Burgh Coffeehouse

This place used to be great. I love how it looks and it is comfortable to study or relax, but as another reviewer said, it is now way too bright. The tea is amazing and the choice is great, but lately I have been served coffee by someone that can't make it at all. It is hard to finish my cup, which is unfortunate. I will still go for tea, but definitely not coffee if I see that staff member at the machine. There are better places to go for food, but it is still worth a visit for the tea, and has a far better feel than another local independent place that is turning out to be just another corporate chain.

The Burgh Coffeehouse is great to go if you are looking to get some uni work done. The coffee is strong, the music is chilled and the big map of the world is strangely useful.

The Wifi is free, the booths are the perfect size for my iMac and folder to site side by side and there is ample power sockets for recharging, so no need to pack up when your battery runs low.

The Staff are all friendly and know thier coffee and tea stuff. Food wise its good snack food to recharge after typing a few thousand words.

Overall this is a great little indi coffee shop and place to study.

I've been going to The Burgh pretty much since it opened, and it is like Marmite. I love the place for its potential, but I hate the place for its mediocrity. The coffee and tea are great if you get it made by the right person, but when it is wrong, it is very wrong. I have gone for the past few weekends for the first time, and there is someone that works there at that time that obviously has not had good barista training. I have seen him there before so I know he isn't new. I don't like singling out staff like this, but he needs training, and I think writing this here is for The Burgh's own good.

During the week it is a different scene. There is a staff member that has been there since I started going last summer and at least one other. They are both very welcoming and knowledgeable, and make great drinks. I have even asked them to choose what I get, and they always get it right. The coffee base is great. Supplied by the local roaster down the road (Braithwaite's), it would be. They are a Dundee gem.

The Burgh has the ingredients to be one of the best. The store itself is fitted out in a very comfortable way, with a mix of booths and sofas, wooden chairs, and armchairs. There are bookshelves and everything looks like it was made for the building. The decor has changed a few times. It is currently not at my favourite state. I liked it much more when they were displaying local artists. It gave the place a much more local feel. It is now a little more generic, however the old books make up for it somewhat. I think some are on sale, but I can't tell which. The staff, apart from the above mentioned, have always been great. Very enthusiastic, friendly, knowledgeable, and making amazing drinks. One has been there since I started going, and he always remembers what I like. Most of the other staff have left, and because of what I am about to write about, I may go when this guy goes.

I mentioned mediocrity, and unfortunately there is a lot of it. The cakes are good when they are good, but they are terrible when they are bad. I have the feeling they are kept for a long time before thrown away, but I feel rude asking. They are also uninspired choices. I wish they would stock something more unusual, at least sometimes. The sandwiches are just bad. The presentation is unattractive. They are pre-wrapped with boring, uninformative labels. The fillings are also boring, and ungenerous. There is not a good vegetarian option, and there are no gluten free options. I have seen many requests for these, but nothing has even been done about that. There was once soup, and it was incredibly good, but for some reason that has gone. The menus used to be very attractive and in keeping with the theme of the store, but are now almost illegible and have many mistakes such as "short black" instead of long black. Surely any reputable coffee establishment would realise this basic mistake.

Did I mention customer requests being ignored? That seems to be a theme for The Burgh. The staff do everything they can to make customers happy, but there are certain things that they can't do and management ignores. There are no mirrors in the loos even though the comments have repeatedly asked for them. There are no options for people with the most common allergies (gluten and dairy), another popular request according to facebook and the comment wall. I could probably list a lot of ignored requests, but I want to make sure people actually read this.

So The Burgh is frustrating. I loved the place when it opened because I thought it was going to be great, but it stalled. Events that once took place don't seem to happen anymore. Basics (like installing mirrors) were never completed. The food quality contrasts hugely with the tea and coffee quality. I would recommend trying The Burgh, but it may be hard to make it a regular place to visit since you will have to leave to find something decent to eat anyway. I used to come daily, but now only go once or twice a week and don't stay long because I get hungry, and because it is just too bright. I can't stay long before I feel like I will get a sunburn, so I have recently started going elsewhere for my regular lunch, and stop by once or twice a week to say hello to the staff. Once they are gone, I am sad to say that I probably will be too.