Espresso Royale

Really nothing special. The coffee and food are average, but the customer service isn't great. The music is always strange and not good to study to. It's best described as edgy underground electro-pop. Everyone I know always say it's cold inside. I guess it's a better alternative to the Starbucks across the street, but there are better places to go. It's nice that they have daily specials though, and they offer a punch card.

I was excited for something not Starbucks. The coffee and scone was great. The bourbon barrel blend blew my mind. The setting and atmosphere is interesting to say the least. It has that grunge coffee shop vibe to it, but the music is out there. Also the customer service is meh. I don’t know if the barista was having a bad day but they barely spoke to my party and just kind of tossed everything around. The one on the other side of state was much better.

It is what it is, I guess. To its credit, it has a convenient location for campus folk, its bakery is OK if a little too sweet, and its ambiance is decent. Nice place to sit and sip up front by the window. It is open until midnight, which is good for the study crowd. Really reasonable specials and coupons. And, pro tip, almost everyone who complains about bad service is a bad customer. I've always encountered nice folks at Espresso Royale. However, this coffee is straight-up terrible. Just REALLY bad. If you can somehow get a rancid taste out of a latte, I don't want to know what this espresso tastes like. The drip coffee is generally stale and the roaster is not doing them any favors. Espresso grounds just sit for an indeterminate amount of time here, a very bad sign. Previous reviewers' observation about filthy grinders with rancidifying coffee oil is generally correct. I'm sure it's fine for someone who doesn't care what the coffee tastes like (no shame! not everyone is into everything), but if you're an avid coffee drinker who loves the stuff, you want to be far away from this place. Or just get tea. Another con is spotty WiFi and very small tables. It's fine for getting work done on your own or sitting yourself for awhile but there's no place for more than one person to do work or more than two people to sit together without moving around a bunch of tiny, bistro-style tables and chairs. Warning, either a plus or a minus depending on who you are: the iced sizes are different than the hot and the large seems to be damn near a half a gallon. Prepare your stomach for a flood if you're goin' large.