Tis Me Michelle

I can’t tell if you’ve caught on, but I clearly have a few areas that I really stick to. Winter Garden & Mills 50 are apparently my favorite spots in town! For this edition of Coffee Date, we are back in Winter Garden to review Three Birds.

It’s a corner cafe on the always wonderful stroll that is Plant Street. I’ve been in a few times over the past couple of years and have had varying experiences. The first time I ever went was, what seemed like, the opening weekend. Plant Street is bustling on weekends and it seemed like everyone in town was trying to get into the cafe. I surprisingly made it in before the line got long, but by the time I ordered, the line got long. The wait for my salad bowl was rather long. They were definitely backed up and it seemed like it was happening to everyone. I remember being ready to ask or leave when my meal finally arrived. I don’t recall exactly what I ordered, because I looked up the current menu and it’s not ringing a bell. I just remember it was some kind of a salad/quinoa-type salad. And I remember thinking it was not the greatest, especially for the price and wait.

From that experience, I was kind of turned off. I happened to be on The Street maybe a year or so ago and thought I’d pop in for coffee. I ordered one of their specialty iced lattes and a macaron to go. This time I remember enjoying the macaron and not being impressed by the coffee. One more try, just a few months back I took a chance and gave breakfast a shot. I ordered the Southwest Bowl and a specialty iced latte again (I don’t recall which one or if it was the same one as the previous time). This time I enjoyed the bowl and thought the iced latte was on the bitter side. Better than the last couple of experiences though!

We’re all about giving places quadruple chances. I had a work coffee date with a friend and we decided to go here since my friend hadn’t been before. This time I ordered the White Queso Chorizo Breakfast Wrap – what a long name – and I really enjoyed it! A bit on the pricy side, but I was a fan. Note, pretty much all the meals hears are ~$15. My eyes are always on the lookout for pastries and desserts and they grew wide seeing the cinnamon rolls on the counter. I opted for the ‘Salted Caramel Pistachio” cinnamon roll – and I have to say – it tasted like a very basic regular cinnamon roll. And I really wanted this to be a complete redemption, but I was very put off by the drink I ordered. I opted for the “Hibiscus Lemonade”. I asked the cashier her opinion – and I mean I’m sure she’s biased – but she said it was very good. For reference, there isn’t much of a description on the menu – it does say it’s topped with dried roses. I did not receive any roses and immediately wished I had walked away and simply had them bring the drink to my table because the hibiscus lemonade was simply the iced tea and lemonade from the soda fountain. I essentially paid a premium for a soft drink.

I will say my friend enjoyed everything she ordered. I believe her meal consisted of the Chicken Buffalo Caesar Wrap, Iced Cinnamon Crunch Latte, and Blueberry Cinnamon Roll. I did try out her latte, and it was much better than the previous ones I had gotten. She did say her wrap was a 10/10, so note that everyone’s experience is different.

Now for vibes, this place is super cute with indoor and outdoor seating. We went this last time on a Thursday and it was still pretty busy through lunchtime. I wouldn’t say it’s a great place to work or study – there are really only charging options by the window bar stool seating. Also, it does get pretty noisy and distracting. We noticed right at the end that there are no bathrooms inside the cafe either – which is the same for Axum. There are a couple public bathrooms available in the area if needed. As mentioned in previous Plant Street posts, parking is A+ in this area, so that is a bonus!

Honestly, I wanted to love this place because it is so cute. I don’t think I will be back unless I’m going with someone who really wanted to go. For me, the quality for the price just hasn’t matched up. Again, The Street has so many options – this just isn’t the top of my list.

Rating: 4/10