I was looking forward to coming here. In spite of Covid19 restrictions preventing me from a longer stay-in experience. I used to work at a couple of the locations of Balzacs in Toronto, so I was anticipating a great cup of Coffee. Unfortunately, this location did not deliver on the quality I anticipated from Balzacs. And the response in attitude from what I picked up on of the Barista, was not impressive AT ALL. I purchased a mocha, its flavour was decent. I have nothing else to compare it to really because it was a First. I've tried mochas I've made at coffee shoppes I worked at in the past. I thought I'd give it a go. And it is not for me, at least not from Balzac's. The drink was incredibly foamy. Like 1/4 foam to 3/4 liquid. I dont know if that's the recipe at Balzacs for its mochas or if that's the industry standard for this particular drink. What I do know is I dont like paying over $6 for a light in weight, no latte art, too foamy for it's own good, 12oz mocha. I felt the weight as I went to sit down. I also ordered a Walnut and Pepper biscotti. These are absolutely amazing! I remember always eyeing them when I worked there. These biscotti are highly recommended. However are of a fair price. At 3 bucks a pop, they better be noteworthy. I sipped at the mocha. Took my biscotti and dipped it in to the thick foam, which was, as already established, A LOT! At this point, I called out to the barista who was more than 6 feet away (this is the min. Safe distance) , "is the mocha supposed to be this foamy?" Her response was, "yup". Okay, I wasn't in the arguing mood, had I been I might have told her that, "I dont believe steamed milk coffee drinks: lattes & mochas are meant to be so foamy". That "mochas are supposed to have latte art on them, that's fun, playful and creative". And that "in customer service the customer is ALWAYS right". Even when you don't feel they should be. Or even when you really don't want them to be. It's frustrating, I know; yet, that's customer service. Her tone was the thing that I am mostly complaining about though. I read it to be kinda on the snarky side. My perception, yes. It's like, by her responding with the "yup" she was not only dismissing my obviously unsatisfied with the drink question of, "is my drink supposed to be this foamy?" She was also making a statement of, "I am not going to remake it". Although I'll never know because hey, I didn't ask. Back when I worked there, the steamed milk frothed up beautifully in order for one to design latte art. No matter if it was soy or oat, or whatever. That did not happen in this case! Maybe my question or the way I said it, rubbed her the wrong way. Maybe me originally asking about what milk brand Balzacs uses (to know if it would aggravate my stomach), annoyed her. Maybe me switching to an alternative milk, pissed her off. Hey, I've been there. Maybe she was having a bad day. I dont know these things. And maybe I am being petty in writing this review. The possibilities are endless. The things this experience taught me: Request NO FOAM on all drinks that are made with steamed milk. People do have preferences and some prefer to have more foam. If I am unsatisfied with the drink ordered. Request a re-make at all times. After all I am paying for it. Reconsider spending over $6 on a first time drink experience. I will note one final thing: The reason I gave Balzacs in KW 3 stars instead of 2, is because that delivery person that came to drop off an order of whatever, while I was there, reminded me of a dear friend. read more

Balzac's Coffee Roasters - Inside the Tannary District in KW, Balzacs. - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Kitchener, Ontario

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Balzac is a beautiful cafe with locally roasted beans. The ambience is both charming and rustic at the same time. The cafe is set up to accommodate social distancing. The menu items reduced significantly due to COVID. I ordered a genuine Japanese sencha green tea with soy for $2.75. Overall, the drink was average. It was nothing to write home about. Hopefully in the future there will be more options once things become normal again. read more

Balzac's Coffee Roasters - a hand holding a coffee cup - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Kitchener, Ontario

I've always enjoyed Balzacs coffee and im glad theyve opened a location in kitchener! Same great vibes and spacious to catch up with friends or get some work done. Parking is easy too. There's only one washroom though. read more

Being new to KW it was wonderful to visit Balzac's for a mocha! I have been to several of their Toronto locations and this one is just as gorgeous. It was empty because of the pandemic so we got our coffee and went but I look forward to the post apocalypse when I can really enjoy the atmosphere and everything this location has to offer. read more

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Beautiful interior The flooring, lighting, general appearance. Staff on sat July 20 @ 1:50 pm, PERFECT. Excellent cappuccino. read more

Nice place to go if you want to take a break from work or just work in a different environment. The store is located in a beautiful building and is beautifully designed. A perk is they have a lot of dairy alternatives. My favourites are the mocha and a ccortado with macadamia nut milk. read more

A good spot for coffee and getting some work done. Our meeting work friends. Ample parking on the weekends.

Same story , teach your staff how to make a coffee. When you pay $6 for a latte you expect to be a dam good one, unfortunately is not!

Ok, the hours are bad. But everything else is great. The baristas are friendly (and attractive). The coffee is the best I've had since Cuba - this includes other Balzacs locations. Always a cool techie Tannery crowd, and usually dece music. Plus its got decor like a Parisian coffee shop. Like all their locations, Balzacs at the Tannery shines. read more

Love the espresso here... it's definitely over priced so I only treat myself to a cup once and awhile !

Sometimes life can be like a coffee bean -- you get plucked, roasted, ground up, steamed -- but, in the end, the aroma and the rich taste make the process well worth it. Balzacs is all about encapsulating that beautiful journey of a coffee bean in every cup of coffee you buy -- minus, of course, the beautiful ending. They pluck your wallet with overpriced coffee; roast your taste buds with bitter tasting burnt chalk powder that they call coffee; and you will sure as hell steam with anger. I spent $6 on an iced mocha that tasted like it was made with water from the Detroit river, did not enjoy a single sip, and got a headache that lasted 4 hours. Balzacs? More like Ballsacs (sorry that was a low hanging fruit...pun obviously unintended) read more

This is a wonderful, cozy little coffee shop with high ceilings and an interesting interior decor which is unique to the location - who knew exposed piping could be so endearing? The coffee is delicious and although they do not have food beyond snacks, the snacks they do have are great and tasty. Service is great here and I've never had a poor experience! read more

Great coffee, treats and atmosphere. Lots of selection. Friendly and helpful staff. Good location downtown Kitchener, with ample parking. Feels like a cool hipster place, but you don't have to be a hipster to feel welcome there. read more

Been here many times. Excellent coffee, and great place to chill or do work. Service has always been good in my experience.

Fast, friendly service. Helpful staff. Try the Farmer's Blend!

Was pretty excited to learn that they have a Balzac's in Kitchener, as I'm a big fan of their latte's. Very cool space - really impressed how nice and trendy they made the whole tannery complex. Parking spot was very hard to come by however. Prices are compareable to any other coffee place, and had a nice selection of treats although I did not try any. Staff was nice, and did not have to wait long for my drink either. read more

The date squares are really great, but the barista serving gave me attitude for listening to Beyoncé. Maybe she's too mainstream for him, but you know who else was mainstream back in the day? Balzac was. There is no need to be pretentious. Again the food is really great but the staff needs a lesson in customer service. read more

Underwhelming. Coffee is bitter and not that hot. Music blaring over the speakers, drowning out all conversation (it's sunday morning, for petes sake - read your customer base). Small, uncomfortable tables. Crap wifi connection. Won't be back. read more

I don't drink coffee, so can't comment on that. But the tea is expensive, and the scones are really dry and terrible. The scones used to be delicious, so I'm not sure what happened. But I don't like paying 2.50 for a dry scone that falls apart as you are trying to lift it to your mouth to eat it. Even adding butter or heating it up doesn't help. Bring back the old scones! read more

The coffee is fine, but the service is terrible! It's a mixture of understaffing and lack of multi-tasking. I consistently wait 10 minutes for a latte. As a former barista, waitress, and a generally patient person, I say the service is just not up to par. read more

I like this place to do work because for some reason I don't get distracted here! It's pretty spacious and they have a long table lit extra bright. If you sit elsewhere though, lighting can be a bit dim. They have free wifi and there are plugs about. Their coffee is decent. They only have small coffees in mugs, all other sizes are in paper cups which isn't that great. If you do get a small in a mug though, you can get a refill for half the price. I wish they had food here or better snacks. I'm never tempted to get anything to eat, and it's a bit pricy. I bought their muffin once because I was hungry and it was pretty bad. It was really mushy...they didn't even have the crispy muffin top which is my favourite part! If you want to give Balzacs a try, I recommend downloading the Balzacs app...just for the first time. You can save $3 the first time you use it! The servers are really nice here though, I've never had a bad experience with them. read more

My daughter and I were looking for somewhere to pick up a hot drink and a small snack in our neighbourhood. It was Sunday late afternoon, so most things were closed. We found Balrac's online and were pleased with the experience. The ginger molasses cookies were amazing (even if a little pricey), the coffee was good (and I am very picky), and the staff member was very pleasant, even though we showed up 1/2 hour before they closed. She also did not start doing all the cleaning up while technically still open, and we were still in there (I HATE when they do that). music was nice too. If they were also dog friendly, I would be a weekly fan! read more

As with most Balzac's the interior had that impressive high ceiling and that old world feel. I've been to 3 Balzac's - Toronto Distillery, Stratford and Guelph. Like them all, but this visit was disappointing. I expected the prices to be high, but I also expected great service and a great latte. We ordered and settled down at the communal table with the bright lights. It's on the other end of the large room from the barrista. After talking for 10 minutes we realized that we probably had to go get our coffees. Yes, they were waiting at the barrista counter, at the other end of the room where you can't see the counter from where we were sitting. The froth had sunk down some and the drinks had cooled down a little. I don't know why they couldn't have called out our order or come over to tell us it was ready. We even pre-tipped for the service when we ordered our drinks. The lattes were OK but not up to the standard of the other Balzac's we have visited. read more