Carrington Oaks Coffeehouse Lakeland

I was really hoping to love this local cafe but was unimpressed. Ordered the caprese panini, which itself was not bad, but the fruit cup was so sad looking- would have been better to not even include it (the picture included is how the fruit cup came). The pasta salad was a $3 up charge but it seemed to be pasta with just bottled Italian dressing on it. They don’t do refills on ice tea which was very surprising for a dine in lunch spot and given the tea is $3.75, seems like they could give you at least one refill. I’ll consider coming back to try a coffee drink but I but don’t plan to have lunch here again. My meal cost $21 and was not a good value for that price. Disappointing because the location is convenient and it’s pretty spacious and bright inside.

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.

Food is just okay. Way overpriced. They’re not very transparent with pricing, and turns out there’s a reason. $17 for a Turkey wrap with a small bag of chips. Most sandwiches are around that $15 range, and they only come with that small bag of chips. Even a simple grilled cheese is $10.

Too many businesses are using “inflation” or “supply chain fees” as an excuse to price gouge. All you have to do is check out the closest competition down the road (Crave) which has better food and a wider selection, and you can save 20-30% on average. How are people supposed to keep a local business like this alive when their business model is to take advantage of customers?

Don’t waste your time or money until they offer fair pricing.

My daughter and I stopped in here this week. We ordered the grilled cheese, caprese panini, soup, various muffins and drinks. I was highly impressed with the caprese panini. I like that the sandwiches are customizable. I chose to have it on sourdough and it was so fresh and delectable. I truly enjoyed the mocha that I ordered and I am glad to see that they serve locally roasted coffee. The shop looks like it would be a great place to do work or have a small group meeting. Also, the ladies who served us were very nice.

My new happy place! It will take weeks to work my way through the Coffee selections, muffins plus breakfast items. Excellent service, most pleasant atmosphere and convenient location. I'm so glad we have a new Carrington in our Lakeland neighborhood. Yay!

We wanted to like this place so badly and be able to support a small business. We just went for coffee and it was $15 dollars for two coffees: a latte (additional $1 charge for a pump of syrup) and a black drip coffee which tasted burnt. Another $3.85 for a MinuteMaid apple juice out of the cooler for my toddler. As other reviews stated, prices are not listed on the menu and the cost will prevent us from coming back in the future.

Lovely environment for studying or dates or anything in between! Friendly staff! Coffee is wonderful and the food is delicious!

Good coffee and excellent reuben sandwich, but I dont like the fact that there are no prices posted on their menu. You dont know the price until its rung up, unless you ask the cashier for every item as you order.

Super cute little place! Delicious coffee and sandwiches! Can’t wait to go again! Awesome that they have gluten free options as well!

Great customer service! Happy to have a coffee shop in Lakeland!