Cafe Intermezzo

11/01/08

Going down hill quickly

by BruceSketta at Citysearch

Cafe Intermezzo used to be a great place to eat and have drinks with friends. Both the variety and the quality of the food seems to have decreased in the last couple of years. Service was never great except from the occasional GaTech waitress who didn't know she didn't have to care about the customers. Desserts are still an attraction, but believe it or not the service has gotten worse. On our last visit (and I mean last), our meals arrived at different times, the wine came after everyone was finished eating, and except for the obilgatory delivery of the order, we never saw our waitress again until she brought the check. Sorry to lose what used to be a nice place, but the negative reviews are closer to the truth.

• Pros: Desserts
• Cons: (Lack of) Service, uninspired food, parking

10/13/08

Great Neighborhood Dessert/Coffee House Cafe-Beware of Disgruntled Former Employee Revview!

by atlcuisineguy at Citysearch

I've lived in the Brookwood neighborhood the past eight years, and always take out of town guests to Cafe Intermezzo, for a late night coffee and dessert. I'm quite distrubed by a posting below, from a disgruntled former emplyee, SixF15Bear. It's the only review by this person, when you log-on their name. And I have written dozens of truthful reviews. The cafe is always packed after 10:00pm. So it's the lively place to be, and they have managed to hold their prices, even with this economy. I've personally met the owner, Brian Wilson, and what a caring, charming person he is. He welcomes everyone personally. The desserts are fantastic. And the selection is huge. We ordered a mammoth hot chocolate w/Nutella, with our dessert, and we were in heaven. Love the international music. Nothing else in Atlanta like this.

• Pros: Great Desserts/Coffee, Cool International Music & Personal Manager!
• Cons: Gets Super Crowded Late At Night!

09/16/08

CONTEMPTUOUS PROFITEERS (Beware ratings-inflating 5-star posts)

by SixFt5Bear at Citysearch

NOTE: Suspiciously glowing 5- & 4-star reviews routinely bump off of the facing page truthful 1-star reviews. Comments such as "super clean" & "doesn't get any better" owner/manager attention are absolute LOL nonsense!

*2008 SUMMARY*: SURLY & LAZY waitrons; mine, an angry Eastern-European wage slave fresh off the boat. 2008 PRICE INCREASES on already-OVERPRICED, often CHILD-SIZE-PORTION bar/cafe drinks/desserts/snacks: You know, those oddball, tall-and-narrow, 6-ounce glasses filled with ice and 1 squirt of no-free-refills, not-even-alcoholic liquid (however, at $3.19, the six-ounce iced tea qualifies for free refills, but that's assuming your waitron ever reappears)...coupled with a plated $10+ handful of pasta...and an $8.48, 6-inch-length by 2.5-inch-arc of STALE-tasting dessert pie (last year, same item tasted thawed-from-frozen fresh). DIRTY, BLOWER/NO-PAPER-TOWEL BATHROOMS (for you and the ones who handle your drinks & food) are an owner specialty; filth on the unwashed, dirty-grout walls has been there a decade. (Note: Dessert & iced-tea prices include 8% tax.)

*SUMMARY OF MY 2007 REVIEW*: Listen to the SHILLS talk up this place! POORLY executed great concept; ATL's backward Southerners offer no similar 365-day/wee-hr spot that's not a drunk-filled diner. Saw R0ACHES there 3x in 2006. Waitrons SURLY/LAZY. Custs bailed, place usually dead. Owners lost $, so MIN DONE to fix things. Fix brings it back to history as MINIMALLY HOUSEKEPT, OVERPRICED bar/cafe w/tasty desserts ($7.50/slice); tiny, overpriced meals ($10/HANDFUL of PENNE & 2 thin slices of Amer-Ital bread, upcharges for more slices); big coffee/non-alcoholic/drink menu. BATHROOMS DIRTY: Decades-filthy walls; TINY-BOWL sink (can't fit both hands under faucet); no towels; seldom filled soap dispenser & cheapest-grade TP. SINK'S WATER FLOW TURNED DOWN: Save $, encourage help/patrons not to wash! A caring restaurateur should copy theme & BURY THEM w/CLEAN, EXCELLENT SERVICE & NON-GOUGE PRICES!

• Pros: Great, poorly executed international-cafe concept
• Cons: R0aches, dirty tableware/bathrooms, overpricing, surly staff...what more do you need?