Retrograde Coffee

I've been to a lot of coffee shops. NOTHING...and I repeat... NOTHING compares to retrograde. They use Onyx Coffee Lab beans and are precise in how they prepare it. I live 25 minutes away and make the drive just for the coffee. Sandwiches are good too. I stock up on whole beans (Onyx CK Southern Weather) for my home brews. Did I mention that this is the best coffee I've ever had? Vibe is great, too.

This place has the traditional feel of a small coffee shop. It's got all of the right decor selections and the baristas look like every other Nashville coffee shop... I would say that I didn't really love their coffee, so the coffee is what brings it down for me

Have been several times, small concert, quick coffee, lunch today. Service was quick, respectful, friendly. I had a tasty grill cheese, my friend had tea, both excellent. A little cool inside, so we sat on the patio under cover from the sun, very pleasant. We were serenaded by the sounds of tejano hip hop from the auto shop across the street.👍

People really annoy me with being so stingy with the 5 star reviews. Everyone wants to be a critic nowadays, so annoying.
Everything was fantastic! Definitely recommend coming here. The atmosphere was lovely. Keep doing you, Retrograde.

There coffee is amazing. I'm definitely coming back. I loved this quiet, unique coffee shop.

Look at my history it's rare for me to leave bad reviews.

The coffee was okay. The cappuccino I ordered was not very frothy so it was more like a latte. The taste was good though.

The service was below par. The two baristas were not very kind. In fact, they both separately decided to lecture me for filling up my water. After the first guy told me I should have asked for the water I said "okay my bad, I appreciate your help" and then the barista ignored me because he was upset I filled up my water? I had to say thank you three times to elicit a response from the barista because he was mad at me for filling the water on my own even though that's how almost every shop does it. Then, the second barista I guess decided the first guy had all the fun and he wanted to lecture me too. So he chimed in with "you should have just asked us for water" like okay guy my bad y'all were busy and I didn't want to bother y'all.

Also, now that I'm being critical of this place, the baristas never bothered to ask me how I was doing or anything. It was just the classic "what can I get for you" with no intro at all. They weren't busy either. I just wanted to make a little small talk while I got my order but these baristas had that whole "I'm a barista so I'm better than you vibe." Why does that seem so common?

I won't be coming here again. Too many good shops around to spend my money somewhere where it doesn't seem valued.

One of the reviews on here broke my heart so I had to tag team in some positivity! I'm referring to the hipster comment below...

I need to clarify- I live nearby and have visited since opening day on and off. I have encountered many different staff members through staff changes. I can say assuredly I have never encountered anyone unkind or with a bad attitude. I find the comment below to be very judgmental. I don't judge the quality of someone's heart by how they dress hip or not, by the color of their skin, the shape of their glasses, I could go on and on. That's all surface level.

The coffee is good, the specialty espressos are YUM. I'll order food when I visit today to meet a friend which I'm sure will also be delicious!
But for sure sure sure- the people are kind. Let's try to be kinder/slow to judge to one another in our interactions from both sides of the counter...

30 minute for coffee! Wow! Eggs are going to be cold back home!

Retrograde was the first neighborhood shop in the Cleveland park area where I live, so naturally I was very excited. The coffee is great, the food is good, the customer service is lacking. I have this time to resolve itself, but it is still an issue. A coffee shop staff should be warm, welcoming, and ready to help. Many times I’ve been in line alone with multiple baristas behind the counter working without so much as a “hello, I’ll be right with you”. It’s awkward. I don’t mind waiting, just say “hello!” Also when asking a question, the baristas are often on the defensive. I say, “I have an online order”, they respond, “well we’ve got a lot going on back here so we just haven’t gotten to it yet. We’ll call you when it’s ready.” I wasn’t upset that my order wasn’t ready, yet I was responded to in a rude and defensive way instead of a kinder explanation. Retrograde could be THE neighborhood spot, but the customers have to feel like neighbors you want to invite to a cookout, instead of the neighbors you avoid eye contact with.

I walked 20 minutes for some coffee and they gave me black and said they had some half and half. I was like ok ig I’ll fix it up myself whatever. I put some cream and syrup in it and it’s by far the worst coffee I’ve ever tasted.