Barista, Chelmsfordback to pub details please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
I would dearly love to get my fangs into this place and give it a proper mauling. There are so many elements there that I despise. The stripped out and pared down decor, the mood music, the muted telly sets screwed to the walls showing god knows what to god knows who, the overfed, overpaid, oversexed middle aged customers. The overpriced and pretentious drinks selection. It should be a slam dunk really.
However, to my eternal shame I have to admit …I like the place.
Now Having written the above sentence I feel like I need a bath to wash away my lack of moral integrity.
Barista is a wine bar of the worst sort, catering to those Chelmsford office employees who like to pretend they are in the city of London, not Duke Street, Chelmsford ( a grotty kebab shop and “asian grocer” ridden thoroughfare with wonky paving stones and a mega bus terminal perpetually infested with the homeless and the mentally ill)
What I have come to realise is that I identify with those people (the office workers, not the mentally ill) and working in one of those offices myself, albeit as the hard pressed and perpetually skint proprietor, rather than one of the employee, I get the need for an oasis of swank in the midst of the depressing squalor, where one can escape for a few hours and pretend to be one of the masters of the universe.
So, good on ya Barista, you have identified a niche and catered to it admirably, long may you reign.
7/10
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great place to mix it up have a few drinks, and yes i was sick again.
Staff really helpful and got me to the ambulance ok
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Not my cup of tea. Drink was fine, staff were pleasant enough but something just didn't seem right about the place. I know it is in the GBBG but far better pubs in the immediate area. More of a wine bar feel to the place IMHO
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I call in here two or three times a week for a quick pint while waiting for the bus and only drink the real ale. The staff here all tend to be very friendly and the manager that I know does not fit the description in the review below (although I appreciate that the reviewer says he had a bad experience).
There are 3 gravity fed real ales (the barrels are in the room ABOVE, which I think has to be a fairly unique dispensing system). They change constantly and are well kept in my experience. At the time of writing this review it is £3 a pint regardless of the ABV - which is pretty decent I think.
I like the chilled ambience of this place - it's the perfect antidote to a hard day and a quick way to wind down on the way home. I have been in here on Fridays late when the crowd is much younger and the atmosphere is much more club-like. All I can say about the door staff is that they are always friendly with me. It's a shame that so many places in Chelmsford have to employ door staff. I've never personally seen in trouble in Barista, which is generally a pretty chilled kind of place.
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Went here last night with a female, she asked for sweet Rose wine, what she got was dry so after her having a sip and me confirming took it back to the bar, barman gave a replacement but poured the exact amount in another glass!
When I went later to get us another drink it turned into a drama, he whinged about my guest bringing the drink back, said that she had drunk half of what was a large glass(not)informed me that he was the General Manager(twat)when I asked him if he had tasted it he told me he doesn't need to taste it as he buys it, I found out he drinks lager but handled the situation completely wrong, regarding his customer relations techniques(confirmed that he was a twat)he didn't have a clue , we were not kids taking the mick but out for a quiet drink and met this twat, will not be going there again as a point was proved, if you pay peanuts you get monkeys, oh, and a twat!
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Smart bar, however recently declined in popularity...was well run by Kate and her sister, now not as efficient and friendly, no drinking up time allowed...serve you a drink and 2 minutes later ask you to leave!!! doorman on 9th April was intimidating!!
staff that night were too busy dancing behind the bar! lets hope it reverts back to past glories!...
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