Highland Coffee House - Cincinnati

This place used to be awesome when the owner was working there. He would work alone but always made your drink with a smile, had great conversation and made you feel welcomed there. They have a new guy making the drinks and serving food and he ALWAYS comes off overwhelmed and acts bothered if you order more than one drink. And please don’t order food or he gets snippy. He is obviously overwhelmed and his frustration is deflected onto his patrons. I get that it’s a busy place and there is only one staff member there but being treated as if you’re bothering someone and getting served drinks that definitely don’t live up to what they used to be, totally kills the cool vibe this place used to have. I don’t think I’ll be coming here anymore. If the owner is ever back that may change.

Way too expensive! Food and drinks are way too expensive for such small portions, there’s a $5 minimum for debit card (so I cant just buy something quick), they enforce a $6/hour minimum or they’ll charge you a study fee, every person at the table has to pay, so you can’t sit peacefully with your friends. I do not recommend this place unless they change prices. Sucks for broke college kids!

Really lovely coffee shop, with a retro vibe (cash machine from the 40s even) and a nice atmosphere. Also great hospitality and smiles, and apple pie hot chocolate are delicious!

Upon entering the coffee shop, the atmosphere was great. My friend and I went together to sit down and get some homework done. When we sat down we were greeted by the barista/owner, so we tried to make a simple conversation. A simple, “how’s your day going”, we got responded with “I don’t have time to talk about that. what do u want to order”. First of all, rude. We got our drinks, an iced vanilla latte, and a cream soda float. The cream soda was fine, but made with Kroger brand ice-cream, absolutely not worth $7. The latte was so overly sweet with vanilla, it was disgusting to drink. While going to pay, my friend did not tip, as she did not enjoy her beverage, nor the snarky remark made by the barista. He then proceeded to confront and shame her for not leaving a tip, saying something related to “we aren’t payed hourly, only by tips. So when you don’t tip, I make no money, when you sit here for 3 hours. Ask your server friends, they will tell you”. In our opinion, tips are DESERVED, not expected when going into an establishment. This is not the first incident we’ve had here, but I can easily say we will not be returning.

Love this place so much. all the og bartenders are fantastic. new younger dude is kindof a jerk tho. it was 11pm and cut off half the menu, yelled at me for asking if i could order toast like i have been for years, and made the weakest drink i have ever had there. i miss the baby old bartenders. great spot tho