Parable Coffee

*pic of new summer menu included*
absolutely love this place, such unique flavors for drinks esp with the new menu (although the sesame miso caramel latte is still my fav) and the cheddar biscuit scone things are amazing!! they ran out of hazel + hoji today so I’ll have to go back to try that one but the staff is so friendly and knowledgeable about the drinks (even the new ones still in training) so def them for recs if you’re unsure what you might like.
if I could give a 4.5 though, I would take of half a point bc it’s a hunt for seating and there aren’t a lot of outlets so not a good place to sit and study for extended periods of time. other than that always a great time :)

A beautiful atmosphere, very relaxing. The vanilla lattes add to that relaxing feeling of being there. I’m an artist so going here is a great place for my creativity to soar. I do recommend getting there earlier than later, it gets very very busy and the bakery items will definitely be sold out later in the day.

We are owners of Calico Jack Coffee Roastery and when traveling we hit different local coffee shops. Parable Coffee impressed our tastebuds with an excellent whole milk latte and a perfect oat milk cortado. The atmosphere is unique, natural, tranquil and stylish. The perfect stop for our morning.

Stopping by on a road trip and saw this place, nice people but didn’t look at my drink until I drove off. $8 for a drink halfway filled???? Unacceptable honestly.

I’ve only ever had great experiences here! The coffee is delightful and the pastries!!!!!!! The pastries might be from heaven

Unfortunately my experience was a letdown. First off, there's no signage on the building? Upon entering, like some other reviews have stated, the music is just off. I go to coffee shops to chill and relax. The environment is not relaxing. Yes, they have a plethora of plants and a modern aesthetic, but Get Low and Back That Azz Up blasting does not mesh with their aesthetic. They clearly don't want to change this because it's already been mentioned multiple times in reviews.

My drink was also disappointing. I had the sesame miso caramel latte. I was expecting a flavor explosion and maybe some unique texture or layers to the drink. It looked and tasted like a basic sweet latte, and it was small. There was no pop of flavor or uniqueness, and there certainly wasn't an overwhelming umami element as the description stated. I don't mind the prices as much as others seem to, but the drinks have to be worth it. This wasn't.

The lines were crazy, and there was no option to order online. This just added to the stress of coming here, and wait there's more.

There was someone literally doing a photo shoot pretty much on top of me, and no one seemed to care. Sorry, but they should be asking your permission to do this and doing it after hours or when the shop is slow. This was extremely intrusive and taking over a large portion of the cafe. I felt extremely uncomfortable and couldn't even enjoy my drink that took a long time to procure. Also, there were booths I saw in the picture that don't seem to actually be in the cafe?

Lastly, I read on these reviews to park in Columbus Commons lot and get a validation from them. Well, the machine stated the validation was invalid. I tried it on two different machines. So, I paid $8 just to park here and have a stressful and unpleasant experience. I doubt I'll be back. Meh.

Parable Coffee absolutely loves up to the hype! If i had to choose only one word to describe the food and drinks it would be “balanced.” I have never experienced food or drink that exhibited such perfection, highlighting each flavor in just the right quantity. Staff was so friendly and helpful. The only cons I could think of were parking and lack of labeling on pastry display. As for the parking- that’s just how downtown Columbus is, and there is plenty of parking within a 3-5 minute walk if street parking isn’t available!

Drinks: (both 10/10) we got the iced matcha latte and an iced peach blossom matcha latte and both were absolutely delightful. Each note of flavor was evident but never overpowering. We noticed that each drink was made using a food scale, ensuring consistency.

For those of you that complain about pricing- it’s 100% worth every penny. You won’t find another coffee shop with consistently perfect drinks, that use the highest quality ingredients available, and pay their employees a living wage!

Food: apple strudel pop tart (10/10) and mixed berry muffin (9/10). The muffin top had a blissful sugary coating that provided the crunch necessary for a great muffin with a soft, moist, but crumbly interior texture. The only complaint is the inside of the muffin was a touch bland. Would have liked to have more flavorful fruit or the tiniest amount more sweetness. The pop tart was everything I could have wanted and then some. The flaky portion of the pastry was mind-blowing. It was light and flaky but in no way dry or crumbly. The filling was an explosion of flavor, but not overpowering or too sweet.

This food and drink experience was the closest I’ve ever experienced to true perfection.

I absolutely love Parable! The people are amazing and the coffee is top notch! I love the vibe inside - lots of plants and very comfy and welcoming. I just learned they validate parking by the commons - which is just icing on the cake! 100% would recommend. Their peppercorn cappuccino is my favorite!!

Parable is a solid coffee shop. The staff was warm and welcoming. I had two cappuccinos which were well-made. The espresso seemed slightly watery but that’s being very critical, both were good. Strangely, they charge $7 for a cappuccino which is possibly the most I’ve ever been charged, in the world, for a cappuccino. New York, Miami, LA, Sydney, Stockholm, Rome, Paris, Tokyo…I’m constantly touring and I can’t remember a single time I’ve been charged that much for a cappuccino. That sets up an expectation that it’s going to be the best cappuccino in the world which it was not. I might have felt ripped off by Parable, imagining corporate greed but upon leaving I caught sight of a piece of paper that read something along the lines of “if you simply don’t have the means for a coffee ask us and we will use our community fund to make sure you get a coffee”. Now that’s pretty cool. I’ve never seen anything like that in a coffee shop. I also chanced on some information that Parable pays their employee a “living wage”. So I guess the additional charges might go into the pockets of the employees or those even more in need. Also it seems that they have a pay-what-you-want model in place. I did not see that when I bought my coffees. Perhaps making that arrangement more central to their advertising might make sense as I surely can’t be the only person who was taken back by the $7 charge. A quick “by the way we have a pay what you want model but our prices reflect a higher wage for employees and community outreach” statement at the cash register would be useful. Interestingly, they didn’t have a tip jar on the counter or tip menu option on the iPad checkout. So their wages are higher? How much higher? Do they need to completely eliminate tipping all together? I’m back in New York and I’ll get an afternoon capp at my local which is on par or better than Parable for $4.36, add a tip of $1 for my favorite baristas and I’m out $5.36. The atmosphere at Parable is nice, spacious and relaxed. Again, the employees were excellent. But here is the worlds most expensive cappuccino in Columbus Ohio unless you happen to read the menu carefully. All this is very progressive and interesting but it needs to be front and center so the consumer has a full grasp of the mission and the pricing.

Perfect coffee shop. Homemade pop tarts were amazing, as was the miso caramel latte. The plants make it cozy and the staff was amazing.