Carrington Oaks Coffeehouse Lakeland

This such a cute coffee shop, the decorations are beautiful so it's a great environment for remote work or meet ups. The servers are very kind and welcoming. But the highlight was the coffee and bagel I had. Support local businesses if you want anything actually worth your money. It's a bit far from my work but I will have to make time for the drive lol

We come to this coffee shop 1-2 a week. I love that it is so close to our neighborhood. The employees are always so friendly. My kids love seeing what new treats are in the dessert case, along with their regular favorites. Their coffee is great, I especially enjoy that their cold brew is strong without being bitter/acidic. We have also enjoyed their breakfast menu for brunch on the weekends. When they are not helping customers they are cleaning. They work hard to keep it clean and it shows.I also love that most of the decor and plants are for sale. So if you see an arrangement you like you can buy it on the spot. This place has become a regular spot for us for many reasons.

I would love to give this local place 5 stars, but sadly two aspects hold me back. First, the menu on the wall does not give any indication to the size coffees available nor are there any descriptions of the ingredients in their various named coffees or lunch menu items so you will either need to take a gamble or ask a lot of questions. I did the latter. However, when there is a line this dialogue can delay the process and lengthen the wait time.

The second aspect is that there are not any prices listed. I was a little confused when I looked on the wall and didn’t see prices so I grabbed a paper menu and found no prices there either. However, I wasn’t on a budget so I just took a gamble on prices since I was already asking so many questions about the menu. If you’re on a budget, the lack of pricing transparency might make you nervous.

As to the other aspects - clean and tidy. The food was delicious. The espresso is okay. They use a machine that grinds the beans and pulls the espresso shot automatically. I’m not sure if it’s the automatic machine or the beans they are using but I found the latte I got to be weak. I got the 16 oz which has two shots so if you ask for an extra shot (3rd) it may be stronger, but then again it’s not clear how much that would cost.

I’ll be back from time to time as it was a nice environment and good lunch, but I hesitate to give a full recommendation because of the lack of price transparency and the need to ask so many menu questions.