Go or Go Not, They Didn’t Try
Bella39, a brand new restaurant and ‘coffee shop’ on W 39th St was originally slated to open down in the River Market, right next door to Eljay’s. Their main thrust is local, fresh food, trying to be all eco-friendly. Farmers markets and whatnot. When they were planning on opening on Delaware St, the coffee shop was not a part of the concept, they were right next door to one. It should be no surprise then, that this morning, they continued to treat the coffee as an afterthought.
Do not let what I say next affect your perception of their food or juice drinks, which I’m sure are supurb. After all, InkKC said Bella’s watermelon sippers are awesome, and their menu looks quite respectable.
Where do I start my laundry list of complaints? They claim to open at 7:30, I had to stand outside the door till 7:50, staring down the barista. When they finally let me in, they were worried I was going to order something other than drip coffee, be it a gourmet coffee or any breakfast item. Forbid that I should want to buy something tasty from them! When the barista went to make my mocha, it turns out there is just one size of coffee: small. This small thing was barely warmer than room temperature, the espresso didn’t have any kick, the flavor of the bev was closer to a weak cappuccino than a mocha, and I was done drinking it nearly before I started. She indicated at one point that we might have some pastries coming out soon that I could order. 20 minutes later, still no pastries in sight. No barista in sight, either. I wanted to pay and leave, but even that was a chore. And the final kick? This little cup cost me $4.32 (plus unwarranted tip).
Feeling entirely bereft of my pleasant coffee start to the day, I decided to apply an acid test to this bad experience. I went and had a McDonalds Mocha.  I was fully expecting Bella’s coffee to compare unfavorably to McDonalds’, but today they both had an equal level of unsavoriness. In different ways, mind you, but at least now I had a real dose of espresso in me.
Don’t get me wrong: I’ll go back and try their dinner some time. But I will not count this amongst the coffee shops worth visiting on W 39th. There are already 2 worth visiting, no need to add this one.
July 18th, 2008 at 10:54 am
This place has great food, but they need to figure out when they are open. You can ask three different people there and get three different answers as it pertains to their hours.