Cafe Noir

This café is great. They have an extensive menu, including gluten free options. Their iced coffee is a cold brew made with espresso. Often times iced coffee is not strong enough (caffeine wise) but their cold brew is an exception. I come here often to do work related things, either by myself, or sometimes meetings as well. It is a great spot for either things. I would definitely recommend this café to anyone who loves dark roasted coffee, and a chill atmosphere.

Café Noir gets a fairly non-​committal 4 star rating. I’m not sure its quite that good, but 3 feels too harsh. The coffee is pretty good, I’m not sure whose beans they use, but I think Café Noir is affiliated with the Bean Counter so my guess is George Howell or 49^th parallel (the mugs are from 49^th parallel). I’m not sure I can adequately describe the flaws in their cappuccino. I don’t think its the beans and the machine is nice enough. They do get made pretty quickly, which always seems to affect the texture, so maybe that’s my problem. They’re still good, just not great. They also have cold brew, which surprised me for an out of the way suburban coffeeshop. Starbucks might be a little better, but Café Noir’s is cheaper. The interior is actually kind of nice, considering the unremarkable location they started with. There’s even a fireplace.

It’s a cozy little place and they have so many flavor varieties for coffee and espresso drinks. However, I find the coffee mediocre and whenever I’ve gotten the flavored lattes such as gingerbread or snickers, it tastes nothing like gingerbread or snickers. It’s not the best but just ok.

I am so confused. I ordered a vanilla latte and got this white liquid. It tastes like vanilla flavored cream or milk. There is no hint of coffee flavor whatsoever. I know I should’ve asked the barista but I didn’t notice the pale white color until I got into the sunlight. Please can someone tell me what this white liquid is?! I’m at a loss.

The tea selection is decent, my wife is a fan of the vanilla latte. The atmosphere is relaxing with the option of eating outside. The staff are pleasant and the egg sandwiches are worth getting more than once.

Café Noir is one of my favorite cafes anywhere. Their mochas & lattes are terrific. The pastry is extraordinary! Comfortable leather chairs await you in the back, and best of all, a gas fireplace keeps you warm in the winter.
Dee Dee, the proprietor, and everyone she surrounds herself with are terrific and knowledgeable. This is the café to go to if you are in the Shrewsbury area.

Great coffee, friendly service, good selection of baked goods. Love their bagels but once in a while I will treat myself to a muffin… really good! Cozy atmosphere too.

The boyfriend needed to study so we decided to try Café Noir. I really enjoyed the cozy lounge area. The vanilla tea latte is great and they have almond milk which is always a plus. Not a bad place to spend a few hours on a stormy day.

Really not impressed with their coffee and their service is way below average. Ice latte tastes watered down and weak. Also ordered the breakfast sandwich and found it to be really bland. Prices are expensive and not worth the extra money. The only positive thing I can say is the atmosphere is cozy with comfy chairs/​sofas and a fireplace if you are not doing take out.

2 drinks…$ 10 later… very disappointed. Not worth the price. The mocha I ordered was basically chocolate milk. And apparently the only milk choices here are skim or whole? Both drinks left our stomachs feeling… not so great. And since when is a breakfast joint completely out of bagels on a Saturday morning? Will not be returning.

Love love love this place! Best chai tea ever… And I’m a tea snob! The bagels are scrumptious! So many beverage choices! The cozy leather chairs and fireplace… Fabulous!!! Gluten free stuff available. The photo albums of all the cakes are fun to peruse … Give it a try!

Go to Starbucks, you’ll get much more for your money there.

I think these guys make the best darn smoothies in all of Mass. My favorite is the Mocha smoothie, NOT the Mocha frappé that everyone else wants to serve me.
It was delicious, and the service is great here too. Nice soft non-​irritating music playing in the background, and a nice couch section as well as tables and chairs.
Free wifi, and I noticed a big screen TV in the couch section but it wasn’t turned on. Anyway I’m sure to be back… next time i’m in the area.

To sum it up– don’t go here if you want prompt service or good coffee. The place has potential, but I won’t be back anytime soon to see if they have achieved it.

I’ve never been here before and I’ve lived in Shrewsbury for almost a year, so I thought it was time. Overall, my experience was just really okay. The servers were not too friendly and didn’t greet me or anything when I came up to the counter. Alright, not every establishment can be or should want to be like Moe’s, but I am tired of mediocre service and would like to be acknowledged.
My chai with espresso was good, though, and I guess worth it at $ 4.55 for a medium.
They’re owned by the Bean Counter, so this was the experience I should have expected.

My favorite coffee shop in Worcester/​Shrewsbury area.
Staff are all very nice and friendly, coffee is good (you can get it in a mug if you want to stay in, which i love). THey have a variety of desserts (all pretty good), which they have regularly brought in from the Bean Counter (so you know its good). I personally love their cookies (m&m and chocolate chip being my favorite). The shop usually has some music playing (nothing too loud or extreme).
Overall it is a very pleasant place to be, and I get a lot of work done here.

I’ve been going to Black Diamond since it opened and under the previous ownership it was great! The décor is warm and welcoming and with the cosy corners and comfy leather sofas, it’s a great place to unwind. The staff under the previous ownership were friendly, efficient and professional, the music playing was just right, and the coffee and muffins were goood!
Under the ownership of the Bean Counter, they’ve added expensive cakes and pastries on paper doilies (not in keeping with the rest of the place) and generally it’s gone downhill. The staff isn’t as friendly and as others have said, they aren’t always terribly quick either. The atmosphere isn’t as welcoming and I don’t remember the last time I heard music playing. The Bean Counter cakes and goodies are too expensive and not what I want to be eating for breakfast. I wouldn’t go there at all if I didn’t pass it every day and if they stopped serving the yogurt muffins. In addition, the tables have become very shabby — the surfaces are worn down to the bare wood and it’s beginning to look a lot less welcoming than it used to.
I give it three stars because I still go there occasionally and they do have free wi-​fi (although it’s a pain to have to get them to put your computer number in their system to get it). It’s not the place it once was and the owners need to look at what it is now, compared to what it was. Needs improvement.

Very spacious with comfortable seating. A fireplace in the wintertime. And the pastries are decadent. They also accept the plastic, of which the owner’s other two stores don’t.
Room for improvement… 1) they don’t serve any fruit for the health nuts and 2) they close awful early for someone who studies and has no life :-)
I’ll see you there.

Eh… it’s just fine.
The coffee is okay, it probably even has the potential to be delicious. I came here a while back and the help was extremely not helpful. At the time, I’m assuming girls from the local high school were working the counter… they were not very efficient and it took forever to get my drink.
It’s also not a great place to meet up with friends or do work. The staff is extremely chatty with each other and take forever to make drinks. If that’s not bad enough, when I was there as soon as one of the girls ended her shift and left, the remaining two started trashing her — their conversation was louder than the one I was trying to have with my friend.
If you want a slowly made coffee and bring clients and friends into a catty, high school atmosphere– this is the place to go.
The desserts are pretty good, but just go to the Bean Counter instead, you’ll have more peace of mind there as you enjoy your coffee and cake. I guess if you avoid when the teenage girls start their shift there– you might be okay as well.
The hours are also not great. Overall, an okay place to grab a drink to go if you don’t mind waiting.

So I popped in here with fellow Unilocaler, Amanda for a quick warm beverage on a wintery day. She got the Black Diamond Latte (carmely and something… I don’tremember what was in it but it was GOOOOD (of COURSE I tasted it) and I got a Chai Latte. It may very well have been the smoothest tasting Chai I’ve ever had.
But the delicous coffee and tea alone don’t earn five stars. And the hard to get fifth star doesn’t come from the friendly staff or the abumdance of baked goodies…
But from the livingroom and fireplace. Yes, I said livingroom, with multiple leather sofas and chairs and a coffee table. This is what a coffee house should look like… and they have free wifi too.
Honestly, the only negative thing I can think to say about the place is that the hours could be better. No late nights, 5pm on weekends! But, then, maybe they just don’t get the business out there at that time so how can I hold that against them.
If they were closer to my house I’ll be there a LOT.