Review - Saxbys Coffee (40th & Locust)

4000 Locust Street
215.386.1832
Website, Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, Google Maps
M - R: 6:30 am - 10:45 pm, F: 6:30 am - 9:45 pm, Sat: 7 am - 7:45 pm, Sun: 7 am - 10:45 pm
Free Wifi, Lots of Tables (though often extremely crowded), A few outlets

Saxbys Coffee (40th & Locust)

Some of my readers have asked me why I named this blog Philly Cacophony.  I think I can finally give you a satisfactory answer.  Until now, the cafés I've reviewed ranged from satisfactory to excellent.  But this Saxbys Coffee is the paradigm example of a bad café in Philadelphia - and that's not an exaggeration.  I should note, that I'm generally not a fan of chain cafés and so I'll stick to visiting and reviewing independent local cafés.  However, considering that Saxbys is the 4th best café on Penn campus, and generally fairly popular, I decided that a Philly Cacophony review was strongly needed.


As previously insinuated, Saxbys is a franchise chain based in Pennsylvania.  This particular location is on the Western edge of the University of Pennsylvania's campus and right next to Penn Dental School.  Though this particular café wasn't always Saxbys (it was Bucks County Coffee Shop before), it's been on Penn campus longer than most nearby cafés (e.g., Lovers and Madmen, Starbucks on 34th & Chestnut).  Consequently, Saxbys remains a popular spot for graduate students and undergraduate students alike to study, hang out, or grab a bite to eat.


So I walked into Saxbys, ordered a coffee, and sat down at a table.  The first thing I noticed is that the café  is generally dirty and not well-kept.  Tables are all over the place and chairs are askew.  But my biggest pet peeve - it's just dirty.  There are napkins, food crumbs, and miscellaneous trash just left all over the place by previous customers.  I agree, people should learn to clean up after themselves, but for the past hour I've been sitting here, I haven't see a Saxbys staff member clean up the used napkins on the table next to mine!  And I absolutely hate when I spot a nice table - only to find it covered with crumbs!  I went to the counter where the sugars and creams so that I could find some napkins and water to clean the table up myself.  Only to find NO NAPKINS.  I had to ask the staff member behind the counter for some napkins and water to clean up after my own table.  Unbelievable!  Just out of curiosity, I looked up the health department records for this location.  A search for "Saxby's Coffee" on Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture's Website, reveals that during its latest inspection on December 2, 2009, there were 11 health violations.  Some of them seem harmless and from what I hear, most restaurants are in violation.  But there was one comment by the inspector that was particular disturbing:

"Visible physical evidence of rodent activity observed in the front prep area. Mouse feces were observed on the countertop beneath the microwave & toaster. Mouse feces also observed in seams of the countertop. Mouse feces observed on floors along wallbase behind grease trap & ice maker."

That's just straight up gross.  Sure, maybe I should give Saxbys the benefit of the doubt and perhaps they cleaned up since December 2009.  But given by observing the rather lax attitude towards cleanliness, I would seriously be surprised if this café is now sanitary.  After being thoroughly deterred from ordering any food from Saxbys, I decided to just get a cup of coffee.  I ordered a small cup ($1.67) and chose to go with their coffee of the day which was a Columbia roast (or was it a blend?  I'm a bit confused because the cashier had absolutely no idea what I was asking...).  A couple sips and I couldn't finish the coffee.  It tasted extremely watered-down and tasted as if they had brewed the coffee several hours ago.  In fact, for the past 2 hours I've been here, I've been watching the baristas to see if they would re-brew the coffee, but they haven't.  It's just been sitting there.... I suppose I could've added sugar and cream to my coffee, but honestly I didn't really feel like it.


Enough about the food and coffee.  As for the ambiance - it actually wouldn't be half-bad if they kept this place tidy!  Unfortunately, it's extremely messy.  Moreover, it's fairly crowded, despite the fact that they have about 28 tables.  If you're lucky enough to find a table, it might be a suitable place to chat or hang out with a friend.  If you're looking to study, I would say Saxbys is probably one of the worst places to study.  It's darkly lit, extremely crowded, and loud.  With the exception of 2 big tables, all the other tables are too small to study.  In addition, there's only about 4 outlets for the 28 tables!  Plus the outlets are probably the worst outlets ever.  For some reason, my laptop plug won't stay into the outlet because the outlet is too loose!  At least they have free wi-fi....(hint: if you're a Penn student, you should choose to connect to Air Penn Net instead of Saxby's internet).  I would say the only thing going for Saxbys at this point, is its late hours.  But if you're looking for an alternative late night study spot on Penn campus, there are many other viable alternatives.


Bottom line: Coffee sucks, it's dirty, and it's a terrible study spot.  At least it stays open late, but honestly, it's not worth it.  I give it 1/5 "bean."  And that's probably one bean too many.  Trust me when I say you'd rather study at Lovers and Madmen, Starbucks, or Penn Bookstore.  The only redeeming part of my visit here is that I only spent $1.67 and not a penny more....Please feel free to share your thoughts on this place.