I was the only person in line, i ordered and had to clarify my friends drink order, the bubble was literally typing as I was ordering and the lady asked if the drink was iced or hot. I was like "One sec she's just clarifying through the text," and she audibly sighed and walked away. All throughout this order I said numerous times that I needed oat milk in the drink and she never verbally responded so I repeated "yes with oat milk" every time she went over the order and she rolled her eyes at me so I figured she heard and was annoyed I was repeating myself. As I see her make it she uses regular milk so I interjected and said " Oh shoot that was supposed to have oat milk," and she was upset with me and said she didn't hear me. I was just shocked by how rude she was.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Vaughn Ellemers
I was fat shamed by the staff :(
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 4
Service: 1
Dana S.
It's a convenient place if you are near IKB. I've found that the early morning staff is super sweet but the attitude of the afternoon staff is a toss-up. The convenience is the main draw. They have Upmeals entrees and UBC-issue bake goods. The Upmeals stuff is healthy and easy on the palate but interesting. In the past I've found that even some of the fresh baked goods somehow came out tasting stale, but this year's iteration of UBC baking seems better. They've also instituted a Pearl Fever "pop-up" where you can get a limited selection bubble tea here (which is good, although I've only tried the jelly, which is harder to mess up than pearls) and also ice cream with taiyaki (the waffle is good, the soft serve is just okay - little icy - but it's an accessible way to experience a fun dessert that's a little hard to find). My experience with the espresso drink is - and I only drink decaf, so this may or may not be representative - it's not awful, but it does taste a little over-roasted. Sometimes adding milk can mellow out bitter coffee but this one basically tastes the same in americano or latte form. The chai is not offensive but is made from a concentrate that's very sweet and the London fog is also very sweet. Be careful because the hot drinks come out intensely hot. At peak studying hours, it's intensely busy, but at off hours, the clean, quiet environment is very relaxing. It's a good place for students (or other UBC people) if you want a break from heavy food or fast food.
Bob
Overpriced. A 49g KitKat chunky is almost 3 dollars. And they charge you for takeout boxes and wooden spoons without telling you beforehand. Most importantly, there are inedible plasticky stripes mixed in those chia seed puddings, I don’t know what they are, but this happened to me multiple times in the past. At first I thought it was a one-time accident, but turns out it wasn’t.
Food: 1
Dana Sullivan
It’s a convenient place if you are near IKB. I’m usually there in the early morning and the staff is always so nice. The convenience is really the only draw though - the food is mostly inoffensive but bland and even the fresh baked goods sometimes manage to taste stale. Exception is the scones which I love, and sometimes the muffins, but they don’t always have those depending on the season.I think UBC is trying to revitalize this cafe. This summer they’ve had a Pearl Fever pop-up where you can get bubble tea here (which is good!) and also ice cream with taiyaki (the waffle is very good, the soft serve is just okay, and they put it in a cup so if you want to eat it “properly”, you have to spoon the ice cream into the waffle yourself, but it’s still a fun dessert). They have Upmeals wraps and entrees in the case now, which I like as they’re healthy and easy-on-the-palate but interesting. Not sure if this will continue into the fall. It’s two starts for now (I’d give 2.5 if I could), but optimistic that if they continue trying new things it could be a more exciting place.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 4
Kenneth
Staff was nice and coffee was warm. Can’t complain!
Anthony Fu
Worse muffin I've ever had, I felt like I was eating dirt.
Clara Sui
Love the baked goods but would love to see the hot pasta entrees back! Also the soups! - I’ve noticed a huge drop in quality since 2019. Every order is mostly just spices, salt, water, and starch. There are very little toppings and the texture is incredibly runny, especially for the split pea and ham soup. Would never recommend them. Sandwiches and salads are okay but on the bland side.
Daniel Z.
Not gonna lie, a not-so-big, leftover, expires-in-a-day breakfast wrap and a small dessert for $10 doesn't sound very good. I wouldn't say anything special about taste either. I was too lazy to buy food elsewhere while I was at IKB, and so this was the best I got. I'll spare this review from the one star because I think I picked the wrong foods. After all, this is a coffee place.
yummystream
Staff was nice and coffee was warm. Can’t complain!
Most of the staff here are friendly and I like the baked goods and salads. I've been picking up my morning coffee here as of late because the line usually moves quickly, but this morning I was charged $7.30 for a medium coffee. I went back to talk to a server (a different one from the one that charged me) and while they expressed concern by asking who had served me, the woman that served me didn't so much as apologize. I used to be a barista and I know that early morning shifts can throw you off sometimes, but I think that was quite rude. I wasn't offered a refund, but the other server told me that I can take some baked goods to even out the cost.
Jordyn Dumelie
Asked a employee nicely if there was a microwave in the building and she replied rudely that there "wassint but that I could just buy something". Ok so not all students have money to buy food? Also why not put a microwave for use in IKB??? I'm sure in that huge dining area there is room for one, and I'm sure I'm the only one who loves having to walk all the way to the life building when studying just to heat up my food
Sinan Uluc
I like this place for its convenience because I spend almost all of my time in this building. But they should stop selling god-knows-how-many-days-old crossaints.
joseph jeon
$0.25 FOR A CUP OF WATER. Just go to the Starbucks at Life, they give free water.
I was the only person in line, i ordered and had to clarify my friends drink order, the bubble was literally typing as I was ordering and the lady asked if the drink was iced or hot. I was like "One sec she's just clarifying through the text," and she audibly sighed and walked away. All throughout this order I said numerous times that I needed oat milk in the drink and she never verbally responded so I repeated "yes with oat milk" every time she went over the order and she rolled her eyes at me so I figured she heard and was annoyed I was repeating myself. As I see her make it she uses regular milk so I interjected and said " Oh shoot that was supposed to have oat milk," and she was upset with me and said she didn't hear me. I was just shocked by how rude she was.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
I was fat shamed by the staff :(
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 4
Service: 1
It's a convenient place if you are near IKB. I've found that the early morning staff is super sweet but the attitude of the afternoon staff is a toss-up. The convenience is the main draw. They have Upmeals entrees and UBC-issue bake goods. The Upmeals stuff is healthy and easy on the palate but interesting. In the past I've found that even some of the fresh baked goods somehow came out tasting stale, but this year's iteration of UBC baking seems better. They've also instituted a Pearl Fever "pop-up" where you can get a limited selection bubble tea here (which is good, although I've only tried the jelly, which is harder to mess up than pearls) and also ice cream with taiyaki (the waffle is good, the soft serve is just okay - little icy - but it's an accessible way to experience a fun dessert that's a little hard to find). My experience with the espresso drink is - and I only drink decaf, so this may or may not be representative - it's not awful, but it does taste a little over-roasted. Sometimes adding milk can mellow out bitter coffee but this one basically tastes the same in americano or latte form. The chai is not offensive but is made from a concentrate that's very sweet and the London fog is also very sweet. Be careful because the hot drinks come out intensely hot. At peak studying hours, it's intensely busy, but at off hours, the clean, quiet environment is very relaxing. It's a good place for students (or other UBC people) if you want a break from heavy food or fast food.
Overpriced. A 49g KitKat chunky is almost 3 dollars. And they charge you for takeout boxes and wooden spoons without telling you beforehand. Most importantly, there are inedible plasticky stripes mixed in those chia seed puddings, I don’t know what they are, but this happened to me multiple times in the past. At first I thought it was a one-time accident, but turns out it wasn’t.
Food: 1
It’s a convenient place if you are near IKB. I’m usually there in the early morning and the staff is always so nice. The convenience is really the only draw though - the food is mostly inoffensive but bland and even the fresh baked goods sometimes manage to taste stale. Exception is the scones which I love, and sometimes the muffins, but they don’t always have those depending on the season.I think UBC is trying to revitalize this cafe. This summer they’ve had a Pearl Fever pop-up where you can get bubble tea here (which is good!) and also ice cream with taiyaki (the waffle is very good, the soft serve is just okay, and they put it in a cup so if you want to eat it “properly”, you have to spoon the ice cream into the waffle yourself, but it’s still a fun dessert). They have Upmeals wraps and entrees in the case now, which I like as they’re healthy and easy-on-the-palate but interesting. Not sure if this will continue into the fall. It’s two starts for now (I’d give 2.5 if I could), but optimistic that if they continue trying new things it could be a more exciting place.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 4
Staff was nice and coffee was warm. Can’t complain!
Worse muffin I've ever had, I felt like I was eating dirt.
Love the baked goods but would love to see the hot pasta entrees back! Also the soups! - I’ve noticed a huge drop in quality since 2019. Every order is mostly just spices, salt, water, and starch. There are very little toppings and the texture is incredibly runny, especially for the split pea and ham soup. Would never recommend them. Sandwiches and salads are okay but on the bland side.
Not gonna lie, a not-so-big, leftover, expires-in-a-day breakfast wrap and a small dessert for $10 doesn't sound very good. I wouldn't say anything special about taste either. I was too lazy to buy food elsewhere while I was at IKB, and so this was the best I got. I'll spare this review from the one star because I think I picked the wrong foods. After all, this is a coffee place.
Staff was nice and coffee was warm. Can’t complain!
Restaurantji Recommends
Most of the staff here are friendly and I like the baked goods and salads. I've been picking up my morning coffee here as of late because the line usually moves quickly, but this morning I was charged $7.30 for a medium coffee. I went back to talk to a server (a different one from the one that charged me) and while they expressed concern by asking who had served me, the woman that served me didn't so much as apologize. I used to be a barista and I know that early morning shifts can throw you off sometimes, but I think that was quite rude. I wasn't offered a refund, but the other server told me that I can take some baked goods to even out the cost.
Asked a employee nicely if there was a microwave in the building and she replied rudely that there "wassint but that I could just buy something". Ok so not all students have money to buy food? Also why not put a microwave for use in IKB??? I'm sure in that huge dining area there is room for one, and I'm sure I'm the only one who loves having to walk all the way to the life building when studying just to heat up my food
I like this place for its convenience because I spend almost all of my time in this building. But they should stop selling god-knows-how-many-days-old crossaints.
$0.25 FOR A CUP OF WATER. Just go to the Starbucks at Life, they give free water.
Coffee was half filled, server was rude