Charlie’s Cafe
300 E Orange Mall, Tempe, AZ
Crema's Take
“Charlie's Cafe in Tempe has the convenient location and laptop-friendly vibe that students love, but the reviews suggest it's struggling with consistency and value—great coffee doesn't quite make up for pricey food portions that feel skimpy or quality issues like moldy bagels. If you're grabbing a quick traditional coffee drink between classes and aren't too hungry, the location wins, but you might want to check ahead or manage expectations on the food side.”
What to expect
Google Reviews
Had to ask the worker to put more chicken in my sandwich as it was mostly bread :/ Coffee was good, but I feel like for the price you’re paying the food should be made more up to par… SO expensive.
Honestly this place is overpriced, underwhelming, and the workers are unbelievably incompetent, ALL of them. It shouldn't take 10 minutes to make one drink, let alone make it wrong. A 15$ salad is an absolute scam especially with college students. Also, they literally buy pastries in bulk from a store and then jack up the prices exponentially. It's almost hilarious how much of a scam this place is. A vending machine gives better service.
My friend got a bagel from here and after eating the first half looked at the second half and it was COVERED in mold that looked like it had been there for a very long time. They did not refund us.
Food and drinks are good just not for the price (over 6 bucks for a tiny retail can of black coffee), but the location is really convenient for students. Also definitely not on the workers they’re great but often it feels they understaff with just one person taking orders and making drinks and food which leads to backing up and a rough time for everyone.
Breakfast sandwich was good. the reason why I said 3 stars was because I clicked on the location in the art buildings to order it, and it sent it to the one in Hayden. As a student who was trying to make it to class on time, I’d suggest management take care of this routing issue to prevent further frustration of your customers, which are majority students. Staff was more than friendly in helping me figure it out though, props to them!
Crema Reviews
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