Photo: A little bit of everything from Mayorga's brunch buffet. Credit: J. Deseo/SSP.
REVIEW — If breakfast is the most important meal of the day, then where does brunch fit into that equation? That bizarro hybrid of morning carbs and midday protein gives the meal some significance, but just how much?
At Mayorga Coffee’s $13 Sunday buffet, brunch ranks in importance somewhere between that second cup of coffee you really didn’t need, and the stale donut you really didn’t want. Yep, it’s that bad.
And there’s plenty of it to go around: four chafing dishes, omelets to order, a punch bowl of diced fruit, trays of bagels and muffins, and bottomless cups of coffee and orange juice. Nearly all of it sucks.
Inside the food warmers, self-servers likely will find bland, lifeless scrambled eggs. One of few pluses to this venture is the fact that the eggs are real, as evidenced by the mildly bitter taste of overcooked yolks. There are also small sausage links that balance sweet with savory. But those little fuckers can get tough if they stay over the Sterno heat for too long.
The bacon is limp but relatively lean and not greasy, and it carries a mild, smoky flavor. The mushy, greasy potato hash is overpowered by garlic powder and oregano and clashes with everything sacred in a brunch. Skip it.
And it only gets worse. The eggs Benedict stack firm, overcooked whole eggs on top of rubbery ham (not Canadian bacon). That crap sits on top of a split English muffin-turned-rawhide chew toy from sitting too long over the canned heat. The craptitude is dialed to eleven with a dreadful “hollandaise” sauce that lacks the eggy fats to balance its strident tang.
Even the waffles are fucked up. They’re thawed, rubbery and overly sweet on their own, made worse by dabs of saccharine syrup.
Pancakes were available during one visit, but they weren’t sampled. Penguin taste testers also passed on the omelets to order, the bowl of diced cantaloupe tossed with the occasional red grape, and the muffins. (Editor’s note: One bagel was consumed, but as a native New Yorker, I’m a harsh bagel critic. I’ll spare you my observations.)
Credit: J. Deseo/SSP.
Then there’s the coffee, something that should be decent at a coffee house. Instead, the self serve is bitter and stale from sitting around too long. And tragically, the orange juice is watered down beyond recognition.
Mayorga’s setting is mellow and chill, but service at the cash register (where one first pays for brunch before eating it) can be needlessly slow and clumsy. Employees seem preoccupied with dicking around behind the counter and can’t be bothered with taking customers’ orders or money.
Coffee and nosh should be pleasant enough, but Mayorga’s got a long way to repair what was once a warm, fuzzy experience in South Silver Spring.
Mayorga Coffee Factory, 8040 Georgia Ave, Silver Spring, (301) 562-9090.
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I went to a dinnertime writer’s meeting (really an informal get-together) there in 2005, and I see not much has changed. All I had was coffee and a pastry, but I found the wait staff to be as described.
At one table, an 18% gratuity was added on for 4 people. When asked, the waitress said, “There’s a LOT of you here, it’s policy.” The table of 4 said that they were on a separate check, and that shouldn’t matter, which lead to a lot of passive aggressive posing on both sides. I don’t know the outcome, but I never went back, and no writer’s gathering was ever held there again.
Thanks for saving me $13 bucks.
I have tried many times and want to love this place, but I just can’t. I’ve found that the coffee is usually good, but everything else is not worth the price or the hassle ordering it from the counter. I once had chili there that was served to me ice cold and they acted like I was crazy when I asked for it to be heated up. What’s worse is that they continued to serve it, as I heard a number of people complain about it later on.
I like the atmosphere there, and they have the only drinkable coffee I’ve found in town so far… The service is what I’ve come to expect from coffee shops – charmingly weak. I also really like their mozzarella/tomato sandwich. That said, I would never, ever attempt to pay $13 for a brunch buffet from a coffee shop! I went there to check it out once, but ended up with a pastry when I saw the price… Restaurants get to charge $13 for brunch buffet, cafés… Not so much!
Regardless, I still like Mayorga even though it’s far from perfect. But on a regular basis, I’d much rather go to Kefa for the cozy café experience – the service there has none of that charming weakness… Just straight-up charm.
Sounds like Mrs. K’s is still the best Sunday Brunch in town. And I’ve always had good service there, which is rare at a buffet. ummmm…the smell of butter comes to mind just thinking about it.
Yep, the coffee and even the sandwiches at lunch are pretty good, but the service has always been unbelievably bad. It’s almost like they are trying to be slow. It’s a shame, because even though I like their coffee I rarely go there since I know what should take 2 minutes to get a coffee to go usually takes a tedious 10 (or more, for one cup of coffee, I kid you not).
@Ron S, if you don’t mind me asking, how much is brunch buffet at Mrs. K’s? I always got a suspicious waft of ‘frightfully expensive’ from the place, but admit I haven’t actually priced brunch…
Last I looked into it brunch at Mrs. K’s was an over-priced $25… yuck… while brunch is my favorite meal of the day, and I soo soo badly want to enjoy it close to home… just not many decently priced and tasty choices… big bummer
Wow, harsh words for their brunch. My experiences there have always been great. Mayorga makes a pretty mean Turkey Melt. It would make all this hate go away.
I like the brunch at Savory in Takoma Park. Or just go to Parkway Deli. They don’t serve brunch, to my knowledge, but you can get a great breakfast there any time of day.
The staff at Mayorga are complete space cadets. That said, I do like their Cuban sandwich and chicken quessaidias
I wonder how the service was when Obama stopped there during the campaign?
Alas, Kefa is not open on Sundays, so we have to go elsewhere to get decent coffee. And I have a habit of avoiding Sunday brunch buffets after reading Anthony Bourdain’s condemnation of them, as a dumping ground for anything they couldn’t sell during the week. So my idea of Sunday brunch is a muffin at home.
It is time to rethink brunch. Unless one has been out early running/biking/bootcamping, stripping wallpaper/moving furniture — it is just waaaay too many calories in one meal. And such heavy food — meat, starch. Is anyone cont
emplating a fruit/yogurt/muesli alternative?
Let’s add gastronomy to land use and transportation planning on the growing list of topics in which luvmyhood and I disagree. Am I contemplating a fruit/yogurt/museli alternative? No. No, I am not. I am contemplating sitting down to scrambled eggs with a side of corned beef hash and toast in a new brunch place in the first floor of a mixed-use apartment and retail building within a stone’s throw from a Purple Line station. Bring it on!
I like Mayorgas Brunch I don’t get it why the bashing on a community busness. No restaraunt is perfect. I did notice they have change there staff and uniforms and the live music is ok. Shit Starbucks coffee sucks and so does the service on Colesville rd.
Editor’s note: Robert Wooden is the general manager of Mayorga Coffee. — JD (Oct 14, 2009)
I’m with you. One of the joys of spring & summer is a big bowl of muesli on Sunday mornings. I make mine with oats and raisins soaked overnight in vanilla hemp milk, and in the morning I add a shredded apple along with chopped berries and kiwi fruit and bananas and blanched hazelnuts, and mix in a cup of coconut milk yogurt. Damn, I’d eat the whole thing if my wife didn’t insist on having some, too.
That and a fresh brewed pot of coffee is my idea of Sunday brunch.
D’oh! The last message was to LuvMyHood.
That’s sweet, Springvale Roader! I thought you were kidding, but I just found that hemp milk does exist. About Mayorga, I recall that the building used to have an industrial use, something metal-related. Do they still roast coffee there? In any case, I bet the people who worked there in the pre-Mayorga days did work that was fairly physical. I bet those folks burned more calories in a week than the people who brunch there now.
LuvMyHood,
Whole Foods has a good selection of hemp milk, including chocolate and vanilla flavored. It has omega 3 & 6, so if you drink it you’ll live forever.
I believe that Mayorga does roast its own beans, as I buy their coffee at WF and grind it in the store.
SR
I’m also pretty certain that the Mayorga in SS roasts their own beans… I think their naming convention is that the ‘Coffee Factory’ means they roast there?
I love the sound of muesli with hemp milk for a Sunday brunch! Almond milk is my ‘milk’ of choice, but I’ve never actually tried hemp milk… Somebody should cash in on this brunch bunch…
I’m as enthusiastic about supporting local businesses as anyone, but being a small business is no excuse for poor service and shoddy quality. I patronize Mayorga frequently, but I’ve stopped ordering food because the quality has slipped dramatically since their early days. I used to grab a bagel on the way to work sometimes, but it began to take as much as 15 minutes for a bagel that was only partially toasted and served up by a surly chef who made me feel as though I’d asked for something entirely unreasonable. (Their “new” staff is actually worse than the old, in my opinion. I’d had some decent service and good espresso in the past, but not so much, now.)
If they don’t improve–although it doesn’t sound like they’re too receptive to criticism–others will soon follow suit and abandon the place. I can’t bring myself to spend money at a business–local or otherwise–that doesn’t give me what I want.
I’m not a coffee drinker – but I understand Mayorga roasts out of their Rockville home location and that SS is just a cafe.
The Industrial Photo space that was there before is carved up among several businesses now including still a photo studio (though not the full service store we professional photogs loved back in the day), Moorenko’s ice cream and a graphics office. I’m sure they are sweating away in their still – food service is a tough job IMHO.
Luv – One could say the same about Gallery restaurant which was a stained glass art studio – and a great one! And before that was? My memory is slipping…
Jerry McCoy – maybe a good topic for a future Voice column.
Though I really don’t buy the arguement that blue-collar work is somehow better or more noble than white-collar work. I’ve done and still do both, I prefer my green-collar though.
Robert, it does not speak well of you that:
- You don’t disclose you’re the general manager of Mayorga
- Used your real name anyway
- Used the wrong “there/their” in a sentence
- Had poor grammar and a weak defense
- Used profanity
Seriously, you have just proven most of the comments on here about the attitude of the staff. The only place I have ever known that got away with a crappy attitude was a Chicago hot dog stand:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wieners_Circle
I worked there for close to a year, quitting when (perhaps this was a secret in 2005?) payroll checks were continuously bouncing. I could afford to not cash mine right away, but telling the staff I was handing them to? Not so much. Mayoraga doesn’t have a full kitchen, it’s actually quite tiny, so you can imagine most of what you’re eating was reheated/microwaved etc.
Everyone’s own to there opinion, but if you don’t like it then don’t go. We all know mc donalds isn’t good for us but we still go.the mayorga family has worked hard to come this far.if the food is so awful then why do the same customers come every week?? I believe its because they actually enjoy the food and comfy enviroment.
I agree with the prevailing sentiment here regarding the staff. On balance, I’m glad Mayorga exists because it’s a great space with free wifi and the coffee is fantastic. But the staff is so spectacularly (maybe even WILLFULLY) incompetent and rude that I don’t go there as often as I would otherwise.
I can’t comment on the Sunday brunch but the breakfast food and pastries I’ve had there have been mediocre, not terrible.
I went to Mayorga this weekend with my computer and asked the staff behind the counter if they had wireless. It was like I was speaking Russian. They said no, and it took a while until a friendly customer informed me that they did and showed me how to do it.
Everytime I go to Mayorga, the staff is not coordinated, well trained or professional.
Even though I live just around the corner, my visits to Mayorga have cut back dramatically over the past few years. The food has become just plain lousy, and the service can take forever. The only thing I have ever ordered and gotten in reasonable time has been plain coffee. Anything espresso or chai and be prepared to wait a good five to ten minutes. If you pay attention while you are waiting for your latte or americano, you’ll notice that usually the reason is because they don’t know how to operate the machines. I’ve seen them start over, run around looking for someone to instruct them, etc.
Nearly all the money of mine that Mayorga gets these days is for coffee beans, which I believe are some of the best I have ever had.
They can blame it on the construction, but I blame it on the service.
Buy Local, I wonder how the other business owners feel now that they have seen how you wrote such a damaging review. I hope you lose advertising and that your credibility is scared.
I’m a long time customer of Mayorga Coffee. I used to go there every day on the way to work, but the new traffic layout and parking made it so that I only go there every once in a while. I think they have the best coffee in the area, hands down. (That is, after all, their claim to fame).
When I was there a few weeks ago, I got to meet the owner and complained about the parking to him. He told me that the day that public road was shut down for private development, their sales dropped by 50% and have never recovered. He said that the smart business decision was to shut down the location, but he did not want to abandon the community or his staff. He said that he chose to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in order to stick to his mission of being a productive member of the community, but that his operations had struggled as a result.
It seems to me that the financial impact has made them sacrifice some on the food, but I think we all need to appreciate where their heart is and not be so quick to attack. This is a local company trying to do the right thing. They’ve strayed from their core to provide a community amenity and have been struggling to make that location work after a lot of change. If you don’t like it, don’t go there, but demonizing attacks don’t help anyone.
Has anyone ever gone to the Sunday Brunch at Capital Bleu? It is at the Hilton on 8727 Colesville Road. We won a $50 gift certificate for the place — never been there.
To all the “support your local business” people: I used to be a sales manager, who ran various businesses for years. I can tell you, first hand, that your customers are your TOP priority. And one of the BEST way to get that is to have happy employees. I have run overpriced places with loyal clientèle because while customers could go elsewhere for cheaper, they stuck with us because they felt important and special. They recommended us to friends.
Ben’s Chili Bowl in DC is a dump, for example. It’s crowded. It’s hot. Decor is stuck in the 60s, and not because they designed it that way. Parts are worn and dirty, and it’s not exactly in a nice part of town. But it’s HUGELY famous because of their service and good food. Ben died last week, and it made the papers. Now THAT is a local business to be proud to have on your block.
So while you may wave the “support your local business” banner, is a business that serves lousy food and treats their customer and staff like trash something the community should be proud of? I’d say if Mayorga doesn’t change their attitude, they deserve to go out of business. Whining about changes in traffic patterns is no excuse; Ben’s Chili Bowl has been though a LOT worse.
I like going to Mayorga primarily because of the atmosphere- comfy couches, dim lighting and the buzz of conversations in the air. I also like their coffee. However, there are serious problems with their staff. It takes forever to get a cup of coffee and they don’t give good customer service. The food is mediocre at best. I want to continue to support local businesses but they need to do their part and provide a good experience for the customer. I’d like to see some accountability on Mayorga’s part. They should acknowledge that they have problems but will work to improve the experience for the customer. I’m sure that this acknowledgement would be greeted warmly by their current customer base and may bring back some customers that they lost.
If I owned Mayorga or worked there, I would ponder all of the critical comments on this page, as well as the review itself, and ask myself whether or not I could improve my service. What I would not do is post defensive, disingenuous, and grammatically inept letters in a (failed) attempt to sweep the problems under the rug.
I don’t go to Mayorga simply because it’s out of my way, but I do buy their coffee. However, after the way Mayorga’s staff have responded here, I am strongly considering switching coffee brands, too.
I like Mayorga and have been several times. The atmosphere is nice and that’s the main draw for me. (I miss the reggae though.)The brewed coffee used to be excellent but is still good. I notice that the staff has changed a few times, however I’ve never had a problem with the service. Any errors have been fixed with no problem. The pastries are good. Some of the sandwiches are good. The brunch is not though and I find that part of the review quite accurate. (Too bad the fruit bowl wasn’t tried because it’s the best part.)
I’m very disappointed in the manager’s negative response. Don’t blame the messenger.
@Mark Walters, I am not sure I completely believe what the owner is saying. Mayorga is a business and it operates so it can make money. Being a productive member of the community is part of being a smart business that attracts local customers. It can’t be the sole reason he is running a business. If so, he needs to be in the non-profit sector. If it is true that business went down 50%, then he needs to work harder to earn more business. That’s how businesses operate. What he told you makes him look like he is more interested in making excuses rather than fixing the real problems that might be contributing to his losses.
I am a big supporter of Mayorga and still go there several times a week. But the way they reacted to criticism left a bitter taste in my mouth. And if it continues, I will find another local coffee shop to go to.
I am sad to see such lost hope and discontent in Mayorga. As a former employee and a customer since the day it opened, even I’ve noticed a decline in the service, quality of drinks, and as a result, in patronage. Regardless, this review was extremely inappropriate and unprofessional, and rates Mayorga based on brunch, which was never their claim to fame. Having traveled all over the world and trying coffee from all over, I have to say that Mayorga’s coffee remains my favorite. The quality of beans is truly the best, while the family’s business sense may be lacking.
I hope that they [the owners] see what is happening to what used to be the coffee jewel of the community, and that patrons in turn give the store another chance, and not listen to the angry teenager who wrote this vicious review.
As far as the wait times go, I can’t say much about the food other than that the kitchen is small, but the coffee takes so long to prepare (compared to Starbucks coffee-o-matic crap) because the entire process is manual. From grinding the beans, tamping, manually pouring, flushing, and using FRESH milk, a rarity in today’s coffee shops. So yes, it does take longer than your “grande instant latte”, but you’ll find that it tastes much better, as long as the baristas knwo what they’re doing.
Don’t give up on your local businesses, especially if you are one to take advantage of free internet no matter what,