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Attn: Holt Renfrew HOLT'S CAFE CUSTOMERS

post #1 of 39
4/12/08 at 11:49pm
Thread Starter 
Has anyone ever eaten at a Holt's Cafe? We went in while we waited for my fiancee's hair appointment to get a coffee. I ordered a cappuccino and she ordered a latte. Mine came in a regular cup, and my fiancees came in a bowl with a spoon. Yes, a soup bowl with a spoon. We were quite puzzled. Finally the waiter came back and she asked if she could have it in a mug, he said fine and took it away and set it on the bar and had them made a new one. He brought it to her and needless to say he didn't come back till he brought us the bill, he didn't seem impressed. Now, can anyone explain why this was served this way? Apparently at the old age of 23 I'm not up on the times anymore.
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post #2 of 39
4/13/08 at 12:40am
I had not heard of this before, but a quick Google on latte bowl tosses up many examples, including some from quite specialised coffee sites.

Not so sure abut the spoon. It looks to me like the idea is you take it in two hands and sip out of it.

Interesting.
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post #3 of 39
4/13/08 at 1:46am
Thread Starter 
Yes, I read about the latte bowls on the internet as well, however, those that I saw all had handles on them, none of them were actual bowls? If this place really thought she was going to drink coffee out of a bowl with two hands they had another thing coming.

The whole experience soured us on their "cafe".
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post #4 of 39
4/13/08 at 4:41am
Some of the ones I saw were handleless. I go to a local chocolate shop that serves hot chocolate in a handleless cup (teardrop shaped). The idea is you can warm your hands on the mug and keep the chocolate hotter, I guess. I'm not a fan of it, but I have seen it. I suspect these may be thicker than the regular coffee cup, and therefore not unbearably hot to hold.
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post #5 of 39
4/13/08 at 4:49am
Quote:
Originally Posted by LVoer View Post
Has anyone ever eaten at a Holt's Cafe? We went in while we waited for my fiancee's hair appointment to get a coffee. I ordered a cappuccino and she ordered a latte. Mine came in a regular cup, and my fiancees came in a bowl with a spoon. Yes, a soup bowl with a spoon. We were quite puzzled. Finally the waiter came back and she asked if she could have it in a mug, he said fine and took it away and set it on the bar and had them made a new one. He brought it to her and needless to say he didn't come back till he brought us the bill, he didn't seem impressed.

Now, can anyone explain why this was served this way? Apparently at the old age of 23 I'm not up on the times anymore.

It should not have been a "soup bowl" but some of the Cafe au Lait cups look like a bowl. The reason is to hold a larger than normal percentage of frothy milk.

It should have a handle or two.

Was it in a saucer with the prerequisite doilie and a stick of Biscotti?
That's important.
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post #6 of 39
4/13/08 at 5:06am
I don't drink coffee, but the rare times I've had it, it came in a giant bowl-like cup. I don't know whether it was some kind of trendy thing to do, or convention, but I felt it was more likely the former.
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post #7 of 39
4/13/08 at 5:30am
Huh? Cafe au Lait is usually served in a bowl.
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post #8 of 39
4/13/08 at 9:43am
If I get coffee in one of those oversized mug-bowls, I generally hold it with both hands cupped around the bowl part anyway. I hate monstrous mugs with a tiny handle that I can fit like one finger in--something about the weight distribution makes it hard to hold.
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post #9 of 39
4/13/08 at 2:37pm
Thread Starter 
It was served in a soup bowl because I had soup as well and it was the exact same bowl, no biscotti.
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post #10 of 39
4/13/08 at 2:37pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alter View Post
Huh? Cafe au Lait is usually served in a bowl.
And you drink it from the bowl with two hands in public? We were in a cafe, not a Chinese food restaurant.
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post #11 of 39
4/13/08 at 2:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by LVoer View Post
And you drink it from the bowl with two hands in public? We were in a cafe, not a Chinese food restaurant.

Indeed you do, just like you drink from a mug in public. The restriction on drinking from a bowl is strictly directed to food and not applied to beverages. I'm surprised you've never had a bowl of chocolate milk or milk-coffee as they're usually served that way in most establishment, in NA and Europe.
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post #12 of 39
4/13/08 at 3:52pm
Thread Starter 
I've eaten in restaurants throughout Canada and the United States: steakhouses, italian, french, etc., and I've never seen a drink served in a bowl. The whole practice reeks of pretension to me, although it doesn't surprise me in the least considering it was at Holt Renfrew.
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post #13 of 39
4/13/08 at 3:56pm
I hear they charged $250 for a cookie recipe too.

The cafe au lait bowl thing is the traditional way to drink it. I'm sure that's how they do it at the LV factory in Pantin or wherever the hell it is. Probably not at their factories in India and China though.
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post #14 of 39
4/13/08 at 4:01pm
Thread Starter 
They don't have a factory in China.
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post #15 of 39
4/13/08 at 4:30pm
When I am presented with something unexpected at a restaurant I try to have an open mind. I remember the first time I ordered a panini (Italian); I was surprised to see a smashed down sandwich arrive on the counter but after trying it I appreciated experiencing something new and exotic, although I cannot say it is my favorite style of sandwich.
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