An excellent coffee shop requires a combination of high-quality coffee, a welcoming atmosphere, and…read moreexceptional customer service. Its success depends on skilled baristas who are knowledgeable and friendly, a comfortable space with amenities like Wi-Fi, and a menu that offers variety beyond just coffee.  After being awarded the NC Triad Yelp Squad Yelper of the Year 2024 Award at the Yelpies Award Ceremony last year, an event that honored the highest-performing Yelp Elites, celebrating their contributions and accomplishments throughout the year, I decided that this year, as an All-Star Yelp Elite, I not only wanted to be the first to discover new restaurants and businesses, and bring them to the attention of the public, but also to uncover those found in hidden paths that for one reason or another have not reached the public in its totality. And Mill Mountain Coffee & Tea in Salem, Virginia, is a perfect example. I arrived at the City of Salem Farmer's Market parking lot, which is adjacent to the back entrance of Mill Mountain Coffee & Tea. And parked my Lexus there after reading the sign that one could park there for 2 hours free, Mondays through Saturdays 6AM - 6PM. After entering through the back door, I noticed that there was a small private dining room there and a hallway with its wall full of paintings from local artists for sale. The hallway lead to a wooden furniture with display shelves with the Coffee Shop t-shirts, mugs, and bags of coffee grains for sale. The environment was comfortable and welcoming, created through elements like clean spaces, good lighting, and appealing decor of artworks for sale from local artists. Their granite counter and very nice pastries display cases gave the place an elegant look together with its original hardwood floors. I waited in line in front of the ordering counter until it was my turn to order. I was welcomed by friendly and professional staff, who were very knowledgeableabout their products. I young lady who took my order and a young gentleman who served my coffee. I ordered a Breakfast Plate with two fried eggs, over easy, four bacon strips, and a white toast with butter. And to drink a Mocha Coffee. The young gentleman who made my coffee recognized me from when I did a review of their Downtown Roanoke location, and made me feel at home. The cook in the kitchen did an awesome job cooking my eggs over easy, (just the way I like them), and the four strips of bacon, even though they were very skinny and for that reason shrank somewhat. The medium Mocha Coffee was amazing. Someone who I believe was the Caffee Shop manager was very kind and helpful, and brought the plate to my table. After enjoying my food I went back for something sweet and ordered one of their Cinnamon Rolls which were made in-house. It was one of the best cinnamon rolls that I've ever had. I finished drinking my Mocha Coffee while enjoying the cinnamon roll. In conclusion, I had an extraordinary dining experience there, and highly recommend this Coffee Shop for breakfast, lunch, or even for an afternoon snack. Everything about the place was wonderful. But above all, their customer service was exceptional.

I've spent most of my life silently searching for the perfect bean, the perfectly brewed cup of…read morecoffee, the cleanest, smoothest grind, the best water, all combined with an expert filtration system. Mill Mountain Coffee has exceeded my expectations and delighted my palate with a rare and pleasant surprise. Although they have quite a variety of distinctive varieties and blends offering something for everyone, my test all over the world is just a cup of house blend mixed with a little cream. This levels the playing field and truly defines the best of the best. They give good advice here. Tell them what you like and let them pick the brew and enjoy. I don't know what their secret is, but this coffee is out of this world! Come in, sit down, listen to tunes and enjoy.

Always a great place to have some coffee here around a quaint neighborhood. Service is great and…read morethe steamed milk is always spot even with extra hot request. Will be trying their roast beans once I have finish my batch. Hopefully, an update to this review with more about different coffee/beans.

The big problem currently is that this place is in a location that is right next to a bridge that…read moreis under construction for a long time, which means it's not the most convenient location to get to. Ordering in advance, yield me a completed order which was right on the counter near the door when I got in, so at least that saved me some time. I was able to get a bagel for breakfast and they do charge for butter, but it was so much butter that I will have leftover for several more bagels. Their house chai wasn't interesting subtle spice mix, and was available with alternative milks. The star of the show, though was a vegan peach crumble coffee cake, which was about as good as you could possibly imagine such a thing in being. It had a moistness and texture that you would never think would come with a vegan baked good and every bite delivered a delectable flavor mix. The menu will vary, of course, but they clearly have the ability to deliver some quality items for virtually anyone seeking a breakfast or lunch.

Love love love this place. The boba is great, I 100% recommend the Thai tea! Also love the gelato,…read moreI've had the taro, bubblegum, and strawberry cheesecake and they are all amazing. The macarons and mochi donuts are super yummy as well!!! My partner and I love coming here and getting boba together, it's so good every time. The owners are also pretty friendly. It's very cute inside as well, but limited seating.

Didn't realize how extensive this menu is! We only ordered apps for today, but the crab Rangoons…read moreand spring rolls really hit the spot! Excited to try the boba and sushi next! The atmosphere is quite quiet, so we chose to take it to go, but the design and interior is so fun and funky! Highly recommend!

I will not be returning to this Starbucks location. Nothing against the employees, but general…read morecustomer service is extremely poor. I simply requested a light roast drip, but their machine for that had "exploded" yesterday. They offered a roast Americano instead. That was no problem and I accepted. I am disappointed by the fact that I paid well over five dollars for a week Americano. It is not even worth drinking. I thought Starbucks was supposed to be a decent coffee shop. While I have been disappointed there many times before, this last visit reinforces my notion to never go back. Drip coffee at a gas station is so much more worth it.

Generally, the service is friendly and courteous. The experience is typically, above average…read morecoffeehouse experience (like most Starbucks). The cleanliness is hit or miss. Sometimes it's spotless and other times in a little wild disarray.

Not that long ago, on Monday, September 1st, 7 Brew Coffee opened it's doors to the public,…read morecelebrating its Opening Day. What's unique about this Coffee Shop is that it's exclusively a Drive Thru Coffee. After being awarded the Yelp Triad Squad Yelper of the Year 2024 Award at the Yelpies Award Ceremony last year, an event that honored the highest-performing Yelp Elites, celebrating their contributions and accomplishments throughout the year, I decided that this year, as an All-Star Yelp Elite, I not only wanted to be the first to discover new restaurants and businesses, and bring them to the attention of the public, but also to uncover those found in hidden paths that for one reason or another have not reached the public in its totality. And 7 Brew Coffee in Salem, Virginia, is a perfect example. Today, I finally got to try it out, and boy was I impressed with what I saw, and with what I tasted. As soon as I arrived following the directions from my Lexus' GPS, I witnessed long lines of cars in front of the building of the place waiting for an employee with a tablet to come and take their order. To be able to better experience and capture the moment with my cellphone camera, I parked in a parking lot next door, and walked around the sign that read "Drive Thru Coffee," and had an arrow pointing at where cars stopped for the employees to come around and take their orders. After this, these employees go to a window and pick up the orders and deliver them to the cars. All in all they have a very efficient operation set up, and their employees are all very friendly and very efficient. As I walked to one of the cars where an employee was taking its order, I excused myself and asked the employee if I could make an order without being in my car. He quickly answered that I could just by going around the side and their I would find an employee standing by a glass sliding doors taking orders as well. I did just that and a very friendly and welcoming young lady greeted me and handed me a copy of the menu so that she could take my order when I was ready to choose what I wanted. While I the wide variety of coffees, starting from the 7 originals, to Cold Brew Coffee, the Classics, cold or hot, 7 Energy Drinks, 7 Fizz, Teas & Lemonades, to Soothes. If it had not been cold outside I would have ordered a Mango Smoothie. But since it was 34 degrees out, I ordered one of their 7 Original Coffees: their German Chocolate Iced Coffee which was a Coconut & Caramel Mocha. The friendly young lady took my order on her tablet and I paid with my credit card right there. She then went inside and after a short while came out with my Iced Coffee and paper receipt. In the meantime I took photographs of the inside of the Coffeee Shop where the drinks were being made by other friendly and very efficient employees. They had loud music playing in the background and when I heard a song by Bad Bunny being played I recorded a short video as well. I invite you to view my photographs and videos accompanying this review to get a better sense of the place and the quality of their drinks. Then, as my server was coming out with my Iced Coffee order, I captured her images as she was delivering my order to me. Since there was a kind of a box that served as a table there, I drank my coffee in the shade, thanked her, and then walked away to my Lexus. What an exciting moment to visit and experience an extraordinary operation of a Drive Thru Coffee Shop and an amazing exclusive cup of coffee. If you live, work, or are just visiting the area. I would highly recommend you visit this Drive Thru and try one of their drinks. I can assure you that you will never forget the experience, and always remember the taste of your drink, and the friendly and hospitable service you received.

Very disappointing. Ordered an iced tea expecting the tea was brewed, then cooled and served iced…read more Received a cup of ice water with a tea bag just dropped into it. On up the upside I got two visits in one - my first and last.

I'm sure this place is great mid day, but in the afternoons it's rowdy and full of aggressive…read moreteens. it took over 30 minutes just to receive a coffee. great selection of ice cream and crepes and bubble tea flavors. Unfortunately I won't return for coffee, as there are too many local options with more selection and much faster production.

Lucky cat Tea is the best bubble tea shop in all of Salem. The service is excellent. The cute shop…read moreis just such a vibe. Everyone there is so nice and kind and full of so much diverse people and unique individuals. I totally recommend this place to everyone. My favorite bubble tea to get is the lavender with tapioca pearls. I'm a regular, and this place is honestly to die for you really gotta stop by one day. They also have mochi donuts now and I had a milk tea one and it was literally the best thing I ever tasted.

I have mixed feelings about this Starbucks. When I arrived for the first time, the place was clean…read moreand very well organized. They had all the tumblers and mugs neatly placed on the display shelves and stands. I was very impressed with the large size of the store and variety of the nice looking and comfortable furniture. As a Reserve Status Starbucks member, today was Triple Star Day, so I went to their counter and ordered an Iced Caffè Mocha Grande and paid with my app's Starbucks account to be able to get the Triple Stars for every dollar spent. Then I sat down at one of the comfortable seats, and enjoyed drinking my coffee while I studied the New Reward Program from Starbucks explained in their app. As I did so, I discovered a Reserve Status exclusive drink: The Ube Tiramisu. So I went and ordered one to celebrate becoming a Reserve Status member. The barista wasn't aware of this so inputed some of the ingredients in the register but some details of the ingredients of the recipe were missing. To top it off, he charged me 200 Rewards Stars to pay for it without me asking him to use Stars to pay for it, thus not allowing me to take advantage of my Triple Star Day offer. When I discovered this in the receipt, I went back and asked him to return my 200 Stars and charge the dollar amount of my drink from my account. He said it was not a problem and did it. I trusted he had done it and sat down to drink my coffee. After I finished drinking it, in no time at all, I noticed my glass was filled with ice up to the top, thus it had had very little coffee. I went up and brought it to the attention of the store manager and showed him my glass, and he insisted that was how it was done. I got upset at his insistence when you could clearly see the glass full of ice that left very little room for the coffee. So I left and when I got home and reviewed my account, noticed that the barista hadn't given me back the 200 Stars, that he had taken away, even though he had charged me for the coffee. I immediately called Starbucks' Headquarters Customer Service, and told their knowledgeable and hospitable customer service representative my story and he apologized for this store doing this to me and made it right. For this reason I am giving this store 3 Stars, when it should have been less, but I do so with a buyer beware, and am not sure I will return there again.

Solid Bucks ! No complaints l. Ben was very helpful helping me work through what I wanted to order,…read moregiving me solid suggestions and I was very pleased with it. I got a brown sugar shaken espresso with white mocha. Came in a Sunday afternoon it was slow. My husbands drink was too "pepperminty" for him so Ben suggested how to order for future and gave him a shot, per our request, to add to the current drink to dilute that flavor. Great service !

One of our new local favorite hangouts!!! The interior is set up in such a fun and loving way. The…read morebubble teas are great and freshly prepared utilizing only the finest ingredients. We come here at least once per week. Customer service is excellent and you feel valued from the moment you walk in. You must check them out!

My husband found this place while working. He always told me about it and finally we visited…read moretogether and I can't express enough how amazing the drinks and food is here! Took me by surprise that they have Pho here too!! We will have to come back for that. The barista was super helpful and sweet, didn't loose patience despite the many questions and changes we made. We ordered Thai tea w/regular boba pearls (my favorite), Mango Tea w/mango poppers (popping boba), and a Watermelon Freeze. We also ordered one Egg roll and one Korean Corndog. Everything exceeded my expectations. The drinks were amazing and the snacks we got were delicious! You have to come heck this place out! Everything from the decorations of the establishment to the cups used for the drinks screams to me how the owner is giving their all to make this place a great place to grab a drink & a bite! It's a very welcoming place, relaxing atmosphere will most definitely be back soon!

Fantastic food and great environment! Every time we are in town we stop by for a croissant!!read more

What a cozy family style feeling when you walk into this bistro. The pastry case was loaded with…read morebeautiful cakes & macarons. I chose the mango mousse cake - WOW it's light & airy & refreshing , the flavors & textures all compliment each other. The young gentleman at the counter was friendly and ready to serve. I also picked up two chocolate ganache macarons for my husband to try later on. I tried their strawberry & cream iced latte - it was just okay - I didn't get much vanilla taste in my latte. Overall, would definitely come back to try more of their desserts & maybe try lunch next time too!

Brewing companies, there are many in this neck of the woods, but very unique, one-of-a-kind ones,…read morelike this one, rarely do we find one. I happened to find this one while searching for the Empanada Nirvana Food Truck. It just so happened that I found out that the Empanada Nirvana Food Truck was going to be stationed outside the Parkway Brewing Company this past Wednesday during National Empanada Day and so I researched this place to learn more about it. I found out that Parkway Brewing Company is a craft brewery in Salem, Virginia. Established in 2012, it is well known for its distinctive ales and a vibrant tasting room with a large beer garden, live music, and food trucks. It operates a 30-barrel brewhouse, producing a large range of beers from IPA to lagers. Located near the Roanoke Valley Greenway, it attracts runners and cyclists, and has become a community hub for outdoor enthusiasts and beer lovers. When I arrived in my pearl white Lexus, the Empanada Nirvana Food Truck was already parked outside, but had not yet opened, so I went inside the brewery to explore its building. There I found a casual, low-key environment with an industrial-chick interior featuring a fireplace and garage doors that opened to the outdoors, to an area with picnic tables and sun umbrellas. Inside there were also several colorful modern murals and a wide counter where customers went to order and pay for their beers. They had several menus as well as display coolers with some of the beers being sold there. The friendly and knowledgeable young lady behind the counter did an excellent job explaining what they had, including the non-alcoholic options. While going to the restrooms, one passed by a window where you could see the brewhouse. Along the way there were also shelves filled with souvenirs of the place. In the room where the fireplace was, there was also a stage for live performances, which usually took place at night. I loved the ambiance and vive of the place and am looking forward to returning to one of their music live performance and some of their beers, and knowing that they also carry non-alcoholic ones will allow me to enjoy the evening and drive back home safely.

Great beers and close to great hiking! We were there on a weekend when there was live music so it…read morewas pretty crowded but we still found a place to sit outside. I would definitely recommend checking it out!