Escape - Lab à Café

Marc

1.0

I drove from far away to their location at 1420 Notre-Dame Ouest this afternoon, looking forward to discovering new coffees & interesting tastes.

It was the worst retail experience I've had in a long time ! First, upon arriving around 14:20 there was nobody in the'store within the store' but instead a big sign on the counter saying they were out 30 minutes to lunch (with the main Burton store lady saying she couldn't handle coffee purchases), despite the fact that advertised opening hours are from 9 am to 5 pm.

After waiting awhile eventually a young man arrived with his sandwich, saying he couldn't serve coffee as he was still on his lunch time but could still sell me bags of coffee beans !! I chose 3 different ones, & as he prepared the bill I remembered seeing on their website a big 20% off advertisement for first time purchases. So I inform him that it's my first purchase & ask him to apply the 20% reduction, & that I could sign up with my email on the website if necessary. To my surprise he answers that this doesn't apply to purchases in person, because customers are dishonest. I respond that I am certainly *not* dishonest, but rather purchasing in good faith from them for the first time, really. He keeps arguing in a very unfriendly way. In response, I inform him that in this situation I will limit my purchase to only one bag instead of three, & pay for it. Finally as I then inform him of my disappointment of how I was treated & intent to post a google review of the experience, he yells back'F*ck off !' wow !!

If the owner has security cameras I would strongly recommend reviewing the interaction & determine if this kind of customer treatment is something acceptable on the part of your employee.

Derrick

5.0

The guy who's in charge of this cafe should be promoted. He knows what he's doing, what he's using, what their coffee is all about, & exactly where he stands.

Roxana

5.0

Good speciality coffee

Saeid

5.0

Had a batch brew & it was fruity & delicious. Staff was super friendly

Joey

5.0

Arriving one rainy morning, we stumbled across a humble little shop situated inside a Burton of all places. Rows & rows of brand coffee left us reading & astonished at all the interesting profiles. Angelyna was super welcoming, showing us everything Escape was about, & introducing us to our personal favorite, a limited time watermelon co-ferment. We ended up chatting & sipping on multiple coffees, before grabbing a bag on our way out. We even came back on our last day to grab another bag for the road. An absolute gem, & new must-visit for myself whenever I'm in town. Thank you Angelyna & Escape!

Piggly

5.0

Buy one bag get one free coffee. All different variety to try! The staff he is very friendly & helpful

Ruobing

4.0

Today's experience felt a little disappointing. To be clear, we are completely okay with being told that flash brew may taste better without milk - we understand that kind of recommendation.

What didn't feel okay was assuming we couldn't understand French & then commenting to your friend, right in front of us, that adding milk was weird. If that was your opinion, you could have said it to us directly in English, or had that conversation privately after we left. Talking about customers in front of them in a language you assume they don't understand feels disrespectful.

That said, yesterday's service was perfect. My husband even said he won't drink any coffee now unless it's flash brew. Still the best coffee in Montreal by far.

Yoshino

1.0

Came in earlier in the weekend & made an attempt to get a coffee. The barista was engaged in conversation with presumably a friend, talking about their new startup idea, which was a cake in a can.

Despite trying to say hello to the barista in an attempt to order coffee, I was unsuccessful in attracting his attention, making me believe that he would soon be finished his conversation, so we waited. After waiting 5 minutes, we decided that the benefits (a coffee) didn't outweigh the negatives (waiting for an indefinite amount of time) so we left.

Perhaps my lack of aura was the issue, regardless, I think that even customers without aura should be allowed to have some coffee. Hoping this improves in the future.

JE

5.0

Friendly service & masterfully made espresso based drinks. One of our favourite coffee shops in Montreal. They know what they're doing!

Alain

5.0

Pas mal le meilleur cafe! J'adore & le service est super.