The owner of Sitwells is a terrible person. She makes fun of minorities and heavy people and she tears down employees in front of customers and other workers. I have never met a woman so unpleasant and seemingly insane. I don't know how the IRS has not seized her shady books and put her in jail. ...read more

Sitwell's is a laid back european coffee shop. The coffee drinks are to die for & the local, mostly vegetarian menu is delicious. It's a place where family & friends go to meet, students go to study, & locals go to mingle & chat with other locals. They will have a drink or two, a bite to eat & relax with good people. The wonderful musicians at night are also a huge plus! \t\n Sitwell's is a staple in the gaslight. It's brought smiles to faces for seventeen years now. They must be doing something right!\t\n And for those whom have judged the establishment, owner, employees or service, i ask you to have an open mind. Don't bash Sitwell's because you didn't stand in a single file line & get your tall-skinny-mocha-latte with 2 pumps of vanilla in 30 seconds. Sitwell's is a coffee house, not fast food.......\t\n ...read more

I was just there today with my son, getting a smoothie for him on our way to run some errands. I've lived in Clifton for 19 years and know Sitwells well, but I rarely go in because of these issues:\t\n\t\n1. Nobody even noticed our presence for at least 5 minutes. We were right there, in the front, at the bar. The place was not crowded at all. The waitress was beyond stressed though, you could tell. Owner was ranting and raving to a customer, didn't notice us. Poor management.\t\n\t\n2. Finally the stressed waitress asks if she can help us and I ask what kind of smoothies they had. She was kind enough but it was as though I asked her the question that was going to send her right over the edge for that day. She was stressed and frazzled. Again,t he place wasn't crowded, but it wasn't a friendly atmosphere at all.\t\n\t\n3. Ordered the smoothies. In the meantime, I get the pleasure of listening to the owner complain about the people who go to La Poste (I'm one of them) being from Hyde Park, coming into her place and looking around. "They're scared" she said. I think the real issue is that her place is kind of dirty and they are looking at that. And there is an odor about it, can't put my finger on it but there's an unappealing odor.\t\n\t\n4. Owner goes on to tell the same La Poste story to multiple customers, some issue about parking, and she's loud, using the "F" word over and over, co-mingled with other 4 letter words, loud, obnoxious, terribly un-welcoming.\t\n\t\n5. FIFTEEN minutes later the woman working behind the bar realizes she hasn't made our smoothie. She finally makes it in less than 2 minutes. But really, it took 15 minutes to get one smoothie. She also seemed cranky and unhappy.\t\n\t\nThe owner was worried about her lease and about the landlord wanting to put something else in her space. After the experience I had today, I would welcome a clean, uplifting, enjoyable coffee house in that space. Eclectic doesn't have to mean ugly, unfriendly and a trifle dirty. \t\n ...read more

This is a great place to start your day or end your night shift. Ask Jeff for one of the brownies he made earlier. A cup of espresso makes a great chaser. Really cool place to sit and contemplate your universe, or chat it up with a friend. Get into your Zen, then get into your coffee. ...read more

I have lived in the "Gas-Light" area for several years (long enough to remember shaking Carlos Santana's hand in 19-od-8 at The Garage). So, based upon my "trips around the block," I feel I have earned "a place at the table" with my opinion... ...read more

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Not only was the establishment crawling with cockroaches ( saw two crawling on the wall during my most recent visit), but the owner seemed to be the biggest pest of all. This woman is clearly a crazy b***h. I used to frequent this place for coffee while I was at school during the day until i settled on the fact that this woman is out of her mind. In the past year I have seen her mistreat so many fine employees that I'm sickened by the sound of her voice. Now i realize that there is temptation to be unkind to new employees when they are simply not working out but I have also seen some outstanding employees with increadible work ethic end up on her bad side. One of her longer standing employees i have seen training countless of the new hires. Still some how every time the manager comes across i'm forced to listen to this a$$hole insulting the poor girls intelligence and schooling. This woman is uncomparable in the way she treats people. It seems that every day she walks into her coffee shop she picks one of her employees to torture relentlessly. I've seen her make one of her employees cry once before and then told the girl to "go to the back she was making a scene". I witnessed her curse out the previous manager, her daughter, until she quit on the spot. She yells at servers while they are assisting customers. In the back of my head I've always thought that if working there was constantly as bad as it seemed that the employees could simply quit, but i realize it is the luck of the draw with this woman. I have seen the owner act like a normal human from time to time, however it is like a switch in her head. The woman clearly has some undiognosed mental disorder and will agree with that should you mention it to her, but simply does not care. My latest visit made me realize that she sometimes shows the same cold heart to her customers, the people keeping her in business. As i was at the to go counter waiting for my coffee another customer walked through the door. The owner asked the man to leave saying "bye bye now we don't have anything" , after he left she turned to one of her employees and said " he's a stupid f***ing junkie". I would like to say for the record that I have sat at sitwells numerous times and seen this man often come in to purchase coffee and he was most definatly not a junkie or in anyway a harm to the community. I then decided I would prefer takilng my business somewhere employees and customers are treated with respect. ...read more

have been a Sitwells Regular off and on for the past 11 years. The stuff that I have heard and seen for those 11 years makes me grateful for the people who are willing to live the American Dream. Sometimes people need to get the whole story. The owner has been through a lot. People need to realize that and just chill. Would you rather go to Starbucks? HUH? Every time I have been, it has been a great experience. You have to have walked in her shoes. She has put up with an uncertain future, difficult time in keeping employees, personal things. SHE IS HUMAN for CHRIST's SAKE!! I would like to see everyone who has badmouthed this place to run this place for a year. I am willing to bet a million, that y'all would not make it past 2 let alone six months. I would definately reccomend this place. It is a cool place to hang out and forget about your troubles for a while ...read more

Sitwell's won my gratitude when it went smoke-free a full year ahead of the rest of the city. It since has won my loyalty because of its fresh food, relaxed atmosphere and boho charm. A great place to read, hold study group meetings, have lunch with the kids, meet friends after the movies, or run into your neighbors. No matter how long I linger over coffee, the staff never tries to hustle me off. If you need something bright, crisp and buttoned up, Sitwell's may not be for you. But if you want a welcoming place with personality, come in and ""set a spell."" ...read more

After reading plenty of the reviews on here, I would like rant my own opinions that differ considerably from the negative reviews.\t\n\t\nFirstly, what is terrible about the food? The house-made guacamole is amazing, especially as part of a gouda and guac sandwich. I would also recommend the briemato sandwich (tomatoes and brie cheese on a croissant). All the ingredients are purchased from Findlay Market and other local vendors: Shadeau Breads, Marx Bagels, etc...\t\n\t\nSecondly, Sitwell's is not a speedy restaurant. Don't go there expecting a waiter/waitress that will seat you, cater to your every request, etc... I would say 80% of the clientele, myself included, stays for over an hour per visit. This is not fast food, nor is it even a restaurant, really. It is much more of a coffeeshop and place to relax. There is only one server for all the tables, but this only becomes an issue if you go there for the lunch rush or during a busy evening. And even during those times, the good servers provide speedy service. If the bodacious duo of Andy and Molly McGrath are working, be prepared for an excellent experience.\t\n\t\nThirdly, Lisa the owner is usually friendly to those who want to chat with her. And she is an ardent supporter of the Clifton neighborhood and everyone here.\t\n\t\nLastly, Sitwell's is a community asset. You don't stay in business for 10 years without doing something right. ...read more

i have grown up in the coffee houses of different countries and this is the most European feeling, warm space. I did like it much better in the basement of the old ""Cove"" but even on the sunny sided streets, it has filled my need for the distant cafe's of the Old Country. Now, i know bad service, but I have always been served at an acceptable pace by friendly servers eager to do right by me. There is only one server for the whole floor, so I always try to take that into consideration. As for the owner, i don't know her personally but she is always filled with interesting stories about her adventures in Poland and such, as she brings beverages to the street scape artists. It is also pretty cool that they have live music and events... All in all I give it a 8.7 ...read more

Poor Johnny. He must have been having a bad day. I love this place. The coffee is very good, and though I've only had sweet rolls on Sunday mornings, it's always been a delight. It's a one of a kind place. Very special. Comfortable, affordable, magical. ...read more

Do you enjoy awful service, terrible food, and long wait times for your food? Then go to Sitwells. There is nothing redeeming or good about this restaurant. They are too cheap to hire both servers and cooks, so you wait around forever for your food. Because of this, your server is a stressed out mess who is 2 seconds away from going postal all over the 10 tables she has to wait on. Seriously, if I had to choose between get water boarded or going to sitwells, I would say ""flip the gallon bucket"". ...read more

I was visiting from NYC and remembered having seen this place on a previous visit. I had a lot of work to do and they had wi-fi so I decided to stay for a couple of hours. The service was great and the coffee was good (and cheap). HOWEVER, the owner was SO loud and abrasive to her employees, it made the atmosphere very unpleasant. \t\n\t\nAfter not being able to stand her ranting and raving and barking orders at her employees, I finally went to leave. Unknown to me, she was leaving as well and as I was getting to my car - I heard her gravely, loud, spent voice yell over to me and let me know how rude it was for me to take up 2 parking spaces and then she proceeded to call me an ""a$$hole"", who ""didn't belong in the neighborhood"". I tried to explain I was concerned about getting a ticket for parking too close to the corner ( a law in a lot of places) but she said ""no one is listening a$$hole"" and to ""get out of our neighborhood"". Classy. \t\n\t\nWhoever she is, whether its the meth/heroine/crack and/or LSD she is currently on OR has abused in the past, it has resulted in a very nasty and unkind person. She is a troll. Needless to say I won't go back. ...read more

chose to eat there on three different occasions and all three times the food was disgusting, service was horrible, the owner shows no ability to run a business, and the manager named Theresa has no clue how to manage a business and acts illiterate. ...read more