Caribou Coffee

Had some time to kill on a Saturday morning and spent a half your reading the newspaper… not too loud… not too cramped… coffee wasn’t too bitter.
Nothing memorable… or refreshing… just an average over priced coffee with average tables and an average staff.

This is one of my favorite Caribou Coffees. All Caribous have better coffee than Starbucks (too bitter) and Dunkin (too bland). This particular Caribou is always clean, there are plenty of comfortable spots to sit and the staff is very friendly. What really sets it apart for me, however, is the DRIVE THRU!!! I know that’s a lot of exclamation points but that’s how much I appreciate being able to grab a caffeine fix without getting out of my car.

Confusing menu, less then OK coffee and over priced! I spent 10 minutes trying to figure out how to order a coffee at this place. Total waste of my time because the coffee was horrible. I wasted $ 4 and 10 minutes of my time. The whole light/​dark thing confused the hell out of me and I ended up with I think a white chocolate iced coffee, maybe?!? I wouldn’t have minded it, if it was tasty, it wasn’t!!! I’ll stick with Starbucks and DD, lesson learned!!!

The staff was very friendly an nice to talk to. They were patient with my friend and I in making our decisions. The place is a bit loud, but that’s just because it was a popular place that night. I will for sure be returning for coffee and to say hello!

I meet clients here all the time and love the atmosphere and friendly barristas. I do have to say the pumpkin spice latte is 2^nd to Starbucks…

Back in the day when coffee houses were a 2 horse race Caribou felt like the more modest and «local» of the two major chains being offered. While Starbuck’s has made a point to at least maintain its quality — or lack thereof depending on who is asked — the N.O. location of Caribou has taken a turn for the worse.
The coffee is still slightly above getting a McCafe, or a cup of Joe from Burger King, there’s nothing about it that makes me excited about it.
The food offerings are at best an after thought. Sandwiches and some pastries are available, but are almost treated as more of an afterthought/​impule buy for the customers.
While the staff is usually very friendly I’m not sure how knowledgeable they are here. Not that I’m expecting them to know what side of the mountain the coffee beans they serve are grown up, but at least be able to answer some basic questions about it.

Last night, I went into this Caribou because I had a sweet tooth.
My first impression: WOW, this guy at the register has shoulder length hair, and it’s down. Should’ve persuaded me to walk away, but I didn’t think about it.
Told the barista my order, twice, while he was ringing it up, because he couldn’t seem to wrap his mind around it.
I ordered: a medium soy, no whip milk chocolate, hot chocolate. A white chocolate blackberry scone. And a dark chocolate cookie (that wasn’t all for me).
I had to specify that it was soy twice (darn lactose intolerance) because he repeated it back as a «medium hot chocolate».
And now begins the wait…
and wait…
All while a car had been sitting at the drive thru window, obviously playing the waiting game as well.
Finally, the man at the drive thru is served, and the barista that had rang me up turns back to me and says «I’m so sorry, I completely forgot about you.» So he retrieves our pastries, hands them to us (after asking what they were again), and proceeds to make my drink.
I tell him what it was again. Medium soy, no whip, milk chocolate, hot chocolate. I do realize this is not a simple beverage order, but if it’s too complex, perhaps they should have a very basic menu.
Anyways, I’m handed a drink, and he repeats back to me «medium soy no whip milk chocolate mocha».
Mocha? I ordered a hot chocolate. «Oh no, I definitely didn’t put espresso in it, it’s a hot chocolate.» Okay, so I leave.
Well, the drink turned out to be a hot chocolate. Soy, no whip. But it was dark chocolate. And even with sugar added to it after the drive home, I was still unable to drink it. So much for the $ 4 I just wasted.
Caribou used to be a great place. I hope it’s just this location that’s gone down.

The coffee is pretty good, nothing fantastic. The food is very mediocre. But the staff is friendly and the WiFi is fast. The seating is comfortable.

It’s been a minute since I’ve patronized a Caribou Coffee joint. Sadly, I don’t remember Caribou sucking so much.
Their service wasn’t terrible. They were especially friendly and chipper on a rainy, dreary Friday morning. I’ll give them 2 stars for that.
I came for a tasty caffeinated beverage and they failed in that department. The beverage was certainly caffeinated. However, it was NOT tasty. Foolishly, I wanted to add some spice to my life so I ordered a ‘pumpkin latte’. It tasted like some pumpkin pie spice had just been thrown into a few shots of espresso. No real pumpkin flavor. I couldn’t even drink it. And it cost me more than $ 5. I’ve had the Starbucks pumpkin option recently and it was MUCH more enjoyable!
I rarely grab coffee in the morning as I usually brew my own. However, this morning I was unusually pressed for time and found myself in North Olmsted early on a Friday morning. Silly me! Next time, I“ll skip the chain options and go local.

Their service has reached the bottom of the pits and I’ve been coming here for 6 years. Caribou N. O store you lost a loyal customer