Buchanan’s Coffee Pub

Good latte, terrible service with lots of attitude. Don’t go here unless you like college students that smell like cigarette smoke on a Saturday morning.

I have never experienced such poor customer service by both employees and management. I have been a loyal customer at Buchanan’s Coffee Pub, but I can now say I will NEVER go back. Aside from their food and coffee being absurdly overpriced, they are also extremely rude to their customers. I walked in one day, bought food, and then sat down to eat my (overpriced) bagel and use my computer. After about an hour a man came over to me, who appeared to be management, and asked me for my order. I told him that I did not need anything and his response was «we are a place for paying customers.» I then informed him that I spent about $ 10 on food and he walked away, spoke to an employee, and then came back to tell me «Nobody remembers making you food.» I was not only appalled and shocked by his indecency, but after showing him my receipt he was completely unapologetic. Prior to leaving I told him that I was very offended by this altercation and he remained to be extremely rude and showed a great deal of irritation towards me (the CUSTOMER). There are many places to eat on The Hill that have great coffee and food. These places not only have better customer service, but they are less expensive and more enjoyable than Buchanan’s.

Great food, coffee and atmosphere, but they seriously need to hire more baristas on weekends and busy mornings

$ 4.45 for 3 shots of espresso and hot water IN MY OWN CUP? You’ve got to be kidding me. Get over yourselves.

This was my favorite coffee shop when I lived in Boulder, particularly after the interior was given a facelift about a year ago. Friendly staff, and they always made a great French press. I would often do work here, particularly in the summer when it’s nice and quiet. But even during the school year there’s nearly always a place to sit and work.

The location is great, and my soy latte was delicious. I wanted something to eat though, I think I tried to order some sort of bagel or sandwich, but apparently they stop serving the food after a certain hour (I think it was around 3 pm). It wasn’t crowded while I was there, but it’s small, and I’m sure it can get crowded at times. Overall, I enjoyed the experience, and I would return.

Way overpriced…$ 6.50 for a medium iced-​coffee (just regular brewed coffee on ice) and the coffee is substandard at best. I’m pretty sure they’re just brewing Foldger’s Crystals back there. The guy was shocked when I asked if they had any sugar water to mix in my iced coffee. Sugar water in the summer is the least they could offer. He told me that if I wanted hot water that a water cup with be .50 cents. I laughed and said no thanks.
The seating is decent and the patio is sunny and provides some nice people watching oppurtunities, that’s why they get two stars from me. But as much as I hate Starbucks I would almost rather go there as it is a far superior to establishment to this place.
Innisfree down the street is way better and is about as good as you will get for a college town coffee shop.

Well this is the closest coffee shop to my house therefore I have to love it. It’s a cute little place with great food and drinks!
It can get crowded sometimes (during finals) as it’s small-​ish, but you can usually find a place to sit. The staff are friendly and always smiling and it’s a great place to study without many distractions.
There’s some outside seating for when the weather permits it and it’s in a great location!

I ordered a medium coffee and was charged for and given a large. Not a big deal, but a bit annoying. They poured the cup as soon as the coffee finished brewing, so it was fresh – but not great. Because I’m not a natural coffee drinker, it’s hard for me to tolerate low-​grade coffee, which this seemed to be. In any case, it was extremely bitter. I was able to make it tolerable with a lot of sugar (which I try to avoid in my coffee) and milk.
I had chai here once in the past, and that was decent.
The service, aside from the above mix-​up, is good – friendly and quick. The barista asked how my morning was and seemed to care about the answer.
For the kind of place it is and the quality of the coffee, the prices are a bit high. However, I learned that some of the profits go to supporting the education of Native American high schoolers, which is fantastic.
The inside is clean and well-​lit. It’s fairly busy, but not loud or crowded. You can come here to talk with a friend or read without distraction.

Love this place. Loved it 6 years ago when I was in college, and love it now! Get the Almond Latte with Almond milk :) delicious!!! The baristas are very friends and down to earth. It’s a local business that is DEFINITELY worth checking out!

I love this place! I’m new to Colorado and have made it a habit to spend a day in Boulder on a regular basis. I have spent time at Buchanan’s more than once and have always had a great experience. The baristas are super friendly and have gone out of their way to explain drinks to me and give recommendations. Lots of seating and good location!

Buchanan’s is great if you need to meet up with someone to study. They have a ton of seating and I really like the tables outside. It’s also convenient that they offer wifi and printing. There’s typically a decent selection of to-​go type breakfast food, and they have a variety of interesting drink choices. The drinks are pretty expensive for what they are. Overall it’s a nice place to go and I’ve never had a bad experience there, but it’s nothing special.

For «The Hill» I expected a lot better. It honestly felt like I walked into my uncles living room (in a bad way). I want to walk into a coffee shop and think, «wow this place is awesome way better then my house, I’d like to stay here awhile.» Prices were pretty moderate, until my friend ordered chocolate milk for her kid and they wanted over $ 3, which she decided not to get. Even Starbucks has chocolate milk for $ 1.50. When all is said and done coffee was ok, but I wouldn’t come back unless I had a friend that wanted to go. there are SO many cool coffee shops in boulder why waste your time here?

Clean, spacious, and welcoming coffee shop! The service was friendly and the coffee was made quickly. Most importantly, the delicious, strong espresso made my latte taste wonderful! Hope to be back soon!

This is a great «dive» coffee place. They serve the best fresh bagels every morning, big and chewy, but sell out early… I usually don’t expect to find any on a busy morning after 11ish. This is my favorite LOX BAGEL I have ever found! Tons of fresh lox. I usually ask for light on the cream cheese though because they aren’t reserved about their spreading.
They have a pretty good tea selection, tasty coffee blends, and a slew of specialty coffee and tea drinks ranging from regular lattes and macchiatos to dessert-​like sweet concoctions names after candy bars like the snickers and the milky way — loads of originality you can’t find at any other coffee shop.
This place can get pretty busy, especially around CU Boulder test time, when it is impossible to find a seat. Otherwise, its a great place to get free wifi and even a nice patio seat outside where you can enjoy some of the best people watching on the hill.

Short & sweet:
Service: 3
Coffee: 3
Wait time: 4
Price: 4
Cleanliness of bathroom: 3
Wi-​fi: free!
Nothing wrong with Buchanan’s, but 99% of the time, it’s crowded. A prime location on the Hill, I’m sure business is great. And the Americano was all right (I think I prefer Espresso Roma’s). The atmosphere is no good for studying: it’s loud and people are constantly walking about.
If you want a cup of coffee before walking onto campus, this might be for you. I can’t guarantee that it would be served to you quickly (I imagine there’s frantic-​college-​students-​traffic in the morning and afternoon) but it’s convenient if you have 15 minutes to spare.

Yes, Buchanan’s Coffee Pub is a standard for students looking to caffeine before class, tests, concerts on the hill, whatever. Unfortunately, their captive audience of cracked-​out grad students seem to be willing to pay a premium for coffee that’s — well — mediocre, service that’s slow, and tables that are seldom clean.
Yet somehow, I still like this place.

Kind of a run of the mill coffee shop. It’s usually less crowded than the Laughing Goat, always clean, friendly staff, and convenient location. I come in here pretty often when I have classes on the hill side of campus for a quick cup of coffee, or to study and use the wi-​fi on the patio.

The location on The Hill is very convenient. This place is always hopping with college folk, and sometimes it’s hard to find a table. The space is pretty cramped. However, the service is friendly and fast. What can I say? It’s your average coffee-​shop. I second what another reviewer said – it’s just a big boring.
I wish they were 24-​hours – I could really get on board with that! Boulder has no 24-​hour cafes (and, no, Denny’s doesn’t count).

It’s so funny that I have so few Boulder reviews considering Boulder was where I lived first when I moved to Colorado — and I lived there for several years. Ah well, that was before I knew about the awesomeness that is Unilocal and I’m not much of a retro-​reveiewer. However, I was recently in Boulder for a bridal shower and spend the better part of an afternoon hanging out in Buchanan’s doing work.
It was a great spot to do this as they have all my major needs covered — coffee, food, and free Wi-​Fi. Buchanan’s is rarely overly crowded and people don’t mind sharing tables if it is. They don’t have a ton to offer in the food department — mostly bagels and baked goods so if you want proper sustenance you’d be better off at one of the Pearl Street coffee houses I bet. But, I definitely enjoyed my hours here on this visit and all my previous ones back in my Boulder-​dwelling days.