Caffe Vero

It’s too bad that this cute little coffee house closed down. I remember being here a year ago when I last visited Albany. Hoping that there will be a few other coffee gems such as Vero in Albany soon. Really enjoyed their pumpkin Nutella latte. It was the perfect beverage that hit the spot in such a cold little wintry town.

I think this place is now called Stacks. Awful! We all burnt ourselves bcus they poured our drinks into paper cups and they didn’t even have paper cozies that fit around the crazy hot drinks! I can’t believe they didn’t ask if we wanted out drinks in ceramic cups… Drinks spilled on our hands… Instead of apologizing or anything when I came over to ask them to pour our drinks into mugs– nothing.
And their tea is in bags, smoothies aren’t fresh fruit & bathrooms are filthy., Might as well be a crappy Starbucks

Coffee isn’t bad. Definitely not the most friendliest staff… and the café was kind of a mess. Next time I’ll try the daily grind.

Delicious brews! I would go every day if I could but I can’t afford to. The Café Americano is my pick. The staff are friendly. I wish there was a couch and a coffee table somewhere in here– maybe in the place of the big, unused cooler at the back, which always eludes me. This spot has toasty-​toasty coffee, but is lacking a certain «comfy» quality … I get my coffee and go. Revamp the creature comforts and I’ll stay longer.

Def the best Cappuccino in the Albany area.
they are the only ones that do latte art… beautiful designs in the foam!
have it to stay. great people watching inside and looking out onto Lark street.
Carrie is a master barista!

I am somewhat of a coffee snob, and I don’t accept less than the best when it comes to my coffee.
Walked into Caffe Vero (admittedly) thinking it was the Daily Grind, and I will never go anywhere else again. They made my smoothies with … wait for it… REAL FRUIT for a reasonable price, none of that processed garbage. My latte had a palm leaf in it, AND it was delicious, some of the best espresso I’ve ever had in the Albany area.
The mood was that quaint, homegrown coffee house feel, complete with a man in a beanie with a guitar on the stoop. It embraces everything good about Lark Street in one setting, I was very impressed to say the least.

They make a decent latte. And wifi here is fast. Accepts credit, lots of seating, good lighting too. Parking is street parking and will take a while to find.

Two years on: very consistent. Best cappucino in the area. Superb scones. Very, very slow service — not poor, just not aiming for speed; but to the level that it’s irritating even for our family of 4, which is a shame.

Very nice place! Expresso was good and I enjoyed the Passion fruit Ice Tea. It’s a nice place to just relax on your computer…

A home away from home. The coffee and espresso are bold in flavor, in an enveloping but not an overpowering way. I highly recommend their apricot scone and their almond croissant, which conjure that «homemade» feeling and are freshly baked the morning of. The scone has a flaky texture and the apricots lend a touch of sweetness that pairs perfectly with the nutty mixture intermixed. The croissant, like the scone, is dense and compact, and filled with an almond paste that is interlaced within the buttery bread.
I come for their soy lattes and cappuccinos, lovingly and beautifully made. It’s worth noting that they do run out of soy milk fairly early in the day, so you may not get your soy fill depending on when you visit. Vero is unique in that they serve almond milk (!!) and is therefore a sanctuary for the lactose intolerant like myself. (Almond milk runs out quickly during the day, too.)
Service is speedy although not necessarily always jovial. The baristas keep their focus on the coffee and less on you.

There is so much about this place that is phenomenal. Café Vero is something my neighborhood has desperately needed for a long time. Their lattes are fantastic, they aren’t overly-​sweet like Starbucks, they come to you at a drinkable temperature, and the latte-​art is a fun and distinguishing characteristic. Their food is more continental fare, bagels, croissants, yogurt, turnovers, etc. There is also a loyalty program, 10 drinks gets you one free. Vero is a much more relaxed study/​work/​reading environment than that of the near-​by Daily Grind (which seems to rely more on turning over tables and food service a bit more than it’s coffee).
There are a few small things I have to knock Vero for that keep it from getting 5 stars; it’s rather common that they are out of certain food items, or seasonal-​specials. For example, their fruit and yogurt parfaits are awesome, but I can only count on getting one about 65% of the time I go. Recently they had an egg nog latte, and both times I had visited within the past 2 weeks they were out of the egg nog. Some better planning needs to be made regarding demand for certain items. It’s cold in Albany during the winter, rotating 2 kettles of soup could be a nice addition and would likely extend my stay a bit more, also it wouldn’t require any more attention from the staff than does selling a bagel.
Getting back to the fruit and yogurt parfait. It comes to you in 3 separate plastic containers. One for the fruit, one for the yogurt, and one for the granola. Once you mix it up, you then have all these useless plastic containers that you MUST throw into the trash because there is no separate recycling bin. It makes me feel like crap to be wasting plastic like that. Seeing that Café Vero is located in a very liberal part of town, filled with hipsters, young professionals, gays (myself being one), and art students, you would think they might get on board with saving the planet.
Anyway, when I think about all the great service I have gotten from the employees, to the food products, and atmosphere, I can say that I really do love this place. And you will too. Ciao!

Coconut Latte with Soy?! How creatively delish!
This pricey joint is like an upscale Starbucks that makes you feel like you’re in France with its tiny, inviting tables. Snag a window seat for prime Lark St viewing or settle in with a friend.

Went in for some drip coffee.
It was darn good coffee, a bit better than the Daily Grind cup that I had earlier that morning.
I liked it inside, a stark contrast to the Grind, clean and new, more well kept.
I’ll be back.

Love! Went here with my (admittedly) coffee-​snobbish friend, who turned to me the second we walked out the door and said to me, «If this coffee tastes as good as the service and that barista’s skills, this is gonna be a fine cup of goodness.»
And it was.
She and I had a great time joking around with the male barista while he skillfully and quickly whipped our «Ten million special instructions» lattes together. Not even a smirk over the times we changed our minds; this guy was a pro, and a fun and nice pro at that.
My latte had the leaf that is their logo in the foam, as did my friend, and the coffees we absolutely perfect and drinkable on the spot. Perfect mild sweetness versus a mouthful of sugar.
Pros: One of the best cups of coffee I’ve ever had in my life. Great service. Cute place. No corporate vibe, and also not too «artsy» a vibe. Anyone would feel comfortable ordering here.
Cons: Four walls are too small to hold all that goodness, and there’s no way I could cram everyone I know in there to sample the wares as I’d like to do.

I like my coffee black and I’m a bit of snob about it. I will only buy coffee at the food co-​op and have been made fun of by friends and family for paying nearly $ 20 per pound. i drink it black so it needs to be good. Vero has excellent coffee. I am not sure what it is, but it was delicious (and they had ceramic mugs). i also had a blueberry muffin. Rarely do i have muffins or scones or anything like that at a coffee house as they are so calorie laden, but it was a rainy afternoon and well the thought of blueberries popping in my mouth made me happy. The muffin was good; a little under cooked, but I tend to think the batter for baked goods tastes better than the fully baked product. It could have had more blueberries, but that is my constant complaint about anything blueberry: more more more blueberries please. $ 3.75 for a coffee and homemade muffin… not bad.
I had a seat in the front window as I had a half an hour to kill before going over to eba theater. I didn’t need my book as the people watching on Lark Street, even on a raining Sunday at 6pm was amazing.

I like the location. Much needed addition to the lark street. I think the most appealing thing about this place is the interior. It is not like the regular Starbucks or any other place where the bar tender is right in front of your face trying to serve you. The coffee bar is on a lower level than the sitting floor and that gives it an unusual appearance. It is hard to ignore the beautiful artwork on display on the walls.
Fee wi-​fi is a welcome addition.
And the most interesting thing is what is outside of the place. It is on the Lark street which is like the art district or the place to go see people with different styles in Albany and the large glass window provides the perfect view of it.
I put one less start just because I think the tea is mediocre here and I am a tea drinker. Tea is good but not exceptional! I think I will be a regular at this place.

Given its location just down the street from where I live, Caffe Vero had convenience in its favor already when I first stepped in the door. But it soon proved to have the two most important qualities I value in a coffee shop: baristas who can pull a consistent espresso, and a quality, basic house coffee always on offer (my preference here is the dark roast). More than that, the atmosphere is simple, comfortable and unpretentious, creating a sense of warmth in winter that’s a great foil to the bitterness outside.
I’ve tried a few of the baked goods, and each has been very good. Prices are reasonable, and there’s free wi-​fi, although I usually bring books/​magazines/​newspapers to read — easier for me to concentrate on them if I don’t have the lure of the Internet calling! Caffe Vero is an excellent place to bring friends, as well — conversation levels are always low, and the vibe is relaxed and social.
I’m happy that Caffe Vero’s in my neighborhood, and I wouldn’t hesitate to bring to it friends or visitors to town.

It’s time for me to reevaluate my stratification of the various coffeeshops in Albany, because there are a few stars and a few duds and a few that want to be stars, but are total duds. So instead of preemptively giving this place five stars, like I have with other places and have been sorely mistaken, I will give Caffe Vero four stars, and let them work their way up.
I like this place. I actually like it a lot. And I’m surprised at myself. Maybe it’s the pessimist in me, but I actually convinced myself at one point that I would only hate every coffee joint that Albany threw my way because it was inherently inferior. While I’m finding that good coffee really is hard to come by in this town, it doesn’t mean that I should lose all hope, and Vero has me seeing the light (I think).
While I’m admittedly one of the WORST coffee snobs there is – I cup, I use a French press, I know how beans are roasted, and I can tell you about flavor profiles – I’m a total wimp, and will rarely drink black coffee, and will never order straight espresso. Give me a latte, thankyouverymuch.
So my «test» when I go to a coffeeshop is to make me a nonfat latte. I feel like you can taste coffee flaws more easily with nonfat milk, since there isn’t as much creaminess to cover it up. No sugar, either.
How did Caffe Vero stand up? Better than Uncommon Grounds. Better than Daily Grind. Better than Professor Java’s. Better than Ultraviolet (but I still love that cocoa, thanks!). And… better than Hudson River. Dang.
There’s more than one variable here, though. Taste was excellent. Espresso was pulled nicely, and the coffeebar is actually set up like a legit coffee bar. With nice and professional cups. And baby spoons. If you subtract the corny coffee photographs and replaced it with local art, this would fit in just fine in Portland. They also do latte art. It’s nothing to write home about, and I’ve actually seen nicer, but I doubt you will find any other place in Albany that will do (a) latte art, and (b) double ristrettos.
Best part is they don’t pretend to be something they’re not. They have a fair selection of pastries and sweet munchies, but they are not trying to be a restaurant. It is so refreshing to find a place that seems to take the coffee as seriously as I do.
Warm, inviting (yet not looking like a dorm room), and delightful. I will definitely be back, and I’m looking forward to giving them that extra star.

I guess I’m hard to please. When I order a cappuccino, I expect to get something that is ¹⁄₃ espresso, ¹⁄₃ steamed milk and ¹⁄₃ foam. This doesn’t appear to exist in Albany anymore.
So let’s talk about why I won’t be going back to Caffe Vero, shall we?
I handed the barista my travel mug and he didn’t know what to do with it. I had to explain to him that I wanted him to treat it like the paper cup I didn’t want. That he didn’t have to brew the espresso into it or steam the milk in it. He didn’t seem to get it and spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to fit it on the espresso machine.
He poured the espresso and steamed the milk with no foam at all. None. That’s not even the right way to make a latte. He refused to answer my questions about the baked goods in the case and about the bagged coffee, which I would have bought if he hadn’t been so douchey about having to (*gasp*) make me a coffee.
I’m not sure what bothers me more — the fact that this is being promoted and reviewed as an excellent specialty coffee shop or that no cafes bother to train their employees on how to make specialty coffee drinks anymore.

This could be the 5* coffee joint I’ve been looking for in Albany. But they still need to earn their stripes. Fear not, for I am in love with this place, and they will have plenty of opportunities to prove themselves.
When I first saw the notation on the menu board I almost couldn’t believe I was in Albany.
ALL ESPRESSO DRINKS ARE MADE WITH DOUBLE RISTRETTOS
Most baristas will stare and look at you blankly if you ask them if they can pull you a double ristretto. In short, it’s a concentrated shot of espresso that occupies the same volume as a standard shot. And I’ve missed them terribly in the past few years I’ve been here.
The other thing I love about this place is that they set the bar high.
By that I mean the walls are painted a rich and warm cappuccino brown. And from the walls hang gorgeous photographs of latte art. There is also a simply pornographic shot of crema being forced through a filter basket. It’s stunning.
I’m not quite so sure they have quite achieved the standard that they have set. But somebody there knows what a good cappuccino looks like, and if they can get, train and retain the right staff, this could be the best espresso within 50 miles of Albany.