Starbucks

I should say that I was really pissed off. I asked for a bag and they told me they run out of them. I went to ask to the other worker (because I kept seeing people having their snacks in paper bags) and he said:“go, pay for one”. I said to him that I already bought a meal, that I needed a paper bag to take the left over. We argued back and forth, finally he gave me a paper bag that I was desperately looking for. He understood my agony and frustration. He said he misunderstood what type of bag I needed. Regardless, they should have asked what kind of paper bag I was looking for.

I ran right in and used my gold card for a medium roast hot coffee. They will tell you a bathroom code and they have fun music and comfortable chairs. The coffee flights and brew methods expression and reserve coffees are leg able for people to read. The space seems plenty for a laptop and charge as you use the device.

Tremendously understaffed. Way too slow. 15 min wait is unacceptable. Hire more employees. The coffee is already expensive enough as it is

This particular Starbucks is a hidden gem. I know that seems hard to believe because Starbucks is Starbucks right? WRONG! In the heart of Harvard Square this place gets a TON of traffic, but what many don’t realize is you can take a trip to the second floor to experience their Starbucks Reserve. Yes, upstairs is more than just a ton of places to sit. The baristas up there are in a class of their own so don’t be afraid to ask a lot of questions.

You’re typical starbucks. Crowded, okay coffee, and fast wifi.

This is actually a pretty great Starbucks, but… it’s still Starbucks. A life-​saver in the burbs. Boring and mediocre in a place like Cambridge.
You’ll find an abundance of cushy chairs, leather couches, and trendy stools — but it’s hard to find any that are unoccupied! If you are really lucky, you’ll get one of the cozy armchairs by the window that look out on a nice view of Harvard Square. One day during the blizzard last winter I just sat and watched the snow come down and down and down out that window. It was really beautiful.
Service is fine. Food and drinks are exactly the same as every other Starbucks (that’s the point, right?).
Oh, and they finally added their own restroom! No more creepy basement bathroom!
It’ll do as a spot to work or meet a friend (if you can find space) and is a good place to rest your feet if you are a tourist looking for something familiar. But if you want something interesting, check out Darwin’s, Petsi’s Pies, or Crema.

5 stars for the awesome new Starbucks Reserve upstairs. You can order from a small menu of drinks and food, or you can order from the regular Starbucks downstairs and come upstairs for a cozy spot to study. If you order upstairs, it may take a bit longer to make your drink, but they bring it to wherever you’re sitting and serve it in really nice cups. They also have Starbucks Reserve to-​go cups that are very luxurious and mysterious looking – black with a gold star and an R – if you’re into having a fancy cup in your hands. I didn’t think I was until I saw these cups.
Excellent study vibe music playing, pretty good lighting in most spots, and lots of outlets at the tables, although not at every table. They even have wireless charging stations for your phones.
And, most people are there to study, so there aren’t too many distracting chats going on. Great spot to get lots of work done and enjoy the view out the window looking into Harvard Square.

Awful, always at least 25 people in line and although there’s at least 5 people working, there’s only 1 behind a registered and 2 making coffee (sometimes 1) while the others arrange cookies and hover around behind the counter. You could stand in line for 20 minutes and not even make it halfway. I’m no anti Starbucks person, love the cinnamon dolce and the new toasted graham but this one needs a remodel in its service department.

This place is the pits if you get the wrong servers.
Today, I placed an order with a gentleman who a) refused to answer any of my questions (e.g. «what is the most basic iced tea you have?» «I don’t know,» b) walked away mid-​order taking three times to joke with the girl at the next register, c) had to ask me what I wanted again after each time he stepped away, acting as if it was the first time we were speaking (i.e. «hello, can I help you?»). When he put my order in for a shaken iced tea, I got an iced tea… without the ice… and no shakin’. I asked for the shaken iced tea and the girl put in a few cubes of ice. I had also asked for a water at the counter, and when it didn’t come out, I asked the barista who was calling out the drinks. She said she didn’t have it, and I could «wait in line again to get it.» What?! After calling out how ridiculous that was, she rudely said she could get me the water if it was «that big of a deal.» Wow. No thanks.
Every other time people here have been super nice, and it’s clean. But seriously, these two baristas are a joke.

I was highly impressed with how well-​kept this location was, despite its convenient location next to Harvard.
The foot traffic in this store is insane so you’d think the lobby would be trashed, but not once did I see the café attendant or customer support partner let it get out of control. The impulse item baskets were constantly being filled and the partners themselves were friendly.
The decorations and interior design was definitely a sight for sore eyes (since many Starbucks locations are rather uninspired and exude a sort of corporate homogeneity). The walls behind the first floor bar house little coffee trinkets that bring out a sort of authenticity about the store, and the walls near the hand-​off plane are lined with coffee bean sacks. That’s creative and refreshing.
Upstairs is even more… um, «posh» would be the word. There is ample seating, and the areas closest to the windows all have a large wooden area to sit on top of, very reminiscent of college campus concrete hang-​out areas. The Reserve bar upstairs is very cool, and keeps the coffee atmosphere alive and well in an area dominated by seating.
Given the opportunity, I’d definitely return to this location — slow or busy — just for the experience.

Horrible service!
Waited 15 minutes to order… one of the employees was re-​sticking mugs instead of serving customers.
I figured I would write a review as I wait since there’s free wifi!

This place can really get popping. It has a really nice upstairs lounge area with a good amount of seating. The service is okay, but during peak hours is pretty slow. It’s a pretty solid place to relax or to have a meeting.

Pros: Great atmosphere, good lighting and lots of seating upstairs, definitely appreciate the noise of the blender being contained to downstairs. Great place to go and study with plenty of outlets.
Cons: The bathrooms are in the basement, and you need an access code to get down there. –1 star.

This is by far the biggest Starbucks store I ever been to. The store have two floors, an elevator, located in the middle of Harvard Sq. with great wifi and services. The store could be crowded with students and homeless people at time. The music suck here and on someday they have a lives band playing on the second floor. Which I think is ridiculous since most of their customer are students. There are people with books and laptop trying to study and the noise are so loud that you couldn’t hardly hear what the other person saying.

Awful experience yesterday Sunday March 1, 2015 @ 4:30PM from Gabe.
I came in with a friend and we ordered four drinks for ourselves and some co-​workers. My friend did all the ordering since he had the list and I was right next to him. Gabe never let him finish telling him any drinks. «Tall green tea lat» and Gabe would say «Okay next»? My friend would reply, «May I have that with soy milk please?» and Gabe didn’t say anything… just asked him what was next. After completing our order, we had 3 canned doubleshot expressos so my friend asked for a bag and sure enough Gabe didn’t say anything but threw a bag at him. Didn’t fluff that bag up or anything. I’m sure the customer ahead of us gave him a hard time but don’t treat the next customers with disrespect just because you are having a bad day.
When we picked up our drink, one of the order was wrong and the bartender asked us if we asked for this or the cashier made a mistake. The bartender with the necklace made it seem like it was our fault because the wrong order was punched in when we asked him if he could remake it politely. The only cheerful person we encountered was the tall guy with the tattoo on his arm. He was super friendly and assisted us with the cup tray.
–4 Stars for Gabes rudeness
–2 Stars for the bartender rudeness
+2 Stars for the friendly guy that helped us
CHK # 716 670
Thanks Gabe! We’ll never visit you again!

At the cost of being opened later than other coffee shops at Harvard Square, I think its a relatively decent place to go to.
You shouldn’t really be going to Starbucks for coffee, you should be doing work and leeching off their wifi. You shouldn’t be expecting service, considering its a tourist hotspot, but if you go upstairs, theres a small counter if you don’t want to wait for the line downstairs.
Overall, I think this Starbucks has done its part: its a nice place to sit down, though it does get pretty hectic at times especially during the winter.

This Starbucks is located in the dead center of Harvard Square so it’s always jam packed with students, visitors, and Cambridge residents.
Overall I would have to say I am not impressed with the service at this Starbucks. You gotta have the patience to wait in line to order and another 5 minutes or so for your drink.
I came here with my own Starbucks thermus. If I knew the cashier was going to give me a hard time about it, I would’ve just told her to make my coffee in a regular Starbucks cup. She had a blank face when I handed her my mug. Even after I explained to her that I want the coffee in my mug, she still looked confused. I had to tell her repeatedly that I want a skinny vanilla latte. Just a regular Starbucks drink to go. Not too complicated, right? Maybe she was new, but some greetings and a smile would have make up for the lack of experience!
Like many other Starbucks, this one has a nice interior. The old school elevator gives it a vintage vibe. Coffee is up to par to all other Starbucks. However, the poor service is a deal breaker for me.
Unless you drink specifically only Starbucks coffee, I would definitely recommend checking out local cafés like Crema Café and Algeris when you’re around Harvard Square. You’ll get some warm, friendly, and personal service for a change.

Starbucks is Starbucks is Starbucks is Starbucks. There isn’t too much variety. Their offerings are the same as anywhere else.
Downstairs is crowded (it’s mostly for to-​go orders), but they have a comfy upstairs space (which also gets crowded) where you can chill, drink your beverage, and use the (very spotty, but decent when it works) internet. Sometimes they’ll have musical acts upstairs. I don’t go to Starbucks for entertainment (except looking out into H Square or watching people take their coffee selfies) so I actually find it a bit annoying to have my study chai time interrupted by a local aspiring 20-​something musician. Sorry kid, you’ll find a better crowd somewhere where people actually want to be distracted.
The one thing I actually really like about this Starbucks is the upstairs coffee bar. They only take stay-​in orders since they’ll give you actual dishware. The fare is the same but you get to interact with the baristas (I’ll never get used to that word) who like to put their own spin on things. If you’re going to get a cream leaf design on your coffee at a Starbucks, it would be here. One of the guys has his own take on the brand’s chai which I actually prefer!

This location always has the friendliest service despite being occasionally busy. They’ve never gotten my name wrong! Which I do try to say slowly but still get funny versions at other places.
Even open on Thanksgiving 2014.

So I would give 4 stars, but this review is based largely on the unique setting/​interior of this location. Starbucks chain pastries and other edibles on the other hand would have to improve their goods a lot to get a higher rating.
I loved the row of bench seats set to the side. This isn’t your typical spatially challenged Starbucks. Though the seating and other décor is dark there are plenty of windows to let in light. With all the window seats you can gaze out at the Harvard crowd, and there’s even more seating on the second floor. If I could go back in time and have a café where I could study and hang with a bunch of study partners this would be the place!
Though there wasn’t any latte art on my hot chocolate, my drink was consistent with other Starbucks establishments. Service was efficient and I loved the location.