLEARLY ANNOYED, gave us that 'oh, great' look. Even though customer service was non-existent we were already there so decided to order a few things. 3 coffees, 3 goodies and $25 dollars later we were actually enjoying ourselves until the busboy walked up and I kid you not, actually did the 'finger across the throat' move and stated, "WE'RE CLOSED. OUT!". SHOCKED (and biting our tongues), not just us, but the few remaining customers looked around in total disbelief got up and made our way out. We stopped at the counter for a 'to-go' cup which was handed to us with an ATTITUDE! Oh, and when asked if we could top off our coffee we were told, "50 cents".

Seriously, really--this is how you treat your customers?!!! Of course, we had the 50 cents but what?...not only are going to throw out the coffee you just threw out paying customers!

To sum it up:

Coffee - Great

Goodies - Good

Service - Terrible

Returning - Never

01/08/08

nice hang out but coffee not so good

by culinaryhog at Citysearch

Having an open and adventurous mindset, I love to give new places a try no matter what reviews are in place. However, before giving my opinions, I want to convey that this review is purely on coffee, bakes goods, service and atmosphere.

The store was set in an inviting old multi-level home with outside sittings. The inside is filled with miscellanous artworks, antique coffeewares, and purposely mismatched furnitures. After a few minutes of watching the barista make several coffee drinks, I already had my first clue of the quality of coffee...let's say I was worried.

I went ahead and ordered a macchiato and a muffin. To my dissappointment, the barista pulls out 20oz milk pitcher and I knew any hope for a decent macchiato was gone. The shot was pulled too early and sat waiting for about a minute while the barista was steaming away mountains of flavorless bubbly foam. Although I knew what was to come, I try my drink anyway. Yuck! A thick cloud of foam and then bitter flat espresso.

However, on a brighter note, the muffin was good and freshly baked on premise. All in all, if you want a place to relax and people watch it's great. Service was good but there is no wifi here.

• Pros: Good assortment of freshly baked goods; nice service
• Cons: Coffee, particularly, espresso based drinks not good