Perfect Coffee, But Was Everything Else Perfect?
Matlacha, Florida. USA
Cuisine Style: American, Breakfast
Average Price: $
Overall Rating: 1/5
Dined: October 2019
By Sean Overpeck (CFE)
**A full article and index glossary of restaurants, wines, recipes and travel for
Wine Dine and Play are in the pages section above, or by following these links:
Perfect Cup Zomato rating:
Perfect Cup owner
Whitney Brown
The Perfect Cup opened as a coffeehouse then breakfast-lunch restaurant on Matlacha in 2007, starting with barista-quality cups of freshly ground espresso then through demand starting serving eggs and potatoes which then led to breakfast sandwiches, corned beef hash, burgers, salads, soups, a fisherman’s combo with all land-based foods, and a full course of omelets, including the house special crabby big daddy with lump blue crab meat, cut asparagus, and smoked provolone. On the weekends' fresh hollandaise is made for his brunch specials, and the bagels and lox are ordered from a shop in Brooklyn, New York.
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| Perfect Cup, Matlacha / Mural |
Perfect Cup Menu:
- Omelets
- Island Fare
- House Specialties
- Breakfast Sandwiches
- Sides
- Lunch
- Salads and Soups
- Desserts
My wife and I spent nearly ten days in Matlacha so we had a chance to try many of the restaurants on this small causeway island attached to greater Pine Island. For those who haven’t been to Matlacha, it is one of five small communities near Cape Coral and is located on a small island in Matlacha Pass. It is an "Old Florida" fishing village, home to many colorful art galleries, island boutiques, and traditional Floridian cottages that have murals matching the “hippy” vibe of the village itself. Most restaurants are seafood driven with the exception of the Perfect Cup, a Vietnamese, and an Italian restaurant. We went twice to the Perfect cup during our stay on the island.
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| Perfect Cup, Matlacha / Map |
You seat yourself, then hope not a lot of time will pass before you get menus. On the second visit, I had to go up and get menus. The food is good and the atmosphere is nice, but if you are looking for good service staff, you will find it hard-pressed here, even if the restaurant isn't slammed packed. For the coffee, everyone goes up and gets their own, and they offer several different varieties from around the world, both regular and decaffeinated. Selections include Columbian, Guatemalan, Brazil, Costa Rica, Tanzania, French, Honduran, Papua New Guinea, Kenyan, Indonesian, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Peru, Mexico, and of course combinations with the beans that include latte, mocha, cappuccino, and espresso. For the first visit, we shared the breakfast burrito with scrambled eggs, potato, pork sausage, bell peppers, onions and cheese wrapped in a flour tortilla with a side of salsa and sour cream. The plating of the dishes is very simple with no elaborate designs, rule of odds, layering for height, or garnishments.
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| Perfect Cup, Matlacha / Breakfast Burrito |
This all washes away with the good down-home taste to the food. The Burrito was filled with light spice, good warm texture, and wonderful flavors, just like a perfect breakfast dish should be to go along with your Perfect Cup, with not so perfect service. On the second visit, we hoped that service would improve but was actually even worse, and it brought the overall rating score for this review down drastically as we sat for nearly 15 minutes. We had time and patients so we didn’t leave. I went up to get coffee and they were out of coffee, plus having to get the menus. We told two separate servers and a cook that we were ready to order before finally, someone came to our table. The restaurant was busier than our previous visit, but there was more staff to cope with that. We sat near the front door in a corner by a bookshelf, so it made it difficult to see. I figured after going up the first two times, someone would get the hint that we were waiting.
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| Perfect Cup, Matlacha / Coffee |
Finally, after someone came to get our order, the word must have gone out, because two other front-of-house staff came up and ask us if someone took our order. My wife had the albacore tuna melt on sourdough bread with melted cheddar cheese and a side of Coleslaw. The sandwich was slam packed with the tuna, and like the burrito was filled with flavors, perfectly cooked and very comforting to eat.
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| Perfect Cup, Matlacha / Tuna Melt |
At first, I thought about the lox and bagel dish with a schmear of cream cheese, Nova salmon, tomato and Bermuda onion slices. Instead, I settled for the big breakfast of two eggs, toast, hash, grits, and a choice of meat. Not much to really say about the dish as it was a typical American breakfast sampling except the grits were cooked very well and had good flavor without the salt that some restaurants over-indulge in when made. Overall from both our visits, the coffee and food was great, but something needs to be done about the service either by hiring more people or training the current staff to be more aware and focus on greater customer service.
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| Perfect Cup, Matlacha / Big Breakfast |
Dessert:
We did not have dessert during this visit.
But check out some of these wonderful selections from Wine Dine and Play:
Please see these guidelines for Tipping in Restaurants and on following proper etiquette, customs, cultures, and avoiding assumptions when you dine out.
Other noteworthy Breakfast cuisine articles and restaurants similar to Perfect Cup:
Breakfast or ‘breaking of the fast,' or the first meal of the day; The Old English word for dinner, "disner," means to break a fast and was the first meal eaten in the day until it's meaning shifted in the mid-13th century. It was not until the fifteenth century “breakfast” came into use in written English to describe a morning meal. Brunch is a combination of breakfast and lunch eaten usually during the late morning to early afternoon, generally served from 11 am up to 3 pm and most popular on Sundays.
Al Fanar Restaurant and Café Authentic Emirati cuisine, Festival City, Dubai, UAE
Café du Monde Iconic café and coffeehouse serving beignets since 1862 in New Orleans, Louisiana
Caffeine Roasters Coffeehouse featuring blend and single origin coffees and chef-inspired pastries in Tampa, Florida
First Watch Café chain for health-minded breakfast, brunch, and lunch; reviewed in Tampa, Florida
Food 101 Farm-to-table eatery offering Southern classics in Sandy Springs, Georgia
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Metro Diner Local diner chain with classic American breakfast and lunch; reviewed in St. Petersburg, Florida
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Trip’s Diner a local and historical diner named after the owners' triplets in St Petersburg, Florida
Waffle House A Southern 24/7 breakfast chain known for their hash browns, based in Atlanta, Georgia
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See the whole list by visiting “The Wine Dine and Play Article Glossary”
Other Matlacha and Pine Island restaurants, and articles on Wine Dine and Play:
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A healthy Asian alternative to other local restaurants
Matlacha, Florida, USA
|
A Marina with seafood stand, market, and gulf view dining
Matlacha, Florida, USA
|
Drunken most point in the southern USA
St. James City, Pine Island, Florida, USA
|
A few Florida restaurant favorites:
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Old-world classic Italian & Mediterranean
New Smyrna Beach
|
California cuisine & fine dining chain
Orlando, Florida, USA
|
Med-Latin and tapas café with 360 views
St. Pete Beach, Florida, USA
|
See the whole list by visiting “The Wine Dine and Play Article Glossary by country”
Final notes, review basics, observations, and more pictures:
Most reviews are subjective, depending on the writer; but they should also be responsible, and respectfully written, upholding the truth, and accurately conveying the experience to the best of the writer's knowledge, even if it includes metaphors the restaurant may not like to read about. My ratings are by the stars I award (from 0 to 5). The rating is calculated on a point accumulation of six separate factors based on individual experience. They include wine and other beverage selections, plate presentation, customer service, restaurant or café ambience, food quality, and wow factor.
To see more details of this rating list, read this article:
Overall from this experience and the score factors outlined in the ‘about page’ section, based on my individual experience and rating, I give Perfect Cup a 1 out of 5 stars, meaning that they an average dining experience like most restaurants, and this is because of the poor quality in customer service, which once fixed will easily raise them to the two if not the three-star level.
Scores are detailed in the factor chart below:
Formula Factor Conclusions and Overall Ratings for Perfect Cup
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Max Points Possible:
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Total Points Awarded:
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Total Points deducted:
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Ambience
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10
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9
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1
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Food quality
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8
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6
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2
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Plate presentation
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9
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6
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3
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Customer service
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7
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2
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5
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Alcohol and other beverages
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0
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0
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0
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Total regular points awarded
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34
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23
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11
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Total percentage — less the Bonus
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0.676470588235294
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“Wow” factor BONUS
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5
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0
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0
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Total bonus percentage
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0
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Total percentage and bonus for a final star rating
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0.676470588235294
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Stars Awarded (see chart below)
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- 0 - 5
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1
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**A full break down and explanation of the observations and point disbursement is available in the linked article above. To receive a detailed copy of your score, feel free to contact me at any time and I will provide it to you.**
***
Overall Star Rating:
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1 of 5 Stars:
68% Rating with a 0 point “wow” bonus
An Average Dining Experience
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Corkage fees:
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Perfect Cup does not list any corkage fee’s however, most American restaurants charge $25.00 per bottle
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Restaurant-style:
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Casual dining
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Cuisine Style at Perfect Cup:
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American, Breakfast
Allergen or dietary accommodations:
Gluten-free choices, Low Carb Choices, Sustainable, Vegetarian Options
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Reservations:
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Not Required
Walk-Ins:
Accepted, but not guaranteed
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Dress code:
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Casual attire
It’s Florida, everybody wears flip-flops!
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Child policy:
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The Restaurants reviewed on this site may have a kids menu or cater to them; however, for full enjoyment of food and wine, it is recommended that kids not to be in attendance, unless they have been trained in proper etiquette.
If not then:
Hire a Babysitter!
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Perfect Cup Experiences:
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Contemporary, Rustic, Hole-in-the-wall, and a Neighborhood Gem
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Payments:
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Cash, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express
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Parking:
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Perfect Cup has a private lot
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Wifi
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The restaurants reviewed on this site may have Wi-Fi, but do not require you to go online, because the excitement of the food and wine alone will keep you too entertained instead of checking your social media and emails.
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Noise level:
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Medium
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Smoking:
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Perfect Cup is a non-smoking restaurant
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Patio or terrace:
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No
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Food Prices
(excludes, alcohol, taxes & 20% gratuity’s)
$£€¥ - Under 50.00 (inexpensive)
$£€¥ x 2 - 51.00- 99.00 (moderate)
$£€¥ x 3 - Over 100.00 (pricey)
$£€¥ x 4 - Over 200.00 (expensive)
$£€¥ x 5 - Over 400.00 (very expensive)
**Currencies reflect the world’s major travelers, restaurant, or wine connoisseur’s**
Currency:
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Price
|
United States Dollar (USD)
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$
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Great Britain Pound Sterling (GBP)
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£
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Canadian Dollar (CAN)
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$
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Chinese Yuan (CNY)
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¥¥
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European Union (EUR)
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€
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Perfect Cup:
4548 Pine Island Road
Matlacha, Florida
33993
Contact Information:
Restaurant:
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Perfect Cup
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Maître d or host:
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+1 239-283-4447
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Serving hours:
Eastern Standard Time
(GMT, Zulu, or UTC - 5:00)
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Daily: Mon - Sun
6:00 am - 3:00 pm
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Social Media
And
Accolades for Perfect Cup:
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****
The world’s best restaurants is a subjective list of who is writing it and changes on a regular basis. The Wine Dine and Play best experiences are based on my highest rated stared restaurants, meaning that the visit was an outstanding or extraordinary experience. From cafés, chains, mom + pops, hole in the walls, to fine dining including a few Michelin spots. Visit the Top 100 page to see the entire list.
A few to tease you with…
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Medieval-style British cuisine banquet plus 2-hour dinner show
London, England, UK
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California cuisine & fine dining chain
Orlando, Florida, USA
|
French & Canadian cuisine
Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada
|
Other Perfect Cup Pictures:
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| Perfect Cup, Matlacha / Dining Room |
“Culinary perfection consists not in doing extraordinary things,
But in doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.”
-Angelique Arnauld (1591-1661)
Who is John Galt?
TTFN
