Café entertainment in USA
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Ritual Coffee Roasters
Blue Bottle and Ritual Roasters are the two big names in SF’s ‘Third Wave’ coffee movement, which esteems coffee as highly – and artfully – as fine chocolate and grand cru wine. We love bringing our laptop to Ritual’s Mission location to get jacked and eavesdrop on tattooed bikers, internet pros and coffee aficionados, but lament the loss of electrical outlets at some tables.
reviewed
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Jives Coffee Lounge
Easily the hippest hand on the Old Colorado City stretch, this large brick-wall coffee lounge has ample sofas, wi-fi and a bandstand featuring regular live music and a Wednesday open-mic night. They do all the coffee drinks and a selection of all-fruit, no-sugar smoothies.
reviewed
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Intelligentsia Coffee
This local chain roasts its own beans and percolates good strong stuff. Its baristas frequently win the national latte-making championship, and one went on to win the international version. They know their joe. It makes a good pre- or post–Millennium Park fuel up.
reviewed
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Caffe Strada
University students get wired on caffeine on the giant outdoor patio and study, ardently talk philosophy or make eyes at each other. Good pastries.
reviewed
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Ha-ra
If you’re alone with your journal, or need a place for a tête-à-tête that may end in tears, bring a fiver for the jukebox, select Miles Davis, and cozy up in this often-empty vintage-1947 classic dive. Take note of the flashback-to-the-1950s black-and-white photo of the couple dancing, then look at the wall sconces and you’ll realize you’re standing in the exact same spot – only now it’s filled with ghosts, not bee-boppers.
reviewed
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Online Coffee Company
Just because there’s wi-fi in every corner of every scraggly soup-kitchen bathroom these days doesn’t necessarily mean you brought your laptop with you to Capitol Hill. If you need a quiet place to check your email over a latte, this coffee shop in a renovated house is a good bet. Internet use is free for the first half-hour with the purchase of a drink. There’s free wi-fi too, of course. The branch on E Pine Street is larger and more office-like.
reviewed
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Stumptown on 12th
Serious bean freaks will be pleased to know that the small but internationally acclaimed coffee-roasting company Stumptown Coffee Roasters, based in Portland, Oregon and known for its fair-trade practices, now has two branches in Seattle. The cafe on 12th Ave is home to the company’s Seattle roasting headquarters. Coffee tastings are open to the public at 3pm daily. The tiny, adorable Pine St Cafe is also perfect for a quick caffeine hit.
reviewed
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City Steam Brewery Café
This big and boisterous place has plenty of yummy beers on tap. The Naughty Nurse Pale Ale is a bestseller, but be sure to check out their seasonals. The café is also home to the Brew Ha Ha Comedy Club, where you can yuk it up with comedians seen on Conan O’Brien and at the Improv. Shows are $15 on Friday and Saturday nights and $5 on Thursdays. You must pay for tickets with your credit card.
reviewed
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Zeitgeist
One of the prettiest coffee shops around, this converted warehouse space serves coffee, pastries and sandwiches that have locals lined up all the way out the door in the morning and lunchtime rushes. But its blond-wood tables, picture windows, brick walls and wrought-iron accents make it an aesthetically pleasing place to work or read when it’s quiet. It’s also very handy to the Amtrak station.
reviewed
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Abbot’s Habit
With its crunchy, unwashed vibe – messenger bags, dreadlocked hippies, ’80s indie classics on the airwaves – scruffy Abbot’s Habit feels more Colorado mountain town than shiny LA surf city. But then you see the flip-flops, dude, and it all seems right. The coffee’s strong, the pastries are fresh and the patio’s made for loitering. Check it out, bro.
reviewed
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On the Waterfront Cafe
For a little German-style conviviality, oom-pah-pah your way over to the lively patios at On the Waterfront Cafe, where a boisterous international crew guzzles pitchers of Bitburger and Erdinger. Lots of pub grub and a few Germanic specialties – potato pancakes, bratwurst, Swiss dried beef – keep the boardwalk-adjacent revelers going all day long.
reviewed
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Farley’s
Retro-Americana down to the whitewashed slat-board walls and soda-shop-style counter, Farley’s is Potrero Hill’s unofficial gathering place, and has a big community newsboard and stellar magazine selection. Neighbors while away entire afternoons at sunny sidewalk tables. If you want to meet locals, this is the place.
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Momi Toby’s Revolution Café
For once, a cafe that’s not an internet port. Dig the boho scene, with artists on both sides of the counter, swilling coffee and wine. Take sun at outdoor tables, or snag a window seat inside and meet the locals. There’s another location in the Mission that hosts Classical Revolution on Sundays.
reviewed
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Espresso Vivace Roasteria
Asked what’s the best coffee in Seattle, most people will mention Vivace. The main location is vast and open with Vivace’s trademark curved bar. There’s also a tiny walkup window on Broadway where you can get an espresso on the run or stand around and watch the overcaffeinated street theater.
reviewed
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La Burdick Chocolates
This boutique chocolate store doubles as a café full of patrons drinking cocoa. Whether you choose dark or milk, it’s sure to be some of the best chocolate you’ll drink in your lifetime. There are only a handful of tables, so it’s hard to score a seat when temperatures are chilly.
reviewed
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Cherry Street Coffee House
The cutest branch of a small chain of coffee shops, this comfy den is furnished with attractively worn, rickety chairs and a homey vibe. Espresso is artfully pulled and poured, and there’s a large underground seating area. The huge chicken-salad sandwich can make two meals; there’s also a good vegan menu.
reviewed
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Algiers Coffee House
Proceed to the 2nd story of this charming café to find a pleasant wood-paneled room with a mirror-lined octagon cut into the floor, allowing voyeurs to peek at the goings-on below. On offer are Turkish coffee, mint-chocolate frappes, beer and port. If it’s not busy, it’s a fantastic place to read.
reviewed
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1369 Coffee House
If you’re looking for a coffee shop where people linger for hours, you might be unnerved by the 1369, where it seems some folks stay for years. Countless term papers and novels have been written at the small tables, though some come for board games. Also a sister café at 757 Massachusetts Ave.
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B&O Espresso
This casually elegant spot has loads of atmosphere and is a nice place to take a date for a leisurely dessert. Meals are nothing special, but the dessert case is like a window at Tiffany’s. You can get Turkish coffee here, as well as all kinds of tea, beer, wine and cocktails.
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Black Dog Café
Wine and beer aren’t served until 6pm, but this special spot, beloved by the city’s creative community, is always happening, thanks to frequent poetry readings, open-mic music, chess boards and outdoor tables overlooking Lake Ella. If you want to eat here, mains are $2 to $7.
reviewed
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Lost Souls Café
A keen java radar is required to track down this coffeehouse-cum-community-lab down a dark alley off 4th St (don't worry, it only looks scary). Inside, it's a cool spot where local latterati hang out for a chat, to check their email or to listen to poets or bands.
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Samovar Tea Lounge
Styled in soothing Zen-chic, Samovar’s sunny Castro location specializes in organic, fair-trade teas, and provides a cozy alternative to the neighborhood’s ubiquitous bars. Bento boxes, cheese plates and tea cookies give reason to linger.
reviewed
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Rue de la Course
This spacious coffee shop is constantly filled with folks on computers banging away on that next term paper, screenplay, email, Facebook post and, er, guidebooks. It’s friendly, the coffee is good and, crucially, there are lots of power outlets for your laptop.
reviewed
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Sarasota News & Books
When they say 'from latte to literature' they aren't kidding. Along with plenty of books and magazines, this independent café serves strong and flavorful espresso. It's a perfect alternative to that ubiquitous coffeehouse chain that shall remain nameless.
reviewed
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Almaden Feed & Fuel
If you've been hiking all day in Almaden Quicksilver County Park, stop for a bite and a beer at this funky, century-old joint that was once a stagecoach stop. It's about 10 miles south of San Jose, just off the Almaden Expressway.
reviewed
