Dogwood Coffee - East Lake

I’ve been a longtime fan of Dogwood Coffee, but over the past 9 months or so, the service has noticeably declined. While some baristas are lovely, the overall experience has become inconsistent—often hit or miss. Staff are frequently chatting among themselves, and service can be very slow, even for basic brewed coffee, which is sometimes unavailable altogether. I still love the coffee itself, but unfortunately, the service has made me start exploring other nearby options. I truly hope things improve, because Dogwood deserves better.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 3

Service: 1

Great coffee shop.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Visited here for the first time, and despite it being crazy busy, staff was able to get drinks and food out quickly, and everything tasted phenomenal.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

This is my new favorite in the Merriam-Longfellow area

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

Exception coffee, pastries, and service.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Still the best espresso in the Twin Cities.

Nice place for coffee breaks.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Love that there is a local coffee shop in the neighborhood, but for the past 6 months or so, the service has left a lot to be desired.

For example, it frequently takes an unreasonable amount of time to get a drink - we're talking 25 minutes to get a plain latte with a handful of people in line - despite the staff casually chatting with each other and not appearing to be too stressed.

Additionally, the baristas are often standoffish and just plain rude - examples I've seen range from not acknowledging customers when they step up to order to nastily (and loudly) criticizing customers after they leave the shop.

Give your staff some basic customer service training, make it a pleasant experience for your customers to stop by, and quash the angsty, spit-in-your-face vibe found at other Minneapolis coffee shops (cough cough, Spyhouse) that seems to be developing here.

What really prompted me to finally write this review, though, is the shredded piece of plastic wrap I spat out after taking a sip of my drink this morning. Pretty nasty for how expensive the coffee is.

Unfortunately, I've found myself going here less often (opting for Loon down the street) or buying coffee at the grocery store. Dogwood - you could certainly benefit from some staff training. Hope to see you improve, as your shop really anchors that segment of East Lake.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 3

Service: 1

I love this location. Always a steady line of people coming through. The service is really great, and you can tell they have a great rapport with their regulars. Can be a little slow to get your drink so I don’t recommend if you’re in a rush. The chia pudding is made in house and came with the freshest blueberries. I like to get the Fogwood special when I come here which is a tea latte. Plenty of tables with outlets.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 4

Coffee is A-1!

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

I liked it better before when they offered more food options. The seating set up is improved. And I love the collage wall.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 3

Service: 3

I have been to several of their locations and the spaces are always nice. The service however is lacking. All of the ones I have been too have had issues making a simple Americano or Latte. It's either the wrong size or wrong flavor. Since their prices are on the higher end. It's hard to get over the poor service.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 3

Coffee is above average, but $5 for 16oz drip coffee is getting carried away.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 4

Service: 2

Dogwood is a nice coffee shop! Their roasts are very high quality and the space here is great. It seems like a good spot to catch up with a friend or get a little work done. I ordered one of their seasonal drinks—a brown sugar cardamom latte—and found it to be a little light on the flavor for my preference, but it was definitely still a solid latte with great ingredients. My partner had a drip coffee and said this was very tasty and brewed well. While their price points are on the higher end for coffee in the Twin Cities, you are definitely paying for the high quality you are getting. I also thought the merch they had for sale was awesome—I love their logo and all the graphics they use. It's a really attractive design and I love how they have it printed on their roast beans as well as their to-go cups. Overall this is a solid place and I recommend checking it out if you're in the area!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 4

Waiting over 30 min for a latte and it wasn’t even busy. The workers are clearly in no rush to help.

Atmosphere: 1

Service: 1