With all of the hype that the new Starbucks Reserve got, I went in expecting something over the top. I wasn’t disappointed.

Located at West Maple and West Old Woodward in downtown Birmingham, the new Starbucks Reserve, which opened on September 29, the first Starbucks store in Michigan to have a Reserve bar.

The Reserve is open from 5am until 10pm Monday through Friday, and from 5:30am until 10pm on the weekend.

When I first walked into the Reserve, I was impressed by the interior design. There were three main sections of the Reserve: a bar, a place to study, and a place to order. The bar was located in the center of everything and lit up the room with glowing underlights. The study area, which was located towards the back of the room, had many tables in proximity to a fireplace. The main place to order did not only work the same way as a regular starbucks line would, it also looked the same. It had bakery items displayed for all to see with baristas hustling to make drinks behind the counter.

Though the interior design was impressive, the noise was not. There was lots of space in the Reserve, don’t get me wrong, but as expected, this starbucks was busy. I like to study in peace and quiet, so the Reserve is not somewhere I would go to study. Not only did the amount of people at the Reserve affect the noise, but it also affected the wait time for my drink.

When ordering, the staff was easy to get along with and knew what they were doing. There was a lot going on but everyone behind the counter seemed to handle it well. The baristas were very helpful when trying to decide what I wanted to try when faced with the new Starbucks Reserve menu.

The menu at the Reserve differed from the regular starbucks menu as they have their own “Reserve menu”. The major difference that stuck out to me between the Reserve menu and the regular menu is that the Reserve menu offers coffee with ice cream.

Overall, I do recommend stopping in and checking out the new starbucks to see the differences in the menu, but I wouldn’t recommend planning a study session there with your friends or a tutor if you like peace and quiet.