The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

Disappointing experience this morning at the Downtown East branch. Whole 1kg cheesecake ordered for pickup today for dad's birthday. The cake is clearly not fresh -- not stale, but we've had this cake before and it's definitely not like this. Cake came apart in clumps (See picture. And, yes, we did use a proper cake knife). Poor service as well -- I think they're understaffed. The staff confirmed I'd made prior payment, handed me the cake in the box to check, and just left me. When I reminded them that I needed a carrier bag and candles, the staff just handed me a plastic bag to pack the cake myself (and never came back with the candles).

As I read through the reviews, it has always been the same problem in this branch. I ordered a breakfast platter being the first day of the year 2022 at 10.25 am. It did not seem crowded compared to Yakun which had a long snaking queue. There wasn’t seats available too. But it was a mistake. The drinks came and I do agree that the froth was a bit too much? Half the cup is froth? Someone was complaining about that in their reviews.My wife said the Americano was diluted. Waiting time was definitely long. I did not get the platter until 11.05am. But after waiting for 20 mins, I checked with the girl who seemed to be preparing the food but later discovered she was not. The people in the kitchen prepare them. She said they were preparing. 5 mins later I realized no buzzer was given cos I noticed others had one. I went to the counter and asked . She said I was number 3 and how do I know…they had forgotten to give the buzzer. she went to the kitchen to check and claimed they were preparing. Finally after 40 mins the platter came. I don’t think it is worth $12.90. Do not order this. I overheard other customers telling the cashier that the last time they came, they also waited a long time. Something is very wrong at this branch. If you have a choice, avoid dining or taking away here.

Went here with a friend on Wednesday 8pm. The malay lady manager was giving us attitude since the beginning. We ordered some hot tea and she was impatiently asking what flavour we’d like. We didn’t understand her at first and she sighed, rolled her eyes and pointed to the board of flavours. While this was ongoing, her other colleagues were walking past her feeling uncomfortable, trying to avoid her. When our drinks were ready at the pickup counter, she just shoved the tray of drinks to our direction and walked away, without even saying anything. As someone from FnB, i was really disappointed with the service especially coming from someone with a higher authority. hope some action will take place and nothing like this will repeat again.

Currently, due to SMM, they have stopped playing any background music. So the ambience is a - 1. Patrons are also not allowed to study, work or use your laptop/tablet. The room is set ridiculously low so patrons wont stay for long. Nonetheless, great coffee still but i wont be coming back any time soon.