Coffee Shop Review - Sambalatte

Thursday, Oct 14th, 2010
by John Grouchy


I heard about Sambalatte about 2 months ago.  At that time it was still not open but they had a teaser Youtube video of the layout of the store that intrigued me.  From the short clip you can tell this unlike any other coffee shop that Las Vegas has seen.  It's located in the Boca Park shopping complex in Summerlin and has been open about a month now.  It's a two story store with the lower floor containing several tables and a few lounge chairs in a very lounge type setting.  The second floor contains more seating and a small library of books.  The decor is beyond your typical Starbucks or Coffe Bean and strives to be upscale but casual at the same time. 

However their focus on the decor did not take away from the quality of the coffee that they serve.  They use beans from Colorado Roasters in Boulder City and serve everything freshly ground.  They only brew coffee one cup at a time and use either a siphon pot or a pour over into the cup.  This gives them the ability to offer beans from many different regions and you are secure in the knowledge that the cup of coffee you are drinking was not sitting in a brew pot for an hour.  They also serve pastries, sandwiches, smoothies, and gelato.  All of which looked really good.

Overcome with the amount of choices offered I only ordered a cappuccino because I figured if I didn't like the way that was made it would be waste of time to try anything else.  After ordering I sat at a table to take in the decor and watch the barista prepare my drink.  I was very happy too see that she knew her way around an espresso machine.  The cappuccino was served on a tray with a glass of water and a little biscuit (very posh).  The cappuccino was well made and tasted good.

Overall I am very impressed by Sambalatte and look forward to my next visit to try more of what they have to offer.  I just wish they weren't located all the way across town.