Riverside Roastery & Espresso

Food comes out fast. Delicious. WiFi connection is good. Bathroom is clean. Temperature is right (a little bit cold but not as cold as starbucks) Love working here :)

One of my favorite coffeeshops in the area! There is ample seating, the music they play is just the right volume, the food is delish, the coffee is great, the WiFi works well, and the bathrooms are clean. What more can you ask for?
I have only tried their coffee (hot/​iced) and their chai tea — you can’t go wrong there. A word of caution though… the drinks tend to be served rather hot, so don’t sip so soon! The plus side is, even after 30 minutes, you’ll have a warm cup of joe.
I don’t usually go here to eat, but the one time I did, I tried their bulgogi panini, and it was amazing! The meat was tender, sweet with a hint of heat, and piled on between two sturdy pieces of bread with lettuce and tomato = perfection. Excited for my next visit so that I can try that sandwich again :)
If you are looking for a nice spot to take a break between running errands, want a comfy place to chill with a good book, or gather with friends, Riverside is a great choice!

Neat little coffee shop and sandwich spot, where my customer likes to get lunch and have whatever the special is. Today’s, a chicken breast and blue cheese sandwich that I found quite tasty on a farm-​style white bread with veggies. Yum.
They have a cooler with a few bottles and cans of soda/​water/​juice but no soda fountain that I could spot.
They do have a free wifi and it looks like a good place to hang out, get some laptop work done or maybe have an informal business meetup.

I work very close from this café so I’ve been able to try a large portion of their menu. My favorites are the Grilled Chipotle Chicken Panini and the Riverside Club Sandwich. I’ve asked for substitutions on their sandwiches and received my order without any issues. We’ll also make multiple orders for pick-​up from my office and haven’t had issues with that. They usually have a nice variety of coffee during the mornings, and it’s priced well. They also offer a wide variety of bagels and spread. The place is clean and cozy, and the owners are always very nice. I’m only giving it 4 stars bc I once had to wait for more than 5 minutes for a breakfast item. They also give out free granola bars every now and then.

Love the rich fluffy milk of the coffee it’s taste strong but yet not so bitter and that’s how I like my coffee I’m sure going to come back to try the sandwiches

I just found out about this place and i’ve been living in Columbia for almost a decade now! I can’t count how many time I visited this place in the last week. I really enjoy the triple Mocha and Green Tea blender drink. I also just tried the Wild Berry flavored energy drink today and it was fantastic! The Lox on everytging bagel is another great choice. Friendly staff and a great place to relax/​study.

Not a fan of their coffee. Having moved here from Seattle, I may be biased… But I think I confused the barista when I asked for a shot of Irish cream, and she stated they only have milk and soy.

It took me quite some time to know about this place and they’ve been around for a long time. They have an amazing chicken chipotle sandwich to die for. Love! They are great for small meeting or meet ups. Very clean and cozy.

I wanted to update my review as I’m now a regular here :) I’ve sampled a large portion of the menu at his point and I’ve never been disappointed. I’m a huge fan of the sweet beef Korean bbq platter. Their fresh, made-​to-​order drinks are always delicious and for both sandwiches and drinks, you get a punch card! After so many punches, you get a free lunch. The owners are so nice and friendly and always ask how I’m doing. It’s so comforting to have a local business remember you and treat you like family.

5 star! *****
I brought my cute niece here! She got turkey club wrap, her wrap was ready within 2 min! It is a family restaurant owned by nice korean family, they also gave us free nutrition bar! Very clean please n friendly service! I love to support family owned small businesses!

I pretty much live here after a hard workout. Their coffee is good, reasonably priced and I always find something to eat, at any time. I love their breakfast sandwiches, and their mozzarella paninis and veggie wraps, or just grabbing a protein bar. And maybe their muffins are awesome too.

Not a great café. The Korean owner «tried» to over charge me for my coffee. Claimed there was $ 1, in tax on a $ 2.80 coffee, can’t make this up! Apparently he thinks Americans are fools he can over charge.
There aren’t enough independent places around this area and the Starbucks have crappy wifi. The only thing good are the comfy arm chairs and that its relatively quiet. The espresso was over roasted.

This is a truly lovely family-​owned business. I’ve come here for pre-​work breakfast numerous times. The service is excellent, they’re fast and polite.
The Good: Their mochas (iced or hot) are delicious. I always get a triple, and it helps me power through the day.
The Bad: The eggs for their breakfast sandwiches are egg-​beaters prepared in the microwave (only way to do it quickly and have them look like they do) and can smell/​taste kinda funky. I’m a little persnickety when it comes to breakfast, especially my eggs. Also: the croissants are from Costco. Don’t get me wrong, they’re delicious, but be aware that’s what you’re getting.
In the end, I’m happy to support a small family business, but the quality of their ingredients could be a bit higher.

I was happy at first, but lots of small things added up to equal a negative experience. They overcharged me by 10 – 15 cents per drink until I pointed out those were not the posted prices. The espresso based drinks are nothing to write home about (watery, most likely because their grind looks too coarse), and incorrectly steamed in some cases. The music is angsty rather than just mood or upbeat. The décor isn’t bad, I could come to like that. The toasted bagels are not toasted, they are slapped into a panini maker for a few seconds and come out slightly browned but not at all firm. The hummus is from a big store-​bought bucket and lacking both flavor and texture.
I’m normally nota harsh reviewer, but I was really hopeful from the prior reviews that this could become my coffee hangout. Sadly that’s not happening, there were just too many disappointments.

After one visit, I’m not really convinced this will be on my regular itinerary. I’ll have to give it another shot.
My espresso was served without crema. Just a plain dark black liquid…
Our breakfast sandwiches were decent and certainly superior to any fast food you might contemplate.
Stay tuned. I’ll have to try this again on another day.

I would put this in the cozy, warm category. Owned by a Korean couple, it has a WIDE selection of coffee including some specials, as well as typical café food. I liked the bulgogi tacos; either sweet beef or chili are good. The best part is that there’s outlets, free-​wifi, and you can just hang out there for hours undisturbed and transition between food, snacks, and drinks at any time. Definitely more of a quiet, contemplative atmosphere.

I stopped by here this morning with my coworker for my morning cup of joe. The first thing that I noticed whenever I entered Riverside was the large number of coffee bins that they had behind their counter. Besides that they also had a decent seating area and an area with some healthier snacks. However what I didn’t notice was a coffee roaster which their name on Unilocal implied that they would have. Of course it may have been in the back where I couldn’t see it and I didn’t question it. On this day I decided to go with my normal order and got a triple shot Americano while my coworker ordered some type of frappuccino. Within a short amount of time my Americano was ready and was handed over to me. We then proceeded to wait for a couple more minutes while my coworker’s drink was made in the blender and artfully poured into the cup. I say artfully poured because the chocolate syrup that was in his cup made a nice pattern and it looked really cool. Whenever my coffee had cooled down enough for my try it I found it to be smooth and strong, just the way I like it!
The bottom line for me is that I would come back here again in the future. Service was quick and efficient and my coffee was strong and nice tasting!

Comfy chairs to lounge in while sending endless amounts of emails: check
Solid job on the Caesar salad: check
Decaf coffee still hot in the afternoon: check
Free wifi that actually works: check
Friendly, smiling owner to take my order: check
Menu items I’d love to try next time: Check, check, check!

Went to the spa, didn’t have my morning cup o joe, and was hongreh… checked out the Unilocal app for options and this sounded good.
Located in a random unassuming shopping center, no you really can’t see it from the road. I believe the signage says Riverside Coffee, rather than Roastery and Espresso.
The interior is pretty chill, lots of tables and nifty comfy chairs to relax on. Although, I was slightly confused walking in as I felt like I was in the 80s, the choice of music was interesting. Bön Jovi, anyone? LOL. I’m not sure how you would study or relax with that on…
There is a small bar closest to the entrance with stools and about two tables for outdoor seating. They appear to have bakery items; bagels, muffins and such, a cool selection of coffee and espresso. In an effort to satiate my hunger I decided to try the breakfast wrap, which has egg, cheese, bacon, sausage, avocado, and spinach. It looked hella awesome in the picture and came out looking the same way in real life. he he he.
I tried the pumpkin spice mocha for my caffeine fix.
I was pleased with the pumpkin mocha as I knew that you just couldn’t go wrong with pumpkin and chocolate. Yum! I totally dug it. Unfortunately I did not feel the same about my wrap. Despite its looks it didn’t taste like much. There was not a tidbit of seasoning; although the addition of some salt and pepper helped. The spinach was raw, the bitterness totally took away from the rest of the wrap. I had to remove it.
All in all this seems to be a pretty chill place, I’m not sure if I’d go out of my way to come back, but I would totally stop through if I was in the area.

BLT = YESSSSS!
Clam Chowder = Noooooooo :/​
Starting on the high note, the BLT here is tops: packed high with the B, the L, and the T, this sammich is not some lightweight «I didn’t want a real sandwich, so I just copped this sandwich» sammich. It’s the real deal with a pickle and chips to boot. Perfectly toasted and ready to go, you won’t have a complaint in the world.
You will, however, have a complaint or eight for the Clam Chowder, which is watery and thin, flavorless, and seriously lacking on the clam. No me gusta, mi amigos! Seriously sucky.
Why a four-​star rating then? Because the BLT was really that bomb and the café itself is super cute and cozy. There is also a very robust breakfast and lunch menu, so you aren’t hurting for options. While I can’t recommend the clam chowder, it’s not like you don’t have a ton of other options to pick from, I just picked wrong.
Next time I need a place in Columbia to set up shop and work a little bit, Riverside will definitely be it. A cute little find I am glad I found! Even grabbed a cheese cake slice and huge fruit salad to go. YUM!