Ula Cafe

On the morning of Thursday, December 14th, at 10 am, my visit to Ula Cafe left much to be desired. Despite a bustling atmosphere, the employees projected an unwelcoming attitude, as if their time was too precious for customer interactions. The gentleman who handed me my drink displayed a particularly sour demeanor, especially when addressing a simple query about room for milk. His response suggested an annoyance, as if my inquiry was an inconvenience rather than a reasonable request. This lack of customer service significantly detracted from the overall experience. The atmosphere felt strained, and it seemed as if the staff viewed patrons as disruptions rather than valued customers. Sadly, the negative encounter overshadowed any positive aspects the establishment might have had. Improvements in employee attitudes and customer engagement are essential for creating a more inviting environment at Ula Cafe.

I go to the gym right next to Ula, so I thought it could become a convenient place to get coffee and food after a workout. Unfortunately, I have been burned almost every time I’ve given it a chance. I’ve ordered in person and waited 20 minutes for a sandwich when I’m the only one in the store. I’ve ordered a drink online and waited 15 minutes past my pickup time. Most bewildering was when I arrived to pick up a latte I ordered online. I was earlier than my pickup time (I’ll admit it!) and I waited for about 20 minutes, during which no one asked me what I was waiting on. I could see about 4 orders up on the Toast screen at the espresso bar and there was only 1 other person waiting next to me, and the people working the bar were chatting and did not appear busy. So. I asked someone if there was an order under my name coming up soon, and they told me, “Yes we have it. It’ll be ready by your pickup time 15 minutes from now.” If there was a long line in person, I would have understood. If the Toast screen was full of orders, I would have understood. I would have understood in probably any other situation than the one that existed, which was 4 pending orders and 2 customers waiting. A little confused, I politely asked if there was any way it could be started sooner. They agreed to make it for me before my pickup time, but seemed visibly annoyed with me. I’ve worked in a busy cafe in Boston so I get that things get chaotic and stressful, but every time I have experienced delays of up to 20 minutes I have been one of only a handful of customers waiting and have received not so friendly service. I want to support Ula as a local business and I understand that working in the service industry is hard and taxing, but after the wait times and the general attitude of the staff, I think I’m done.

We visited Ula Cafe today and showed up just after 4 not knowing they closed at 4. The super kind human working at the counter saw the logos on our jackets from the company we worked for and complimented the product and offered us some of the premade sandwiches they already had prepared. So appreciate the kindness after a long drive to the city and the sandwiches were delicious!

I want to like and support this place because it has been a JP institution for years, it is a very queer-friendly place, and it is very convenient for me, but it has really gone downhill since (I think) the last time they changed owners. The last few times I went here they had either closed early or stopped serving espresso drinks before their official closing time. This is a real drag for me since my schedule dictates that I am often showing up right before close. On top of this, they eliminated what were, I thought, two of the best things on their menu: The delicious crumb buns and the egg soufflé breakfast sandwich on their own light and fluffy bread that I thought was easily one of the best in Boston. They replaced it with a completely generic egg+bagel thing. I might be willing to overlook all of this if the coffee were amazing, but sadly it is not—the espresso shots are almost always super watered down and over extracted. I really don’t want to patronize Caffe Nero instead but for now at least it offers a more consistent experience with slightly less watered down coffee (and is open later!). I’ll keep trying of course, since I’m not leaving the neighborhood, so hopefully things improve eventually, but I’m not very optimistic at the moment.