Slow Train Cafe

This place is extremely overrated. I have only been here twice and might not go back. I understand supporting local business and all that but this place is just awful.
Over priced, poor tasting coffee and pastry items. Incredibly rude and unattentive staff. I understand it takes time to make drinks but you should use that time to at least make it decent. Care about what you are serving people, jesus.

My girlfriend and I went here with high expectations; we assumed the coffee would be good and the service even better (because we love Oberlin and plus, local places are usually the best.)
Sadly, that was not the case. The baristas were very snooty with us, tried to talk us out of our drinks for something higher priced and were not helpful at all with trying to aid us in our first experience there. All three of the baristas had very snooty attitudes.
They even ignored us three times when we were ready to order to take other peoples’ orders!
Not only that, for another customer, they gave her a drink for free and said «you could just tip us.» What kind of person honestly does that?
We finally got our (expensive) drinks, and they were awful. I ordered a vanilla latte, and there was ZERO trace of vanilla in that. As we were leaving, we placed our cups in the tray where the dishes went (which is what we were supposed to do) and one barista, as we were leaving, said in such an unprofessional manner, «hey how did you like your drinks guys?» It was more than obvious that they were mocking us and we feel as if they knew they made our drinks with no effort and consideration.
We won’t be back for a while. I sincerely hope your experience there is way better than ours.

I love coffee & they have Really good cold brew. Nice size, quiet & comfortable place for college students.

Price of my coffee more than what’s on the menu board? Oh. Turns out price depends on which coffee bean. Server shrugs no big deal. I pay more than what’s listed. Ummm, there’s a big difference between relaxed and indifferent service.

The *best* on-​site made Blueberry muffins. Seriously — I’ve never had a Blueberry muffin so fresh, never cared for Blueberry muffins before these. BUT after trying these delicious muffins, I realized the other pasties are just ok :(
The beverages are always made exactly as requested — this is immensely appreciated!
I’m a regular. The regular staff are GREAT! Over the years I have gotten the occasional stank attitude, but not too often.
It gets CROWDED, and I don’t like that too much when I want to sit w my café.
Love the décor. Can get a bit unkempt throughout the day. The bathrooms are not cleaned frequently enough nor well enough, but never missing toilet paper, paper towels or soap — also appreciated.
One major complaint — I was coming regularly for over 2 years before anyone told me there was a «frequent flier» coffee card. Imagine how many free lattes I missed out on?!
All in all, I very much appreciate having this coffee shop in our small town. They open at 7am Mon-​Fri (hooray!), and provide a great space for so many various people and needs.

Slow Train is great, I go almost everyday when school is in session for their Chai Latte. I can’t speak so much for the coffee selection but every drink I have gotten (I drink tea) has been amazing. Along with their drinks are their delectable pastries. I think I have tried almost everything from their sweet and savory croissants to their coffee cake and nothing has disappointed me. Slow train has a great little seating area outside and a lot of difference places to sit inside as well. The atmosphere is perfect for meeting a friend, seeing a band, or even studying for a couple of hours! I definitely recommend stopping by Slow Train to get a drink and a treat.

Great place for a delicious pastry, alc beverage. Awesome coffee. However, don’t come during the morning rush (8:30−9), they’ll get swamped and you’ll be waiting forever while the barista makes his/​her way through the list.

The place is so hip my coffee came with a beanie and a keffiyeh, completely underwhelming coffee though.

Best coffee ever had best customer service I ever had and I will be back I like going there a lot the people are nice and nice environment

The Slow Train gets five big stars because a) they serve coffee, b) they open at 8:00am on Saturdays, and c) they’re conveniently located across the street form The Oberlin Inn, where the in-​room coffee maker is rumored to produce a murky swill fit only for extreme senior citizens and babies. On this snowy Saturday morning, as a cluster of impatient refugees huddled by the entrance, the bartenders busied themselves shaking out mats and refiling the muffin trays. Screw the muffins, I thought. Once I get inside, how long will I have to wait for them to brew the coffee? There were two brews available, the house organic and the Nicaraguan, but the latter required a monumental wait of five minutes, so I chose the organic. Behind me was a fixins bar stocked with the kind of stuff you’d expect to find at an Oberlin coffee house: half & half, 2% milk and soy milk (Note: Soy milk isn’t really milk. And if you need to lighten your coffee but you can’t do dairy and soy is an acceptable option, you have some serious problems. Do yourself a favor and drink it black); a variety of sweeteners ranging from Sweet N Low at the provincial end to agave nectar at the pretentious.
The ambiance of the Slow Train, with its not-quite-hipster-because-this-ins’t-Brooklyn vibe, appealed to me more than the confines of my bedroom and «Americas Unsolved Murder Mysteries» on the flat screen. And then there’s the music. Television, the Pixies, the Talking Heads, a 50-something’s dream play list.
When I stepped up for my free refill (not free, but you do get a fifteen cent savings, which I more than negated with a dollar tip), I asked if the place served drinks. «You can have a drink right now,» replied the chipper barista. Yippee! Someplace for lonely moms to go at night after they’ve been dumped by their Oberlin students, whom they drove 8 hours to see.
The Nicaraguan, my refill choice, did not taste remarkably different or less organic than the Organic, but I would not suspect the staff of pulling a fast one on their customers. More likely, my palate just isn’t as refined as I thought it was. And now to return to the Beautiful Oberlin Inn (oh, yes. Review to follow – better scramble and replace the worn out bedding while I’m out of the room. You’ve been warned), where, with any luck, the people attending the conference down the hall from my room won’t notice if I help myself to their breakfast buffet.

I’ve been trying to decide for a while what I think of Slow Train. It’s one of the few (perhaps only?) coffeeshop in downtown Oberlin. It’s very trendy — lots of distressed wood, cool chalkboard in the back for artistic types, and a lot of open space for meeting up or work. I like people-​watching here and getting a feel for who attends school here. I have to say that it very much reminds me of a Midwestern-​y version of coffeeshops in the Mission in SF.
So in that sense, I like it. The coffee and tea hasn’t been super remarkable, but I like it. I mostly get tea and coffee (mostly Americano, and I drink it black) and it will do. The baristas are generally responsive (though not always warm, except for a few) and they are attentive. Some Americano spilled over my cup during preparations so she cleaned it up for me with a small towel. Very nice!
Cool atmosphere and great place to park+work for the afternoon.

Love this place!
My gf and I come here very often for Albino Squirrels.
We have a Starbucks by us, but they close at 9. Slow train is open late most of the year. And the drinks are strong and tasty!

This is a GREAT café, the kind a college town deserves! Soooo much better than the nasty place that used to be where Aladdin’s is now. They do a mean latte! Also, everyone ignores the fact that they have a full bar, but they actually have a great list of seasonal special drinks.

I know I’m going to get blasted for this review… especially with so many reviewers loving this place… but…so be it.
I’m not local, and relied on the reviews of this café to determine a location that would be central and inviting for an informal meeting.
The location of this café is good — it’s in the right place… and it probably has a strong appeal to the college crowd… but for me… not so much.
Parking is «eh» — if you can find a spot on the street, you are in good shape — otherwise park in the parking structure across the street… it’s not terrible — but there isn’t a private designated lot.
The actual café has a rustic beat-​up feel to it… similar to an old Detroit bar. What was disturbing to me is that I found the entire place to be absolutely filthy… disgusting filthy. The bathroom was gross, and the decorations in there were CAKED with dust — probably haven’t been touched or moved in over a year.
The girl who took my order was so inappropriately dressed I think my jaw fell open. She looked extremely dirty and unkept, and her shirt was nasty and looked like it had been balled up under the bed and she just threw it on so she wasn’t naked… oh, and it was crop top, and she did not have any business wearing a crop top. At all.
It took forever to receive my croissant, which was microwaved I think twice… during my wait I watched coffee drinks being made… there was such a lack of presentation it made me cringe. Everything seemed to just be slopped around.
In general, the place had a little too much grunge going on for my taste.
If you are a student, looking for a place to knock out some work or have a study group, maybe this will be appeal to you… if you like that whole scene… go for it… but for an informal business meeting… and my snooty standards… no thank you.

Being a townie, and indignant to change, it took me a long time to drag my feet through Slow Train’s front door.
When I finally did …
I REALIZED …
… hey. This place isn’t so bad after all!
In fact, I kinda like it!
I do! I DO like it! HEY MIKEY! HE LIKE’S IT!
The atmosphere is cozy, the service is friendly, the coffee is good … and hey! It’s fairly reasonably priced as coffee shops go.
So I am glad I got over my snootiness and enjoyed what (new) Oberlin has to offer.

Inexpensive, delicious coffee products. A warm, relaxed atmosphere. Helpful, attentive service.
These are some of the few qualities of Slow Train that make it such a great place to spend an hour, an afternoon, or an entire semester. Ample seating and free wireless access make for a great study environment, or just a place to meet friends and chat. The live entertainment on weekends is superb.
In short, there is no better place to be in Oberlin if you are looking for coffee, entertainment, or new people.

This is a new and fun coffee and tea shop that also serves wine. The welcoming and pleasant interior is both adult and kid friendly. Very cool.
This is a welcome addition and appears to be quite well received in this small college town.

This coffee is alright but their service is awful.
I’ve been a fairly regular customer since June– usually ordering an Albino Squirrel, White Mocha or an Americano. After a couple months I moved to only ordering their American because their flavored lattes are inconsistent. Sometimes they’re really good but frequently they are too sweet/​syrupy and other times you can’t taste the flavor at all. I have had drinks remade in the past– and the staff is never particularly friendly about it. Friends of mine in town have had similar experiences.
Last week I went in for an americano and the barista spilled my coffee on me– specifically on my hand– I understand it was a mistake but his response was «you might want to run some cold water on it». They had no burn cream, spray or anything in their first aid kit and never even offered to pay for my coffee. They did make me a new one while I was holding my hand under cold water in their bathroom. They also put some ice in a bag for me to hold on my hand as I drove to work where we have a proper first aid kit that enabled me to better treat my hand. At work, a coworker of mine told me they know someone who had a similar experience with having hot tea spilled on her chest.
Shouldn’t they be documenting injuries in their store and have an appropriate first aid kit to treat burns?
Needless to say, this experience was not positive and I will not be returning after their terrible service and mediocre coffee.

Wow, has this place lived up to its hype. Sure it is not the best coffee in the world but this place makes Oberlin so much better. Service has dramatically improved since my last visit in May. Now, if we only get another restaurant option in Oberlin that is not a pizza joint.

Everything about Slow Train is quality. From their landlords, the non-​profit Sustainable Community Associates to their great coffee (yes, good coffee. not the swill you’ve been forcing yourself to drink at Java Zone) to their great food to their FULL BAR.
As an aside, it’s so great to see this development up and running. I remember when this idea was first introduced as a community center to be owned by OSCA, the student-​run housing co-​operative, and it was voted down.
Years later, this building is here! She’s gorgeous and gives downtown a much-​needed facelift. Slow Train is part of that. Classy, welcoming, comfortable, a place for earnest politics study group discussions, adults, and faux adults (me).