Salt Lake Coffee Break

I love this place--mostly because it's open at least two hours later than its counterparts and I can work here long enough to complete a project, but partly because of the ownership's willingness to hang local art and notifications (posters) on its walls and partly because of the warm ambience of wood tables and red and yellow walls. I do wish that when very courteous and *appreciated* patrons turn in whatever I have accidentally left or dropped (as happens to me way too often), the staff would keep it (in this case, a pack of cigarettes) at the counter instead of throwing it or giving it away or something. But (sigh) where else can I work with the energy of bustling people around me (fighting lethargy) and rarely know the languages filling the house (i.e., backgrounding the place with musicality instead of tempting me to listen in, against my better will, on conversations)? more

I just gave Salt Lake Coffee Break a 'Recommend' at Citysearch more

I like everything about this place, and no one has ever been rude to me, but there are just too many damn people!!! and every time I go in I dont get any work done cause people are constantly staring!!! but great coffee great food, the owners are great... people of utah change your attitude! more

This place has really declined! I started going to Salt Lake Coffee Break about two years ago. The first time I went was pretty nice except the prices were rather high and the bathroom was gross. I noticed there are a lot of people here trying to get noticed but I suppose that's the same with any coffee shop. Every time I went there after though, it got a little worse. And tonight was the worst time of all. (March 12th 2011) First of all, it seems like the prices are raised .50¢ every time I go. That's insane. Coffee, especially the coffee I get, is not that expensive to make. 2nd, how difficult is it to hire a part time janitor that cleans the bathrooms? Just cleans the bathrooms. They always smell HORRID. And finally, the EXTREMELY rude staff. I was waiting in line for a moment, then ordered what I wanted. I always make sure to bring friends to local businesses to boost business. Even if I have to pay myself, I make sure that everyone I bring orders at least one thing. I ordered a Chai tea and turned to my friend who was thinking what he wanted. The woman behind the counter was VERY rude and began to rush us. My friend then turned to his friend and asked what she wanted. When she attempted to order, the woman practically ignored her. And finally, when we turned to our last friend to order she started helping someone else. Once again we tried to order and she had an attitude, asking us if we had ordered yet. I dismissed this, simply chalking it up to a late night shift and a grouchy staff but later on, when I asked for a sandwich, that was sitting right behind the glass mind you (Several pre made sandwiches were) I was told the kitchen was closed and she refused me service. VERY rude red headed female. Because of this, I will NEVER go back. They can keep their mediocre drinks and rude staff, I'm not interested anymore. Thank you very much. more

The mens restroom could use some upkeep. A hook to hang your coat would be most helpful. more

So I been wanting to do this for a long time but I have been putting this off for a long time but Now I think it is time that I speak out about Salt Lake Coffee Break and it's owner Mahmoud this man has no respect for his customers or the people that work for him he is one of the most horrible and worst owners I have ever seen he makes a bad atmosphere for his coffee shop and not to say the coffee there is not good at all and it is way over priced you can make better coffee at home. I will be updating this Review at a later time so keep your eyes open for it and I do ask that you speak out if you have been there and seen some of the horrible behavior that the owner MAHMOUD has showmen Thank You for you time. Pros: there are no pros sorry Cons: worst owner ever more

I have been putting off writing a review in hopes that things might actually improve at the Break, but alas, I was being way too optimistic. I noticed all the recent reviews have been negative and the best reviews were from 6 years ago. What is up with that? \r \r Anyhow, I have lived and worked in the area since 2004, and have always enjoyed stopping into the Break. Today's adventure to the Break prompted me to write a review. I've had better coffee at Maverick, and I've had better service just about everywhere. The female barista working today is just so unfriendly and makes me want to NEVER spend my money there again. In the past, I've had baristas roll their eyes at me for a 50 cent tip (I only get brewed coffee). Today, I said hello, she said nothing, I asked for a Guatemalan, large, she asked if I wanted ice. You get the picture. Again, this time a 75 cent tip because I was in a generally good mood. Again, no thank you, nothing. If the staff working at the Break are so miserable, please take your misery somewhere else where I don't have to see it. With economic problems in this country, and spending $2 or more on coffee, I am no longer in the mood to tip unfriendly, un-motivated, and cranky baristas. That goes for anybody else where you work behind a counter and have to put up a tip jar. If you want change in the jar, at least be nice to your customers. \r \r On the other hand, the manager/owner at the Break has generally been nice to me. On one occassion, I only had a debit card and I didn't know their machine was down. The owner printed up the receipt for me and I went back later to pay in cash. I appreciated that. \r \r Generally though, I have tried very hard to avoid the place. Pros: Location Cons: Salt Lake Coffee Break more

SLCB has a strange atmosphere. It is more like a bar, especially at night. It's a really popular coffee shop with a lot of different people, so people clearly only go there for that purpose. As the past reviews on here have stated, that's the only reason to go to SLCB. Their food and baked goods aren't exactly do die for, nor is their coffee. When I first started going here, it was because a girl who worked at night made an amazing iced green tea, but alas, she was not there for very long. I've known three different girs who have worked at SLCB (and they are all really pretty, eerily like another review) and say that they thought it would be fun to work there because they chill there all the time. Unfortunately, the owner of SLCB is not a very nice person, not even to his customers. When I used to go there, he was floating around the facility a lot, and always gave me dirty looks. I'm not sure why he doesn't like me, I'm a pretty mild-mannered person. Finally one evening, I used the men's washroom because they are single locking ones, and naturally the women's had a line. When I came out the owner kicked me out for it. I can understand doing that to a man who used the women's, but why kick out a loyal customer who actually went willingly into your filthy man's washroom, when I really really had to go? I worked at the Subway across the street for a while, and one day he came in with a friend, he pointed at me and said ""that girl always wears red!"" like it was a bad thing. He comes in every once in the while, and is always a terrible customer. I don't understand why he treats his clientele so distastefully; after all, we are the ones paying for the clothes on his back. People say writing bad reviews is slander, but I think it's more of a public service announcement to take your business somewhere else! I go to Alchemy Coffee in Sugarhouse now, it has a more ""cozy"" atmosphere, and they make an awesome chai. Pros: Fun atmosphere Cons: Everything else more

First, Salt Lake City Coffee Break has the worst owner. He is rude to everyone that comes in, and has stereotypes for who is allowed in HIS coffee shop. The dude needs to go home and chill, he needs to hire a manager to do the job he isn't cut out for. He has a habit of kicking out kids; and yes some of them need to go, but a few I have seen go there for years he is finally kicking out for no reason at all. (Jon ??????)\r \r He pays his workers minimum wage and they work their tales off for him, while he just yells at them. He fires workers for no reason, and has a tendency to hire only girls he thinks are pretty. I don't blame him that's something I would do, but I'm young. He is old and that seems a little creepy to me.\r \r Finally, Coffee Break's coffee is far from good. They serve better coffee at the local 7 eleven, there coffee is simply a joke. People don't go there for the coffee though, they go there for the enviroment. It seems that that will slowly perish as well, with the owner kicking everyone out. Eventually his stereotype of people will grown and less people will end up at coffee break.\r \r Mammud needs to loosen up, treat his employees better, leave his shop once in awhile, Stop being such a creeper, and stop buying the costco coffee that you get in bulk!!! Pros: good location Cons: OWNER, COFFEE, Everything besides location more

This coffee shop gets too much hype for its quality. I think there are much better places to get coffee in Salt Lake City that don't have such an intense presence of hipsters and smokers. They have horrible bakery items. Pros: Service and Value Cons: Bakery items, atmosphere, coffee more

Salt Lake City tends to be a city that officially closes early, but the Salt Lake Coffee Break is often open to 2 or 3 am. Free wireless internet access. A broad range of people and languages. But admittedly, most of the time, you can make better coffee at home. Their food is much better than their coffee. Pros: Open late. Cons: Coffee isn't that good. more

I have been here on and off for the past few years. And this place is going downhill. The employees are not trained well and are rude. The owner must clearly not care about his business as his customer service is absolutely horrible. The coffee is overpriced and consistently tastes burned. You'd think, even if your product isn't good, you'd try to make up for it in customer service/atmostphere. There literally are very few positives abou this place. Don't waste your time... Salt Lake Roasting Company or Starbucks will leave with with a much happier attitude. Pros: Interesting crowd Cons: Coffee, Service, Atmosphere, Parking more

The people I meet at the place are generally friendly. But unfortunately the owner of this shop is angry & mean - in my direct first hand experience. If you observe the employees over time you'll notice one of two states with them: either aloofness, or brewing anger & unhappiness. You may wonder why this is - until you see the owner openly berate and tear down an employee. A few months ago this place threw out some gay people. There was a subsequent large protest. Then the owner apologized to the gay people. I'm not gay but I support the right of people to be who they are. In any case, even today though, you see one of two states with the employees as noted.\r \r There is also often loud music playing. If you ask that it be turned down, they always refuse. Also there are some couches in the back. Yesterday when my group moved a couch from one part of the back room to another so that more of our group could sit comfortably, the owner stormed in and angrily demanded that we move the couch back - and that we needed to instead sit on the hard school-style chairs in the corner.\r \r Maybe they don't like couches moved, but at the very least they could provide some chairs with cushions. \r \r So it's one thing after another with this place. Employees openly berated by the boss in front of customers. Disgruntled and angry employees. Overly loud blaring music that they refuse to turn down. An angry owner who storms around ordering customers around & micro-managing their actions. It all makes for a very bad & negative atmosphere.\r \r Avoid this place. Don't give the owner any money. Bad business is bad business. And an angry owners drive people away. I've had enough with this place. \r \r I may meet some of my friends there in the future, but not one dime is going to pass out of my wallet into the register of this place - not ever again. Pros: You could meet your friends there Cons: The unhappy employees and angry owner will drive you away though more

Coffee Break is never known for their coffee and there's a reason for that. Their coffee is BAD and the baristas apparently are NOT trained at all. I went there a couple of times with friends and the drinks were always bad. I ordered a latte once and it was so bitter I had to buy a couple shots of vanilla in it to make it more drinkable... I had to throw away the drink after all because it was so horrible.\r \r This place does open late and it has become a teen hangout. It gets very noisy at night because of all the teenagers. I won't call this place a coffee shop any more. more

Coffee Break is one of the best late night destinations in Salt Lake, though I have yet to see it be closed at any time of the day. The atmosphere is casual and easy going, its a location where you can grab your mocha and sit on one of the worn couches for hours talking. The coffee is good, not incredible but definately above average. The barristas are always friendly and helpful. The array of people that come in are a very diverse mix, which just adds to the appeal of the shop. There is alot of parking, not all of it really close by. Overall its worth it to stop in for some coffee and to take in the ambiance of the shop. more

This place is loud, overpriced, and the owners do not care about their customers. One afternoon, I was reading at the coffee shop. The employeees were playing obnoxious music really loudly. I kindly asked if they could turn down the volume. They laughed at me. One turned around and told all the other employees and they all laughed. I asked to speak with the owner. The owner came out and pretty much said, ""too bad."" He clearly does not care about business. I would never go back again and would go out of my way to tell everyone I know to stay away... Cons: Overpriced, Loud, Rude Owner/Employees more

I think that all of the diversity in SLC makes SLC what it is! Punks, Emo's, Drunks, people with all kinds of addictions are just walking around like an open book at this place it's pretty great! Another steeping stone to making the rest of the United States hate Utah less. Good Job! Food rocks, like the little Med store inthe back that puts a spin on things. It's cool, and it's open late thanks Pros: open late, diverse, coffee, food-late Cons: no dogs? more

Double espresso costs $2.75! Ouch. That's worse than New York, San Francisco, Paris and Rome. Without the atmosphere. more

As the first time I visited the states, I liked to see how citizens look like, act... So the best place I found to know all that was the sl coffee break, because the place was crowded with many people of different types. Also there were people from all around the world and they all were so friendly (even once I knew someone then we became friends and he took me in a motor ride between the canyons). And that helped me from homesickness. The whole stuff was great and cool. I wish them the best. Salam Alaykom. Pros: inexpensive more

THE ATMOSPHERE IS WONDERFUL. FULL OF INTERESTING LOOKING PEOPLE AND INTERESTING DECO. THE PATIO IS DEFINETLY THE PLACE TO BE. Pros: GOOD AMBIENCE, GOOD FOOD Cons: BAD PARKING more