Saige Cafe

Extremely slow– Coffee a little bitter. It doesn’t take more than 5 minutes to ring a cup of coffee. When that’s followed up by an immature response from someone else sitting around, you’re better off getting coffee from a truck. Slow service is poor service; none deserves an excuse such as «she’s going as fast as she can».

The owner seems to be doing SO much better. Kudos! Still docking one star for the suuuuper bitter coffee, though.

Cool atmosphere, the food and drinks are fine, but unfortunately the service is really terrible. I decided to write this review while waiting to place an order for almost 10 minutes — when I was the only one in line. Several employees saw me waiting without acknowledging me at all. Finally, the person cooking the paninis kindly abandoned her station to serve me, even though she was clearly swamped. I’d like to say that this was a one-​off experience but sadly the staff here has been consistently off point and, on occasion, really rude. I’ll be back because it’s close to the train station, but only when I literally have no time for anywhere else.

They are open till 10 and claim to serve food until 8pm yet I wanted to order a sandwich at 7:50 and they refused because «the grill was cooling». If that’s the policy then correct me if I am wrong but shouldn’t you serve food until 8? I will not be coming back and it’s a shame because the food is good. The customer service though, as evident from other reviews, leaves much to be desired. Hopefully management takes notice and fixes the issue soon.

The big problem is they don’t use actual fruit for their smoothies. It’s ridiculous. There’s simply no way around it. Either real fruit or it’s disgusting. Temple should have higher standards. It’s the only option place if you must grab something to eat or drink quick before getting on the train. I actually assumed they used real fruit until I read on her they don’t. I’m very disappointed. I will likely never return. Definitely not for a drink. Probably just to get ripped off on a bag of chips.

Would not recommend. Been here twice. The first time they completely forgot my drink, and the second they almost did until they came out with something I didnt order. They fixed it, but this happening twice a week apart seems like a pattern to me. The employee taking my order had no idea what I was ordering (a chai tea) even though it was right above him on the menu. «Can I have a chai tea?» «I think we have iced tea…»
Only saving grace was the good breakfast sandwiches and the proximity to the train station. There are so many better places to get coffee at around campus (Saxbys, Starbucks), though, so definitely skip this.

I was initially drawn to Saige café because of the cool atmosphere and it’s variety in menu options, and have given it several tries since its grand opening. While there are many menu options, I found that the food was rather bland, and coffee options left something to be desired. The smoothies are not made from real fruit, and were very artificial tasting, and loaded with sugar. On top of the lack of quality I found with the food and drinks, the man who seems to be the manager is unfriendly and has been rude on nearly each encounter I’ve had with him.
While I rather enjoyed the bright, trendy environment at Saige, it will unfortunately not be enough to bring me back as a customer.

The food is good but the larger guy who appears to be the manager is extremely rude to his employees and is short with customers. He doesn’t smile and isn’t pleasant. He’s borderline aggressive. It seemed that there was a new employee and he basically looks over his shoulder every second of the transaction which made me uncomfortable.
If you aren’t ok with your employees learning on the fly, provide more training or create an atmosphere where they feel supported and can ask questions. They’ll learn faster and pass that experience on to your customers. Just because you know everything as a manager doesn’t mean to you need to belittle your employees.
Outside of that, the place has a nice atmosphere and good food.

Atmosphere was fine. Kind of like Cosi.
ALL the salads have chicken on them. And they are all premade.
The big giant waving sign out front says JUICE BAR. The chalkboard menu inside says JUICE BAR. I ordered a JUICE and got a smoothie (ie: blended with ice, not made in a juicer). It tasted very sweet– like something from Dunkin Donuts. The sign said ALL NATURAL so I assume there was no sugar in it, but when I ordered it they asked if I wanted whipped cream so there you go. Who would drink whipped cream on a juice?
After I ate my lunch I approached the manager and asked him why the menu said juice when they were selling smoothies. He said, «They have juice in them.» I said, «But they’re not juice, they’re smoothies, can you change the sign to say smoothies?» He said, «I’m sorry, no.» I scowled and walked back to my table to my lunch partner. The manager walked past me briskly and said, «I’m sorry for the miscommunication.» I would call it a misdirection.

What a great addition to Temples campus. Fresh bites with everything from already made salads to make your own sandwiches. Iced coffee and smoothies with soy/​almond options available. Hope this new business stays great as it grows

Service was terrible. Food was poorly prepared. Upon arriving I was told that they would not accept any custom orders. A lot of ingredients on the menu were out of stock or unavailable The staff was arguing. A waste of time and money. I will not be returning to the Saige Café.

I love it here.
I went here on a whim one day when the train was running late. Someone had mentioned Saige and I was hesitant to check it out.
I’m thankful I did.
I can enjoy and appreciate the environment and it’s so close to the train station.
It’s a had a very laid back atmosphere which can be very rewarding after class.
It’s newer and I feel I will be considered a regular very soon.

I love the décor, the cleanliness and the friendly staff. I want to love this place-​I really, really do BUT they don’t have enough veg/​vegan options. All of the salads are pre-​made and come with meat on them. When I ask for a fresh salad w/​o meat they do it but then I’m left with no protein. I wish they offered tofu/​seitan or something. They should also invest veggie burgers!

ALWAYS smoky in this place. What’s with that? The panini grill is out of control! With poor ventilation you get an unpleasantly smoky environment. Décor is lovely, but the staff isn’t. When you have a staff that’s under the bull whip of an unpleasant manager, they’re going to behave incompetently. No employee will perform well when the manager is a MICRO-​manager. Oh, and clearly none of them know how to pour shots. Since when is double shot served in a styrofoam cup? I asked for a double «for here». Yea they have a lot of food, but nothing organic, except a few cold teas in the fridge. Typical AMERICAN «café» with oversized pastries for the Typical American. Temple, thank god I’m graduating this May, so I don’t see further disappointment on campus.

My first experience with Saige was good. I had a large pick up and the cashier was friendly and patient. The food is good, they have a large selection to choose from. Their smoothies are decent, no artificial colors or flavors. However the second time the cashier was not as friendly, and forgotten my friend had paid for her food and attempted to charge her twice. Was not crowded so confused how she had forgotten, but everyone has their days.

Obsessed already! Large menu with lots of options all made to order! I was blown away at the variety. They offer breakfast and lunch options featuring bagels and other bakery items. They also have a very large selection of coffee and smoothie drinks. I ordered a Turkey and Mozzarella panini and it was great! Very tasty and fresh.
The ambiance of the café is what got me as soon as i walked in. The décor is beautiful and modern. Very friendly and welcoming space. A nice place to relax and enjoy coffee and lunch. The employees were kind and offered suggestions.
Prices are slightly higher than most of the other food spots on campus, but it is right on par for the quality of food being served. I had no problem with the price considering it was made in front of my eyes and you can tell the ingredients are fresh. I have yet to find that anywhere else on/​close to campus.
I was also told that they will be doing open mic and other music events! Will definitely be my new go-​to coffee/​lunch spot on campus. They even offer a 10% discount for Temple students and employees! Love it!

Saige Café is 5 stars for this type of restaurant– mostly breakfast and lunch food. I’m drawn here for the atmosphere. It’s SUPER clean (difficult to find in north philadelphia) but still comfortable and welcoming. There’s a great selection of tea; I haven’t tried the coffee. The food is also pretty good. I had a turkey Reuben, which I would order again. The menu has a large selection of salads, soups, sandwiches, paninis, and breakfast sandwiches.
The customer service is also good — you can tell it’s a brand new restaurant and production isn’t optimal yet (I’m writing this review on 2−26−15) but everyone is super nice and in an atmosphere like this, I don’t think most people mind waiting a few minutes (there are couches and comfortable chairs to sit on).

They are new, so they are still working out the kinks. I think they have good ingredients but aren’t sure how to put them together well. I like the chai latte with almond milk, and the vegan burgers are good. They are on my commute, so I’m gonna experiment with what foods are their specialities. It’s not egg salad.

What a great find! I am doing field work at Temple University for a class I am taking and, apparently, despite working on a master’s degree, I am unable to read and interpret a regional rail schedule. Womp, womp.
Missed train + 15 degree weather + one hour wait time = one upset Shannon. I thought I might just meander over to the Broad Street line when I saw this place lit up as the sun started to set. I walked in and WOW.
Great menu — huge menu, actually, with some awesome choices. I wanted something hot and was immediately drawn to their paninis, in particular the grilled cheese panini. I ordered that a cup of hot coffee to drink while I waited. I was a little not happy paying more than $ 8 for these two items, but whatever.
The sandwich was AWESOME. OMG worth it. Totally worth it. The bread was so good and the cheese all nice and gooey. There were some pickle slices thrown in to the container.
Service — awesome. Aside from their menu, they also offer baked goods like muffins and scones and pre-​packaged items like chips and other snacks.
I am looking forward to returning and trying their soup and some other hot items.
The atmosphere here is really cool, too. Very welcoming yet not homey — very contemporary in design. The service was really quite excellent as well. I was greeted as soon as I walked in and thanked as I was leaving.

I’ve worked on Temple University campus for 15 years and its changed a great deal in that time. There are stores and restaurants on campus and nearby but so many of them are poorly run amd have bad customer service and atmosphere.
The Saige Café had only been opened a week and I’ve been there 5 times already –walking past the Starbucks in my buildings lobby, then a row of food places– in two minutes I’m in Saige with its cool, funky vibe, its just as good as Starbucks coffee plus wonderful baked goods, a juice bar, burgerd, salads sandwiches, etc.
The brand new staff are super nice and are augmented by folks who must be from the café’s other location in Jersey. I love this place and know I’ll be haunting it alot.
I hear they may do live music and karaōke after 5pm. That’s great for the students, but us staff want some lunchtime music too.
If the owners want to open a 3^rd location in my hometown of Lansdowne, PA, I’d haunt that one too.