Peet’s Coffee & Tea

This use to be my favorite place for coffee and treat. BUT recently there has been such a big turnover (especially in the barista area) that the coffee/​latte are not made the same way. Since you are paying close to $ 4/​drink you want your drink to be made right. Too bad I use to love this place!

They were so nice! I forgot my wallet and they paid for my coffee and bagel. I plan on paying them back, but yea it just made my day. Ya know? Yaaa knowwww? 5 out 5 stars for being decent fucking people.

Peet’s has a nice atmosphere with lots of windows and light. There is a lot of space, but not a ton of seating and there tends to be lots of people «camping out» with no coffee but plenty of electronic devices. The coffee is fine, of course, but the reason that I am only giving the store three stars is due to the toilets. It’s a co-​ed toilet and is really, really filthy. It smells like urine (i.e. you can tell men are peeing on the floor), the towel dispenser is broken, there is visible dirt on the floor, soap is splattered all over the wall, and… well…the urine smell is just overwhelming. The restroom needs consistent hourly attention and brings down the otherwise perfectly nice surrounding of this particular Peet’s.

Peet’s is a superior alternative to Starbucks, though the gap has closed somewhat in recent years. The espresso is definitely a lot better, though it doesn’t take much to achieve that. Their roasts are all very dark. This particular Peet’s is very spacious, though it has the tendency to fill up anyway. I was here every day as an undergraduate, and I’m glad to see it hasn’t changed much. Food is not very good, especially given the many good options nearby.

Service was good but can’t say that about the bagel and the café latte. Bagel was rubbery (meaning old!) and café latte was really average, didn’t taste premium, could have had Dunkin Donuts instead… yeah it was that «average», really bland. I’m happy to give a second try there and update my review if they deserve so.

Ordered a low-​fat vanilla latte and what I received was a «lukewarm» low-​fat vanilla latte. Beside the temperature of the latte being significantly off, it didn’t even taste like a vanilla latte. Give me startbucks any day!

Ugh. I could deal with this place at first, but the limited seating is a real disaster. I want to relax in a coffee shop, not to have my space invaded by someone else. very strange and uninviting store.

Dear Newton Center Peet’s,
There is much that I enjoy about you. The baristas are pleasant and the atmosphere is low-​key. The selection of teas is excellent. The cranberry pecan roll is sublime.
But, Peet’s, you are in need of a thorough cleaning! The baseboards are covered in dust and splotches of dirt, the area behind the counter, especially where the trash is bin is kept looks frighteningly filthy, the bathroom door is covered in handprints. I rarely pay attention to such matters, but this problem is really blatant. Please help!

Ordered an iced tea, and it tasted like they mixed it in a container that was used for coffee because it tasted just like coffee.
Trash on floor — not very clean. Baked goods looked whack.
Sorry — try to take a break from Starbucks and support other places although they failed to impress me.

Here’s a Thanksgiving story. Walked with our 8 week old baby and Mom and husband, into Peet’s and realized we had left our wallets home. Asked for a credit and we’d drive right back and pay but the lady at the counter unsympathetically refused saying there would be crowds later blah blah (it’s after thanksgiving and its 35 °F — crowds! Puhleeze!!) we walked kitty corner to Starbucks — and within secs they were whipping up our Chai lattes! And that’s how we will never go back to Peet’s — and live happily ever after knowing Starbucks and stellar service still live on…

Peet’s has definitely stronger coffee than Starbucks and takes their coffee more seriously. While it’s certainly not a cool third wave coffee shop and gets a lot more variety in it’s customers, you can still get a pretty decent latte here depending on who’s working.

Peet’s is Peet’s and they are usually pretty stellar as far as caffeinated beverage chains go. This Peet’s has a nice layout, and the staff are friendly. I do find that the customers at this particular location are more likely to park themselves here for several hours, and it can be tough to find a seat — but then again, I’m a perpetrator too. It’s a good place to sit and stay a while, especially when compared to other places around Newton Centre.
There is free 30 minute parking out back — note, as all the other Unilocalers mention, they are tow-​crazy; however, I’ve always experienced the tow truck drivers to come into Peets first and ask if anyone is the owner of xyz car before hooking up the rig. Don’t even THINK of the stop into Peets to grab a drink and head for an errand. If you want to do that, best just pay for parking in the main Centre lot. It’s cheap.
I’m a fan of their nice, dark roast coffee, and their iced tea — occasionally I get the matcha latte as a treat.

Stay away from Peet’s in Newton Ctr ma. If you park in their lot they will tow you. Nice way to do business. See Newton paper under
r editorials

I’ve been a loyal Peets customer since before they moved to this location many years ago. Until today, I would have recommended everything about this location to anyone who appreciates fine coffee and tea. Many of my kids’ high school friends have worked here. Today that all changed.
I parked in Peets parking lot and went in for some drinks with my son who just returned from college for spring break. We sat for half hour or so and then took a walk around the block. When we returned, my car was gone. Many parking spaces were available, as this was not a high traffic time of day. My car had been towed by Roberts Towing in Brighton. After several agitated phone calls to Peet’s landlord and Grove Properties, a trip to Brighton, and $ 137 in cash, I got my car back.
This experience is the antithesis of everything Peets is about. It’s hard not to shed some of the blame onto Peets. If they are truly serious about customer service and creating a friendly atmosphere, they would not allow this to happen in this casual situation. I can understand the need to tow people who abuse the privilege of parking in a lot, but I would not classify a 20 minute walk on a light traffic day an abuse of this privilege. A message on my windshield in this situation at a busy time of day would be appropriate. But to tow my car is abuse of power by Roberts and Peets landlord. It should not happen to a customer of Peets Coffee.

Nice, roomy coffee shop. Baked goods are tasty, coffee is good. HOWEVER: The parking lot is constantly patrol towed by an awful company named Roberts Towing (check their unbelievably bad Unilocal reviews and see for yourself).
I stopped at Peets today, ordered two drinks and a pastry for my daughter. We sat for about 15 minutes, then I walked her next door to an appointment. TWO MINUTES LATER, I returned to Peets to sip my coffee while I waited for her appointment to end. I noticed a tow truck in the lot and asked the baristas if there was a chance I could be towed. They said I was probably fine.
I went outside and, sure enough, an unbelievably rude guy from Roberts had my car hooked up and was trying to jimmy my door. I showed him my Peets cup and asked him to disconnect my car, which he did. I returned inside, and according to the baristas, the landlord of the building has a deal with the towing company, and they are constantly towing cars, whether or not they are parked illegally.
The baristas said their cars have been towed from the lot. Some said they have been damaged. Essentially, the predatory company will identify a car they want to tow, then they’ll let Peets know it’s about to happen. Peets staffers will kindly mill through the shop and warn customers that a car with license plate XXX is about to be towed. Are you in the bathroom? Tough luck for you! Did you tiptoe outside to take a phone call? Bye-​bye, car.
When I went to pull out of the lot, the Roberts guy had another car hooked up and almost ready to go, but he was blocking the only exit. I congratulated him on his business plan of towing legally parked customers and blocking their only way out by towing other customers. He thanked me for telling him how to do his (expletive) job. Pure class!
Peets staffers said they have tried to get the tow company to cease and desist, but with no luck. As much as I like the vibe and roominess at Peets, there is no way I’m going back and (a) risking that my car will be damaged or towed or (b) putting any money, however tangentially, in the pockets of the landlord or towing company.

Look, I love the coffee here, but the customer service I received last time I was in was terrible. Walked in, no one in line ahead of or after me, and two people went to take my order. Woman was cheerful, the guy had a huge chip on his shoulder — gave it to the guy anyway because he was right in front of me. Wow — smile dear, or if you don’t like your job, quit. Asked for a pumpkin latte with a variation on the milk — they’ve got 2% and skim and I asked for 1%. Any time I’ve ever asked for 1%, it’s a smile, and «sure we can do that». Instead, it was treated as a huge deal, my grumpy cashier glared at me, and the woman with him spoke to one of her friends behind the counter about me and my odd request.
I had JUST woken up. I’m usually a black coffee drinker and rarely order these latte drinks, but this request has never been a problem on the past. I asked to speak to a manager — well, the manager was the woman who was talking about me to her friend. Nice. They followed me out of the store to offer me a free drink coupon. Do you actually think I would come back?

I like Peet’s. I’ve visited both their Wellesley and Newton locations. Great, friendly and fast service. Coffee has always been good. Both locations have plenty of seating. Only complaint is they don’t have a toaster so they could not toast my bagel which was silly.

Great flavorful coffee (yes better flavor than Starbucks and Dunkin). Friendly helpful staff. Love coming here. Wish there were many more Peets scattered throughout Boston. Free WiFi. A lot of space to do work or relax. Nice choice of pastries. Great choice of tea.
Only issues for Peets are no Lunch sandwiches and difficult finding parking depending on the time of day. Their parking lot in the back is limited.
Still 5 stars from me.

Absolutely done with this place after the final negative customer service experience I had yesterday. When did it become a thing to wake up, not shower, glue your iPhone to your hand and go to work in a customer-​focused environment?
First, was overcharged for my drink. Questioned the cashier about this (nicely…) and she became flustered so I just took my receipt with the intent of following up with the manager.
Second, girl who was making said drink LICKED FOAM OFF HER HAND FROM DRINK BEFORE MINE IN THE QUEUE that had overflowed from the steam pitcher. Gross. Unsanitary. Unprofessional.
Third, girl who was helping make drinks (it was busy) was on her phone. on her phone. ON HER PHONE in between making the drinks. And these were not «I have a sick family member in the hospital & I need to keep my phone on me in case I get a call» calls. These were like, literally… social calls.
When I pay $ 5 for a coffee, I expect a good experience. It’s very frustrating when poorly trained and poorly behaved staff ruin what should be a great experience.
On a side note, I am sad to see Peets selling the k-cups…how do you maintain your commitment to freshness, and how do you rationalize the impact on the environment?

As a refugee from San Francisco, I miss awesome coffee. Blue Bottle, Philz, and of course, Peets. Luckily there are a few outposts on the east coast.
The one in Newton is a bright place with free wifi and friendly, efficient people working here. If there’s a line in the morning it’s just because it’s so popular.
What’s the piece de resistance? After the recent frankenstorm took out large chunks of the east coast, this Peets was left without power. It was the line that went down directly to the shop, so the power company gave it a pretty low priority and left them in the lurch for (literally) days. What did Peets do? They schlepped in big tanks of coffee from the Coolidge Corner store and gave out free coffee. Free coffee. Thanks for stopping by. Awesome.